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NO PROPERTY IN MAN
Slavery and Antislavery at the Nation’s Founding
By Sean Wilentz
350 pp. Harvard University Press. $26.95.
Across from the New York Stock Exchange sits Federal Hall National Memorial, the beautiful Greek Revival columned structure that in 1842 replaced Federal Hall, the birthplace of American government. That building is where George Washington took the oath of office as the first president. It housed the Supreme Court and the first Congress. The address is 26 Wall Street. Two blocks east at 75 Wall Street stands a 42-story modern structure of marble, glass and steel. This condominium sits at the old water’s edge of the East River, atop the slave market where for half a century (1711-62) enslaved Africans were bought and sold like cattle and corn. They were traded as commodities in the enormous trans-Atlantic slave markets that linked four continents together for nearly four centuries. These parcels of flesh and bone were “not like merchandise,” James Madison argued at the Federal Convention in 1787. But they were counted as assets, or property, that helped build and finance the infrastructure and the wealth of the richest nation in the world.
It is impossible to comprehend American history without understanding slavery’s role in every aspect of its early development. Eleven slaves built a wall to protect a fledgling Dutch colony in 1626. Within a century, those 11 grew to represent one in five residents of what is now Manhattan, the nation’s first capital city and today’s global financial capital. Ten of America’s first 12 presidents were slaveholders, as were two of the nation’s earliest chief justices.
Slavery is at the heart of the nation’s origin story. The core of our democratic institutions — from the presidency to the Congress to the courts — was shaped immeasurably by it. And yet it is one of the least understood and distorted subjects in American history. The hip-hop superstar Kanye West’s bizarre remark this spring that slavery was “a choice” is just one of many examples. A recent report by the Southern Poverty Law Center found that a “bare majority” of social studies teachers said they are qualified to teach it. Educators also complained about unclear state content standards and inadequate curricular resources. The net result: High school students are virtually illiterate on the subject, and this has had severe consequences for our national life. | 700 |
to promote “broadly trusted and high-quality sources,” citing the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times, which are mouthpieces for US military, corporate and political elites, “in order to counter misinformation and polarization.”
Amid the growing dangers of war and signs of social unrest, fundamental democratic rights are increasingly under attack, both in established police-states such as China, and so-called democracies such as the United States. As they prepare for war abroad and class war at home, the ruling classes around the world fear that the Internet increasingly will become a vehicle, not only for accurate information and news, but for organising protests and opposition.
The Chinese regime is notorious for its online censorship system, popularly known as the “Great Firewall,” which aims to limit online discussion to officially approved topics, along the lines of state propaganda. However, the burgeoning use of the Internet in China is a challenge even for its vast policing apparatus.
According to the China Internet Network Information Center, 40.74 million Chinese citizens became new Internet users last year alone, bringing the total to 772 million users, or approximately half the population. Of these users, 97.5 percent used mobile phones to access the Internet.
To better manage online activity, the CAC introduced new regulations last October requiring ISPs to request and verify the real names of their users, as well as to “investigate thoroughly” anyone suspected of using fake names, and to turn over all relevant data to authorities.
In a candid interview with Bloomberg last year, Baidu president Zhang Yaqin provided an indication of the extent to which social media companies are involved in turning over claims of “fake news” to government authorities.
Zhang reported that, utilising the latest advances in technology and online vetters, every year Baidu sees, “somewhere around 3 billion claims, requests that we need to verify, that might turn out to be fake news.”
“We have an obligation to make sure the user gets good content, but it continues to be a challenge for us, for other companies in China, and companies in the US,” Zhang said.
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, who has been facing major challenges in the job.
According to The Washington Post, Shanahan was chewed out by lawmakers at the Munich security conference last week. The U.S. congressional delegation confronted Shanahan on the troop withdrawal, and he rather spectacularly failed to ease their concerns.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), asked the acting Pentagon chief if he was, in fact, telling European officials that the U.S. was “going to go to zero by April 30” in Syria.
Shanahan, who, according to lawmakers, looked like a “deer in the headlights,” responded that that was the case, as per President Trump’s wishes.
“That’s the dumbest f—ing idea I’ve ever heard,” Graham fired back. The senator pushed on, expressing concerns that ISIS could regroup, that the Kurds would be slaughtered by the Turks, and that Iran would come out on top.
Shanahan’s response: “That could very well happen.”
This clashes with what Heras said the administration has been floating in the Syrian analyst space almost immediately after the president announced his troop withdrawal plans in December.
“This indicates that, one, there was no set policy on Syria and, point two, there’s a tremendous amount of disagreement within Trump’s team on exactly what are U.S. goals in Syria,” he said.
And so we have what Heras calls “the handover dilemma.” In other words, “What does the U.S. fundamentally want to do with one-third of Syria?…[And] to what end exactly?”
The U.S. doesn’t want to stay there forever, waiting for the kind of stability that would allow it to hand over the territory to some kind of government in Damascus. But the Trump administration does not like Assad, who, pending Russian support and a future election sometime down the line, will remain in power for at least the foreseeable future.
Any path forward, said Alvi, will require “substantial diplomacy.”
“And the current U.S. administration has cut the legs off of Department of State. Plus, the U.S. government has not illustrated a genuine commitment to conflict resolution — other than going after ISIS militarily,” she said. | 702 |
Ratings agency Moody’s has once again raised concern around the political and financial stability of South Africa, with recent developments pointing to a downgrade to junk coming sooner rather than later.
In an investor outlook released on Wednesday, the ratings firm noted that political and social considerations continued to be an obstacle to rapid reforms within the country, leaving it vulnerable to a deterioration in credit profiles in the event of a shock.
Other threats that could potentially affect “at risk”sovereign nations include:
Domestic political uncertainty and social tensions, which weaken the commitment to economic and fiscal reform.
High public debt levels – leaving little space to respond to shocks; and
The potential for destabilizing political events remains
According to a report by BusinessDay, Moody’s has already dispatched an out-of-schedule delegation to South Africa this week, highlighting the agency’s concerns.
This could point to a downgrade arriving sooner than expected, said economist Thabi Leoka, who along with many other economists and analysts noted that a downgrade was inevitable within the next two weeks.
Moody’s is currently the only agency that has SA above junk status, with both local and foreign currency debt sitting at one notch above junk.
If Moody’s sends South Africa into junk, it will result in the country being pushed out of the World Government Bond Index, which will have a severe impact on the investment in the country.
Investors and hedge funds are bound by policy to avoid countries which are not part of the WGBI, and conservative estimates point to an immediate disinvestment of R100 billion by foreign investors.
Some analysts say the outflow could go over R200 billion.
The Moody’s outlook comes after the International Monetary Fund’s review of South Africa, in which it noted slow growth and inefficiencies in public enterprises – which have taken a toll on public finances by generating a substantial revenue shortfall and prompting unplanned expenditure.
The IMF urged the presidency and National Treasury to adopt fiscal measures that would encourage better tax collection and to stop unnecessary spending.
“Emphasis should be placed on prompt implementation of sanctions against deviations from the Public Financial Management Act to increase deterrence,” it said.
“Early announcement and timely implementation of a strong adjustment and reform plan is now a priority to restore investor and consumer confidence.”
Read: Why full junk status for South Africa is inevitable | 703 |
It seems like the star Gabe Brown on the Alaskan Bush People is not just the one to be assisting in expanding the family! As per some reports, the reality show star Bear Brown is not behind. He is going to introduce everybody to his new girlfriend very soon. She is a model, and her name is Raiven Adams.
What We Know Till Now?
The couple had disclosed the news on July 23 as the new lady has done a recent interview. She had introduced herself and talked about the new relationship. They have shared a few pictures of them, and we can say that they do look pretty cute together as well.
Alaskan Bush People: What Do They Have To Say?
Raiven has been heard saying that she is very happy and feels her life has been complete with Bear. She also says that they will be able to go through anything together. Surely joining the family means a lot needs to be handled, especially when your partner is a self-proclaimed king of intense. Although, she does feel about going smooth with her relationship with Bear right now who is 31 years old.
Fans Are Happy and Excited
Although the Instagram account of both Raiven and Bear are presently set to private, the fans surely get an insight into their relationship. The fact that the absolutely stunning model has also added her boyfriend’s name in her bio is a big sign. Of course, fans are going to see the couple together in the new season of Alaskan Bush Family as well.
One of the sources have said that viewers will be able to see the bear falling in love for the first time and surely Raiven is an amazing addition to the present cast. The source also said that she is beautiful and very sweet.
What About The Alaskan Bush People Family?
Although there is already an excitement regarding the new addition to the family, we don’t know yet about what the family thinks of her and the relationship. As per the picture that Rain Brown has shared of hanging around with Bird Brown, it seems that Raiven has already got the approval of the little sister.
Now coming to both the parents’ reaction, as per some of the sources, Billy Brown and Amy seem to have approved of them being together. They seem very happy that all of their children were able to find love of their lives. Also, Ami feels that she still cannot believe how fast everything has been, and her family is now complete and very happy. | 704 |
Workers at the factory that makes Cards Against Humanity share what they did with their time off. Screenshot/Cards Against Humanity Cards Against Humanity, the so-called "party game for horrible people," has shown that the people who make it aren't actually so bad themselves.
This year, Cards Against Humanity ran a holiday promotion called "Eight Sensible Gifts for Hannukah," where 150,000 devotees of the fan-favorite card game paid up front for eight small, mystery gifts, delivered one day at a time.
The first three days, everybody got socks. After that, the gifts were things like public radio memberships and an investment in the "Cards Against Humanity US Treasury Inflation Protected Securities Fund."
For today's gift, Cards Against Humanity did something a little different, according to a blog entry: It gave a week of paid vacation to all the workers at the factory in China that actually makes the Cards Against Humanity game.
"Our printer in China has grown with us from a small business to a huge operation, and it’s important to us to go above and beyond our obligation to the workers who make our game," the company wrote.
It's not exactly common for factory workers in China to get any kind of paid vacation.
A group plays Cards Against Humanity. Melia Robinson/Business Insider
In fact, the game company says, the factory didn't actually have any procedure for paid vacations. So Cards Against Humanity used the money raised by the Hannukah promotion to buy up 100% of the factory's capacity, basically contracting them to "produce nothing for a week," per the blog post.
It's just the latest way that Cards Against Humanity tries to do some good with the cash it generates through silly means: On Black Friday, Cards Against Humanity made over $70,000 by selling literally nothing for $5 a pop — and then turned around and gave the cash directly to employees as a bonus.
To drive the point home, Cards Against Humanity also published some thank-you notes and pictures from the factory workers in China, showing what they did with their time off. Many of the workers quoted on the site visited family, pursued their hobbies (dancing, fishing, and hiking), and generally enjoyed their time off.
"This doesn’t undo the ways that all of us profit from unfair working conditions around the world, but it’s a step in the right direction," Cards Against Humanity writes. | 705 |
About This Game
Build your ship bit-by-bit
Plunder enemies for new parts
Choose your tools
Captain Forever - Remixed
A new look, a new universe
You built your spaceship out of Plasma Cannons, bulkheads, and a couple of Twin Thrusters. Just ahead there's a massive enemy vessel bristling with MegaBoom Missiles. You want those missiles. Youthose missiles. You dart forward and maneuver deftly between the spinning RipSaw blades on the front of the enemy craft and blast away at the Command Core. BOOM! It explodes leaving behind a haul of weapons and thrusters. Those MegaBoom Missiles are free for the taking. You quickly attach them to the front of your own ship, making it much larger and more powerful...Captain Forever Remix is the spaceship builder roguelike. Voyage across the Solar System and blast apart randomly-generated enemies for spare parts.You better build a pretty tough ship, because you're gonna need it. Your little brother turned into a bubblegum mutant and is being a total butthead. He froze the Sun, poked out Jupiter's eye, drank Neptune's oceans, and cracked Earth like an egg! Set off across a messed-up Solar System to put a stop to the big jerkface once and for all!Captain Forever Remix is an officially-licensed re-imagining of the indie classic Captain Forever.Protect your Command Core with bulkheads, weapons, & boosters to customize your ship. Every piece you add affects movement, combat capabilities, and armor.Every enemy ship is randomly generated and presents a unique combat challenge. Go in guns blazing or pick them apart carefully so that the leftover Ship Bits can be grafted to your ship!Obliterate your enemies with ScatterBlasters and MegaBoom Rockets or shred them to pieces with the RipSaw. Make the fastest ship in the Solar System with Uniboosters and Twin Thrusters, protect it with Bubble Shields, Repair Bulkheads, and tons more!Experience all-new gameplay that wasn't in the original cult-hit Captain Forever. Collect rare Power Bulkheads to access special abilities, unlock new starter kits, discover new Ship Bits, and avoid deadly traps laid by King Kevin!Remix features a completely new art style that draws inspiration from the 1990's heyday of amazing & weird cartoons. Tour a Solar System in disarray as you set out to put a stop to the insane shenanigans of your mutant little brother & get payback! | 706 |
2012
Timing is everything. Pujols signed his massive deal with the eleventh-hour bridegroom Los Angeles Angels after a protracted negotiation with St. Louis. Now, his timing at the plate is all out-of-whack. He’s lunging at breaking balls and swinging through meatballs. And yet, nobody is truly afraid. Albert takes advantage of the grace period for adjustment and regresses in the general direction of his expectations. He finishes the year batting something like.268 with 23 home runs. The Angels don’t make the playoffs, but C.J. Wilson reaches 200,000 followers on Twitter.
2013
Pujols bats.437 in April,.393 in May, and then.000 the rest of the season, after breaking his wrist more severely than in 2011, when he returned after just two weeks. Thankfully for the Angels, Kendrys Morales plays like players are supposed to play in walk years, Mike Trout lights up the American League, and C.J. Wilson pitches like Yu Darvish. The team makes a playoff run without him. Pujols’ leadership skills are much praised.
2014
Pujols spends the entire offseason in conference with former manager Tony La Russa and pastor Rick Warren of Orange County’s Saddleback Church. The reflective trio takes long, pensive walks along the beach, discussing purpose-driven baseball, the Demise of the Old School, and how Albert can pack the force of a thousand eternities into each dinger for the upcoming season. Meanwhile, a jealous Mike Scioscia tiptoes behind them, peering over hedges and through tinted car windows, fearful of his power being usurped. And as Pujols reverts to his old self, batting.328 with 34 home runs, Scioscia devolves into an increasingly paranoid, reclusive figure, constantly devising excuses to bench Pujols, but never acting on them.
2015
After years of decreasing offensive output, Major League Baseball legalizes all steroids, but Albert Pujols refuses to take them, saying from a podium in front of the plastic boulders in center field at Angel Stadium that the people of Orange County would never stand for anything so artificial. As a full-time designated hitter, Pujols hits like a 35-year-old might. He bats.296 with 29 home runs. More than one columnist refers to him as a “right-handed David Ortiz.” | 707 |
SBI Doesn't Ban Credit Card Crypto Purchases Despite Issuing Warning
SBI Cards & Payments Services Pvt. Ltd, the second largest issuer of credit cards in India, has warned customers of the risks associated with cryptocurrencies. Despite the warning, the company did not move to ban its customers from purchasing bitcoin and other virtual currencies using SBI issued credit cards.
Also Read: Indians Look to Buy Bitcoin Overseas as Regulations Tighten
SBI Cards Warns Customers of Crypto Risks
SBI Card has issued a warning to customers emphasizing the risks associated with cryptocurrencies. SBI Card also sought to reiterate the position of Reserve Bank of India, stating that government advisories have not given any licensing or authorisation for any entity to operate in any cryptocurrency schemes or virtual currencies.
The announcement comes weeks after Citi India banned the use of its credit and debit cards for the purpose of purchasing bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies., at the time issuing a release stating “…Citi India has decided to not permit usage of its credit and debit cards towards purchase or trading of such bitcoins, crypto-currencies, and virtual currencies.”
The notice states “Given concerns, both globally and locally, SBI Card would like to advise you to be mindful of potential economic, financial, operational, legal, customer protection and security related risks associated in dealing with crypto-currencies and virtual currencies.” SBI currently has a customer base of over 5 million, and is the second largest credit card issuer in India behind only HDFC Bank Limited.
Indian Crypto Regulations Expected Soon
Numerous Indian officials have indicated that India’s long-awaited regulatory guidelines for cryptocurrencies are presently being formulated by the relevant institutions, and that the industry can expect said legislation to be implemented soon.
The Chairman of the Department of Economic Affairs, Ajay Tyagi, recently indicated that many aspects of the regulatory apparatus have already been developed, stating “We have actually decided which regulator will do what and the committee should come out with the regulations very quickly.”
The impending regulation has not been welcomed by all members of India’s cryptocurrency authority, with many traders seeking means through which to purchase virtual currencies overseas in an attempt to bypass India’s regulatory jurisdiction.
Do you think many banking institutions will continue to allow customers to purchase cryptocurrencies using credit cards? Share your thoughts in the comments section below!
Images courtesy of Shutterstock
Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section. | 708 |
kanada_kid:
Unless youre going to live in some fucking village it should be fine. Russian/Ukrainian girls never have problems finding boyfriends because everybody fawns over them. They usually find rich Chinese boyfriend but that doesnt mean you dont have a shot if you work your game. There are plenty of thirsty white, black and Indian expats here. The male to female ratio here is skewed towards the females favor (unless youre Eastern European) so there will always be expats trying to hit you up.
If you are on the heavier side you are going to have trouble here. Keep your expectations realistic.
zi_you_zi_zai:
The problem is that a lot of white expat women suddenly find themselves in an environment where the competition (frankly) is extremely harsh whereas the guys they are interested in have better options (millions of pretty, young countryside girls fawning over a white guy) or just have an interest in a different group of women (handsome and/or successful Chinese guys which also have literally hundreds of millions of girls fawning over them).
The rest of the Chinese guys are kinda shy and don't have an interest in the femals expat age group to begin with.
Basically if you don't have a fetish for Asian guys you're gonna have a bad time, which reflects in the small number of female expats which didn't just get tagged along in their husband's career.
lilzeHHHO:
Not sure how to say this without coming across as a douche but the middle gets squeezed a lot. I went to Chinese language class in my home country for a few months before going to China, I made good friends with a few women in the class and kept in contact with them, the average looking women struggled the most relative to what they are used to at home. There were two very plain women who both met their husband in China (One Irish guy and one with a Chinese guy), the very good looking woman actually saw an uptick in the standard of her suitors over there but the two average women found it hell on earth in terms of dating.
DPS96744:
I observed chronic dick deficiency across the small sample of female expats I knew in China.
We Teach "Illegally" For You, China
click read more
NEW!! leave a comment | 709 |
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Ten games into his first season with the Jets, running back Le'Veon Bell isn’t having the kind of impact that he had in Pittsburgh. And he’s fine with that.
“I made a decision,” Bell recently told Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News. “And I’ll live with it.”
He’ll live with it because, as not mentioned in the article, the Jets offered Bell — who sat out all of 2018 in lieu of playing under the franchise tag for a second season in Pittsburgh — significantly more money than anyone else was offering. Bell wanted to maximize his compensation for playing football, and there’s nothing wrong with that.
Bell also remains hopeful that, in time, his New York production will improve.
“I feel like when I get those numbers here, people are going to look at me differently,” Bell said. “Like, dang, he didn’t even have to go to the Chiefs. He didn’t have to go to the Colts or whatever team has a high-powered offense. I didn’t have to go there to do it. I came here and helped this team turn around.”
But here’s the thing: It’s not as if the Chiefs or the Colts were in the mix to sign him. The 49ers were interested at a far lower number, and that was pretty much it.
“At the end of the day,” Bell said, “I’ve never been a person that really cares about trying to go to a team and joining a whole bunch of other good players.”
If so, he wouldn’t have chased the money to New York. Again, there’s nothing wrong with that. He’ll get $27 million fully guaranteed through 2020, and he’ll take that from whoever wants to pay it.
That’s why he wasn’t miffed about a potential deadline deal to a new team last month. As long as someone will be paying Bell what he’s promised to make through 2020, he’ll play for whoever wants him.
For now, the Jets have him. And the Jets are going for their third win in a row, as the Raiders come to town for a game to be played in the rain and wind. | 710 |
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Many countries around the world are on strict lockdown. We need to practice social distancing and stay indoors as much as possible to do our part in stopping the spread of the infectious COVID-19. We are living through a pandemic and must take these measures to save as many lives as possible. However, humans being on lockdown has given earth and animals the chance to come out of their lockdown. There has been evidence of reduced pollution with humans being in quarantine and not going about their normal routines. Animals have also been much more free and actually able to explore and move around the world differently.
Dolphins have been seen near shorelines in places where they normally would not. Civets were seen walking the streets. A Chital (spotted deer) was running around in India. Elephants were roaming the streets.
Outlook India says, “Animal rights activist Gauri Mulekhi said the COVID spell has demonstrated how nature can rebound and flourish in the absence of human interference.”
If there is one thing we must learn from this pandemic it’s that our treatment of animals needs to change. There is a clear connection between eating animals and the origin of this virus. In fact, pangolins, one of the world’s most highly trafficked and critically endangered animals, were blamed for the coronavirus. Bats were too, an animal that we actually need for the health of ecosystems.
Now, we’re also seeing how these animals can flourish and interact with the world more freely with humans not taking over and assuming dominance. They are our fellow species who we share this earth with and they shouldn’t be forced into lockdown always for us to have a certain way of life.
To help animals in some way during this crisis, sign this petition pledging to help shelter animals.
For more Animal, Earth, Life, Vegan Food, Health, and Recipe content published daily, subscribe to the One Green Planet Newsletter! Also, don’t forget to download the Food Monster App on iTunes — with over 15,000 delicious recipes it is the largest meatless, vegan and allergy-friendly recipe resource to help reduce your environmental footprint, save animals and get healthy!
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Advertisement | 711 |
limited dispensaries to a very specific zoning called limited industrial warehouse district. So it’s not an outright ban. Now what that means in practice: You have one strip along Solana Avenue behind the railroad tracks that qualify for a dispensary. So in practice it would be pretty difficult to be able to set up a dispensary in the city of Winter Park.
PEDDIE: So it’s allowed but very limited.
ABORAYA: Yes. But there’s the flip side of that. Some cities are looking at this with a different mindset: Economic development. Here’s Casey Cook with the League of Cities again.
“Some cities see the passage of am 2 as potentially economic development for the communities because these dispensaries bring with them jobs that can benefit their community,” Cook said. “And looking at this nationally, I think there have been some local governments that have seen a rebirth of downtown because of the marijuana industry. Others cities take a different approach as see the negatives.
PEDDIE: People in Florida have already started asking: What about recreational marijuana?
ABORAYA: Of course. And the irony is you already have cities like Orlando, like Volusia County, like Miami-Dade where possession of small amounts of pot get you a ticket instead of jail time. And we’ve seen this pattern in states where you start with medical marijuana and you end up with recreational marijuana down the road.
PEDDIE: John Morgan’s had a starring role in getting medical marijuana legalized with the passage of amendment two… and there’s a chance he could have a hand in the next stage as well, right.
ABORAYA: John Morgan did a press conference the day after the election. He said he thinks recreational marijuana will come to Florida, but that’s not his fight. But there were calls for Morgan to run for governor. And while Morgan says he needs time to figure out if he’s going to run … he did publish a sort of outline of what his platform would be. His platform is to decriminalize it on a statewide basis. And he wants to get people who are in jail strictly for possession to be released. So if Morgan does run, marijuana will be part of his platform.
WMFE is a partner with Health News Florida, a statewide collaborative reporting on health care.
Health reporting on WMFE is supported in part by AdventHealth. | 712 |
GUWAHATI: A possible mob lynching incident was averted after a 16-member team from the Assam public health engineering (PHE) department was confronted and assaulted by a group of villagers at Malang Hohua near Boko on the Assam-Meghalaya border on Saturday evening.
The PHE team led by chief engineer, Saumya Kumar Barua had gone to the village, about 10km from Boko town in Kamrup district, to inspect the water quality of a scheme that incidentally catered to the residents of the area.
“We were returning from the site and it was around 4.30pm when an irate mob numbering around 200, mainly women, intercepted and attacked us physically despite being told that we had gone there for an official survey of the water scheme. However, they later allowed us to leave after we made them understand but held the headman of the village captive for a few hours before releasing him. Subsequently, we lodged an FIR at Boko police station against the mob,” Barua told The Shillong Times on Sunday.
The group, according to reports, comprised people from various communities.
“Apparently, there could have been a misunderstanding as people in the border areas are concerned when people from outside their villages visit the area,” he said.
There is a waterfall, Hahohua in the village and the PHE scheme distributes water from a reservoir through pipes via gravitational flow.
The officials had gone to check the efficacy of the water filtration system and the quality of water which generally becomes muddy during the monsoon season.
“Also, there is a proposal from the government of India regarding supply of water with the help of energy generated by solar panels in remote villages which are devoid of electricity. So we had gone to assess whether such technology could be applied there,” Barua said.
According to reports, a government water supply scheme in Boko is scheduled to be inaugurated by Assam chief minister, Sarbananda Sonowal this month.
Of late, mob fury, generally sparked by a section, have led to fatal incidents in the state.
Exactly three months back, two youths from Guwahati were beaten to death by a mob of about 150 persons at Dokmoka in Karbi Anglong district. About 48 persons involved in the incident have been arrested so far with their trials under way in a a court in Nagaon district. | 713 |
Image caption The report into the shootings at Boyle's Bar in Cappagh was compiled by the Historical Enquiries Team
Families of four UVF murder victims have obtained a draft police report which links UDR soldiers to a 1991 attack.
The report into the shootings at Boyle's Bar in Cappagh was compiled by the Historical Enquiries Team.
It states months after the attack, intelligence was received which "named three serving members of the UDR as being responsible".
They were questioned, along with "a close associate", but never charged.
Three of the four men murdered were members of the IRA - Malcolm Nugent (20), John Quinn (23) and Dwayne O'Donnell (17).
They were shot as their car pulled up outside the County Tyrone pub.
The fourth victim - 52-year-old Thomas Armstrong - was killed in the bar seconds later by shots aimed through a window.
The men's families have always maintained the attack involved collusion and the Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR) connection has been claimed previously by victims' group, Relatives for Justice.
A solicitor representing some of them, Gavin Booth of Phoenix Law, said it is "the first time a state report confirms collusion" in the case.
He added: "The families remain committed to obtaining the truth."
They hope to meet with the PSNI soon to discuss the case.
Image copyright Pacemaker Image caption Families of four UVF murder victims have obtained a draft police report which links UDR soldiers to the 1991 attack
The report, which focuses on the death of Mr O'Donnell, also raises the possible involvement of MI5 in several murders in the area.
It states the arrest of the soldiers in 1991 followed work by a joint police and army team which reviewed "concerns of security service collusion in east Tyrone".
It adds "the same men were also named as responsible for other murders".
Two other men had previously been arrested immediately after the Cappagh murders - one of them reportedly being the late UVF leader Billy Wright.
The report also connects the two VZ58 rifles used in the attack to 11 other incidents between 1988 and 1993, including the UVF murders of Charles and Theresa Fox in Moy in 1992.
It stated a review of the Boyle's Bar case in 2002 concluded there were no new lines of inquiry or investigative opportunities which could lead to the identification or prosecution of those involved. | 714 |
Image copyright Trustees of the NHM Image caption The bones were also chewed but these are not teeth marks
A series of zig-zag marks on a human bone found in a UK cave is evidence of a cannibalistic ritual that took place some 15,000 years ago.
Scientists have long recognised that cannibals operated at Gough’s Cave in Somerset, but were unsure whether the practice of eating other people had any symbolic significance.
Reporting in the journal Plos One, researchers say the unusual cuts on a forearm bone are deliberate.
They are not simple butchery markings.
Nor are they teeth marks.
What is more, the zig-zags appear to match designs used on other engraved objects from the same time period.
"The engraved motif on the Gough's Cave bone is similar to engravings observed in other Magdalenian European sites," said Silvia Bello from London’s Natural History Museum.
"However, what is exceptional in this case is the choice of raw material (human bone) and the cannibalistic context in which it was produced.
"The sequence of modifications performed on this bone suggests that the engraving was a purposeful component of the cannibalistic practice, rich in symbolic connotations.
"Although in previous analyses we have been able to suggest that cannibalism at Gough's Cave was practiced as a symbolic ritual, this study provides the strongest evidence for this yet."
Gough's Cave is situated in the Cheddar Gorge, a deep limestone canyon on the southern edge of the Mendip Hills.
Palaeo-investigations first started there more than 100 years ago. It is famous for the discovery in 1903 of "Cheddar Man", the complete skeleton of a male individual dating to about 10,000 years ago.
In 2011, Dr Bello and colleagues presented three skull cases that they said could have been used as drinking vessels.
The braincases had been fashioned in such a meticulous way that their use as bowls to hold liquid seemed the only reasonable explanation.
That interpretation looks even more likely now given the latest research.
The forearm comprises two large bones - the radius and the ulna. In this case, it is a radial bone that the scientists have been studying.
It shows signs of being disarticulated, filleted and chewed - but the zig-zags look nothing like the damage you would expect from these actions. | 715 |
CALGARY (660 NEWS) – It’s another nail in the coffin for the Canadian energy industry according to an investment analyst.
On Thursday morning, Encana Corp. announced it intends to move to the United States and rebrand under the name Ofintiv.
READ MORE: Encana announces intentions to move to U.S.
According to Tim Pickering with Auspice Capital Advisors, Encana won’t be the only company leaving.
“Company after company, whether they’re directly in the energy business or the investment business having to look at the larger U.S. market that is a lot more healthy than Canada.”
Another blow to the Canadians energy industry, Alberta, Calgary, and CANADA as a whole. Our leadership is failing to find solutions that keep investor capital interested in Canadian energy as Encana to establish corporate domicile in U.S., change name https://t.co/vaZR62ATkr — Tim Pickering (@AuspiceTim) October 31, 2019
He argues many companies have looked at moving for greener pastures and greener currency.
“It’s becoming increasingly hard to not look at the U.S. from a business and a work perspective but also from a capitalization and investment perspective.”
Pickering argues there are a few people to blame for this happening.
“Losing Encana from Calgary and Canada is such a massive blow. It really illustrates that our environment is not up to par. It also illustrates that the political leadership federally and possibly even provincially are not finding the right solutions.”
Mayor Naheed Nenshi tweeted his response to the news calling it a loss for Calgary and Alberta.
Sad to hear the news about Encana. This is a loss for Calgary and for Alberta. The silver lining is that, for now at least, this isn’t a loss of jobs for our city, and that’s my biggest focus. — Naheed Nenshi (@nenshi) October 31, 2019
Energy Minister Sonya Savage also responded to the news.
In a statement posted to Twitter Savage said she’s deeply troubled by the news.
“Sadly, I cannot say I am surprised, as Encana has been shifting its efforts to the U.S. for years, in large part due to harmful policies in Canada.” | 716 |
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Daniel Ricciardo may have surprised everyone last year with his move to the “best of the rest”, swapping the familiarity of Red Bull Racing out for Renault Sport in 2019, but a reveal of this year’s driver’s salaries confirms it was at least financially strategic, if nothing else.
British publication The Mirror has disclosed the pay packets of each of the sport’s 20 drivers, including our boy Ricciardo who will enjoy a mouth-watering $49m per season.
Regardless of the teams or cars they’re racing with, it’s easy to see from the list below that those drivers showing the most talent are clearly being awarded for it.
RELATED: Why exactly did Ricciardo leave Red Bull Racing?
Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) $73,900,000
Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari) $56,300,000
Daniel Ricciardo (Renault) $49,000,000
Max Verstappen (Red Bull) $18,500,000
Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) $12,000,000
Kimi Raikkonen (Alfa Romeo) $6,500,000
Nico Hulkenberg (Renault) $6,500,000
Carlos Sainz (McLaren) $5,500,000
Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) $4,600,000
Sergio Perez (Racing Point) $4,600,000
Romain Grosjean (Haas) $2,600,000
Pierre Gasly (Red Bull) $1,845,000
Lance Stroll (Racing Point) $1,660,000
Kevin Magnussen (Haas) $1,660,000
Robert Kubica (Williams) $800,000
Daniil Kvyat (Toro Rosso) $425,000
Lando Norris (McLaren) $370,000
Antonio Giovinazzi (Alfa Romeo) $323,000
George Russell (Williams) $258,000
Alexander Albon (Toro Rosso) $240,000
(All salaries are in AUD, converted from GBP and rounded, see the original list here) | 717 |
Suffice it to say, I was worried then — and more so now — that if anyone or any company considered moving jobs to Alabama, holding a conference in my home state or doing anything to contribute to our economy, we would have to hide Moore. Rather than use the senator and the resources a Senate office brings as a recruiting tool, businesses will shy away from having anything to do with toxic Roy Moore.
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In recent years, Alabama has been particularly successful in recruiting aircraft manufacturers and hi-tech aerospace companies to the state. We’ve always had a robust delegation at the Paris Air Show, and we’ve built a reputation as one of the nation’s top states for doing business. But can you imagine Moore at the Paris Air Show pitching Alabama as a modern environment for hi-tech companies? Arrrrghhh! Even if what people will hear and read about Moore wasn’t bad enough, much of the time, he looks the part. He’s beyond an eccentric crazy uncle. Wearing his small cowboy hat, a tight vest and sometimes displaying a tiny gun, Moore looks like a reject from the Village People. The states that Alabama competes with for business development must be celebrating. Sigh.
To say the least, Moore would not be able to help recruit jobs to Alabama. He won’t be a positive force as an ambassador to usher in international trade for Alabama’s $20.6 billion export market. And considering what we now know from The Washington Post’s reporting, no sane parent would dare to have their kids intern in his office.
Making matters worse is the fact that some in Alabama continue to stand up for Moore. In a defense that will go down in history as a punchline in jokes about Alabama, State Auditor Jim Zeigler said Moore’s actions made him think of the memory of Jesus Christ. That’s right. He actually said: “[T]ake Joseph and Mary. Mary was a teenager and Joseph was an adult carpenter. They became the parents of Jesus. There’s just nothing immoral or illegal here.” Well, as Ron White famously said: “You can’t fix stupid. … Stupid is forever.”
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Anyway, Moore is more than just another embarrassment produced by Alabama politics. His presence has had profound national implications. Specifically, a traditionally safe Republican seat will likely flip to the Democrats. | 718 |
Brush fire of 1,200 hectares burns out of control through island’s central valley
This article is more than 1 year old
This article is more than 1 year old
Thousands of people on Maui have been ordered to evacuate two towns in the path of a spreading wildfire, Hawaiian officials and media said.
The 1,200 hectare (3,000 acre) brush fire in the island’s central valley was uncontrolled on Thursday night, Maui’s mayor, Mike Victorino, told a news conference. Firefighters were monitoring it overnight but it was too dangerous to battle in the dark, he added.
Stefanie O'Brien (@sobrizzle) Landed to a massive brush fire in Maui and the entire island is shut down/evacuated and landlines and cell signal are down
So here I am tweeting from a lobby of a random roadside hotel with no vacancy 🤦🏽♀️. Hello from day 1 of vaca #mauifire pic.twitter.com/sMP1HDS01B
“We can’t fight the fire tonight,” he said. “We’re not going to send any firefighters into harm’s way.”
A National Weather Service satellite photo showing smoke hanging over the island was posted online.
The brush fire was reported at about 10.30am and steady winds of up to 20mph fanned the flames, officials said. It jumped a highway and spread across fallow fields and more brush. Two fire department helicopters dropped water on the blaze to try to contain it.
While thousands were ordered to evacuate, it was unclear how many people had left the west Maui coastal towns of Maalaea and Kihei. Three shelters housed about 500 people late on Thursday, media reports said. Maui high school was accommodating about 200 cats and dogs moved from a local animal shelter, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported.
Jason Nerad (@OurFearlessHero) So... Maui is on fire. pic.twitter.com/hUlD0GHNfY
Kahului airport was briefly closed and flights were diverted because of the smoke, which also forced the closure of two major roads. Operations were back to normal around 7pm, media reported.
No injuries or damage to structures were reported, but some farm equipment had burned, HawaiiNewsNow reported. | 719 |
Trouble has arisen for the long-developed adaptation of author John D. MacDonald’s novel The Deep Blue Good-By, which is one in a series of very popular Travis McGee books. Director James Mangold was set to reteam with his 3:10 to Yuma star Christina Bale on the project, which revolves around a self-described beach bum and salvage consultant who seeks to protect a woman who’s been torn apart from her manipulative ex-boyfriend. Filming was poised to begin next month in Florida and Puerto Rico, but Bale recently suffered an ACL injury that’s put the project’s future in jeopardy.
Apparently Bale’s injury prevents him from making the film right now. He’s currently shooting the financial crisis drama The Big Short, but The Deep Blue Good-By is a much more physically intensive shoot, as its climax involves an action sequence on boats. Per Deadline, the project has simply been delayed, with Mangold now set to first direct the next Wolverine movie before returning to The Deep Blue Good-By, which Fox hopes will jump start a franchise. But the project could be in a more dire state of limbo than that report lets on.
According to THR, the fate of The Deep Blue Good-By is unclear, with the film now “deep-sixed” despite having assembled a cast that includes Peter Dinklage and Nicola Peltz. Some sources tell the outlet the project is dead, while others believe it could be postponed (as Deadline reports). Apparently the studio tried to salvage the project after Bale was injured by recasting the role, approaching Brad Pitt for the part, but their last-minute search proved fruitless.
Bale is a highly in demand actor so the probability of him still being available when/if Mangold and Fox come back around is unlikely. It’s possible Mangold returns to the film after the next Wolverine movie, which would mean a delay of about two years, or it’s also possible that Mangold moves on and Fox enlists another filmmaker/actor duo for the adaptation; it’s been percolating since the 1990s, so this wouldn’t be the first do-over.
While it’s somewhat tough to determine whether Deadline is simply putting a positive spin on the development or if things really aren’t as bad as THR makes them sound, what is clear is that The Deep Blue Good-By is not happening as previously planned. | 720 |
Driving the news: Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron said at a press conference that evidence shows the officers who entered Taylor's home knocked and announced their presence. He also said that officers Mattingly and Cosgrove were "justified" in firing after they were shot at by Taylor's boyfriend.
The big picture: Taylor's death helped ignite nationwide Black Lives Matter demonstrations this summer, as protesters demanded justice for her, George Floyd and other Black Americans killed by police. The outrage led to Hankison being fired and the passage of a city law that banned no-knock warrants — two rare consequences after police shootings of Black Americans.
Where it stands: The Louisville Metro government announced a $12 million settlement package with the family of Taylor, a 26-year-old former emergency room technician, in mid-September.
The settlement also contained reforms on the approval process for and execution of search warrants, the hiring of social workers at LMPD, and a commitment to increase drug and alcohol testing of officers involved in any shooting.
The settlement closed out the wrongful death lawsuit filed in April by Taylor's mother, Tamika Palmer.
What to watch: Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer declared a state of emergency Tuesday and issued a 9 p.m. to 6:30 a.m. curfew "due to the potential for civil unrest" ahead of the announcement on Taylor's case.
The Louisville Metro Police Department said it would physically restrict access to the downtown area ahead of the grand jury's announcement with vehicle barricades.
The National Guard has also been deployed to Louisville.
Catch up quick: Taylor was alive for at least 20 minutes after police officers entered her home on March 13 and shot her during a drug investigation into her ex-boyfriend, who did not live there, the Louisville Courier Journal reports.
Officers used a battering ram to break down Taylor's door, despite her not being a main suspect, and shot her at least eight times after her then-current boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, fired his gun at an officer in self-defense, per the Courier Journal.
Taylor did not receive medical attention after the shooting even though she showed signs of life, including coughing and labored breathing, according to Walker and police dispatch logs.
The Jefferson County coroner disputed that account to the New York Times, saying Taylor "had little to no chance of survival, and was likely to have died in 'less than a minute.'"
This story is breaking news. Please check back for updates. | 721 |
Mumbai: The Unique Identification Authority of India’s (UIDAI’s) plan to make non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) use Aadhaar Virtual IDs to authenticate customers from 1 July has put these firms in a fix.
The government introduced 16-digit virtual IDs in a bid to address privacy concerns around sharing Aadhaar numbers at the time of authentication. While agreeing that protecting privacy is a good move, NBFCs point out that using virtual IDs will give them access to limited details about the customers, which may make lending more difficult.
Earlier, the Aadhaar data of all customers were synced with credit bureaus, which allowed NBFCs to do eKYC without the need for physical verification, said a digital strategy officer of a top NBFC. He did not want to be named, given the sensitivity of the issue. Since virtual IDs mask the Aadhaar number, NBFCs believe the cost of customer acquisition will rise as they have to do additional physical checks.
NBFCs also point out that many customers are not fully aware of Aadhaar virtual IDs as UIDAI is yet to publicize this new system. These firms, the above-cited executive said, are concerned that “it would be left to them to push customers to register for virtual IDs", increasing the cost of customer acquisition.
NBFCs are also miffed with a 16 May circular, wherein UIDAI has classified entities as global AUAs (authentication user agencies) and local AUAs, depending on their access to Aadhaar data for customer verification. Banks and life insurers have been categorized as global AUAs and allowed to use Aadhaar numbers to do eKYC verification. On the other hand, NBFCs, home financiers, prepaid instrument issuers and telecom companies have been classified as local AUAs and must use Aadhaar virtual ID to perform a one-time-password-based customer authentication.
NBFCs and other industry bodies, including the Payment Council of India, have raised these issues with UIDAI and sought more time for this transition.
“While we understand the concerns around Aadhaar, the UIDAI’s differentiation of global AUAs and local AUAs is not understood," said Naveen Surya, chairman, Payment Council of India.
UIDAI CEO Ajay Bhushan Pandey did not respond to phone calls seeking comment.
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We take a look back at Cardinal George Pell’s history of denial in relation to sexual abuse within the Catholic Church.
A Catholic priest accused of intimately touching a Brisbane schoolboy and coercing him to strip nude for photos had another student pull down his shorts for the same purpose, a court has heard.
On trial is Michael Ambrose Endicott, 75, who pleaded not guilty to eight historical charges of indecently dealing with a child under 12 and a child under 16 while he worked at Villanova College, a private Catholic boys school in Coorparoo.
The witness, who cannot be named for legal reasons, told the court the alleged victim confided details about the abuse while they were housemates in the ’90s.
The alleged victim said the boys were made to commit sexual acts on each other while Endicott photographed them, the witness told the Brisbane District Court trial yesterday.
“I (also) got the impression on more than one occasion that something had happened anally,” she told the court.
The witness said she was only the second person the alleged victim had told about his experiences. He felt sadness and guilt as the recollections flooded back to him during the following weeks, she said.
“He talked about the abuse going on for a number of years,” the witness said.
Mr Endicott was a priest in charge of pastoral care and religious education of children during the 1970s, the court has heard.
Prosecutors believe the abuse of the alleged victim began on a school hiking trip in 1975.
Mr Endicott allegedly asked him to take off his clothes and pose for photographs after taking him to a secluded area along a creek.
Three years later, he again allegedly coerced that boy to strip naked and pose for photographs after luring him into the school’s flag tower.
Mr Endicott is also accused of touching his genitals during an excursion.
The following year at a school sports afternoon, the priest took the boy, who was by then a teenager, into a change room and told him to strip naked and shower while he took photos, prosecutors allege.
Other witnesses, who were students at the school in the ’70s, told the court that being photographed by Mr Endicott became a “badge of honour” and they were asked to either strip or reveal much of their bodies during the private sessions.
The trial continues. | 723 |
By By Kesavan Unnikrishnan May 8, 2016 in Environment Aerial and Satellite images show rising sea levels have caused five islands in the Solomons in the South Pacific to completely disappear, the first scientific evidence that confirms the dramatic impact of climate change on low-lying islands. The five islands — Kakatina, Kale, Rapita, Rehana and Zollies — that vanished ranged in size from one to five hectares and supported dense tropical vegetation that was at least 300 years old. The authors of the study said: Climate change induced sea-level rise is anticipated to be one of the greatest challenges for humanity over the coming century. Shoreline recession at two sites has destroyed villages that have existed since at least 1935, leading to community relocations. The report also warned that Taro, the capital of Choiseul Province,is likely to be the first provincial capital in the world to relocate its residents in response to the impact of sea-level rise. Melchior Mataki who chairs the Solomon Islands' National Disaster Council, This ultimately calls for support from development partners and international financial mechanisms such as the Green Climate Fund. This support should include nationally driven scientific studies to inform adaptation planning to address the impacts of climate change in Solomon Islands. Solomon Islands, seen as a hot-spot for sea-level rise due to climate change, has seen its sea-level rise at almost three times the global average, around 7-10 mm per year since 1993. A newly published study by Australian academics using time series aerial and satellite imagery of 33 reef islands from 1947- 2014 reveals that 11 islands across the northern Solomon Islands have either totally disappeared over recent decades or are currently experiencing severe erosion due to sea level rise.The five islands — Kakatina, Kale, Rapita, Rehana and Zollies — that vanished ranged in size from one to five hectares and supported dense tropical vegetation that was at least 300 years old. The authors of the study said:The report also warned that Taro, the capital of Choiseul Province,is likely to be the first provincial capital in the world to relocate its residents in response to the impact of sea-level rise.Melchior Mataki who chairs the Solomon Islands' National Disaster Council, said Solomon Islands, seen as a hot-spot for sea-level rise due to climate change, has seen its sea-level rise at almost three times the global average, around 7-10 mm per year since 1993. More about Solomon islands, Rising sea levels, Islands Solomon islands Rising sea levels Islands | 724 |
(Reuters) - A member of the group of armed men who have seized a U.S. wildlife refuge in Oregon in an anti-government protest has been arrested after driving a government vehicle to a local supermarket, officials said.
A watch tower is manned at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge near Burns, Oregon, in this January 3, 2016 file photo. REUTERS/Jim Urquhart
The arrest was the first made since the group took over buildings at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge on Jan. 2 in the latest conflict over the U.S. government’s control of land in the West.
Law enforcement officials had so far kept their distance from the site, located about 30 miles (48 km) south of the small town of Burns in Oregon’s rural southeast, in an effort to avoid a violent confrontation.
But police arrested Kenneth Medenbach, a 62-year-old resident of Crescent, Oregon, after he drove a vehicle owned by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to a local supermarket on Friday, the Harney County Sheriff’s office said in a statement.
He was charged with unauthorized use of a motor vehicle. Medenbach could not be reached for immediate comment and it was unclear if he had retained an attorney.
The group, led by the sons of a Nevada rancher who with a large group of heavily armed men successfully stared down federal agents in a 2014 dispute over grazing fees, had earlier made a public call for help with supplies to cope with the winter weather, with temperatures at the reserve expected to dip below freezing in the coming days.
That plea led to shipments of sex toys, glitter and nail polish, which prompted online video complaints by the occupiers.
The occupiers declared their move a show of support for two local ranchers, Dwight Hammond Jr. and his son Steven, who were returned to prison earlier this month for setting fires that spread to federal land.
A lawyer for Hammond family has said that the occupiers do not speak for the family.
Residents have expressed a mixture of sympathy for the Hammond family, suspicion of the federal government’s motives and frustration with the occupation.
The chair of a local Native American tribe called on federal officials to remove the occupiers.
“Armed protesters don’t belong here,” said Charlotte Rodrique, chair of the Burns Paiute Tribe in a Friday statement. “They should be held accountable.” | 725 |
in the superiority of the private business model—drives them. But so does the blinding hubris that comes from power. You don’t have to listen or see because you know you are right. One study after another sends up a red flag, but no one in the ed reform movement blinks. Insanity, defined as doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results, applies here.
Can anything stop the foundation enablers? After five or ten more years, the mess they’re making in public schooling might be so undeniable that they’ll say, “Oops, that didn’t work” and step aside. But the damage might be irreparable: thousands of closed schools, worse conditions in those left open, an extreme degree of “teaching to the test,” demoralized teachers, rampant corruption by private management companies, thousands of failed charter schools, and more low-income kids without a good education. Who could possibly clean up the mess?
All children should have access to a good public school. And public schools should be run by officials who answer to the voters. Gates, Broad, and Walton answer to no one. Tax payers still fund more than 99 percent of the cost of K–12 education. Private foundations should not be setting public policy for them. Private money should not be producing what amounts to false advertising for a faulty product. The imperious overreaching of the Big Three undermines democracy just as surely as it damages public education.
Joanne Barkan, who graduated from public schools in Chicago, lives and writes in Manhattan and on Cape Cod. Her next article on education will focus on teachers and their unions.
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*The Broad and Walton foundations had endowments of about $1.4 billion and $2 billion, respectively, in 2008 (the latest available figures, according to the Foundation Center). The Gates Foundation had an endowment of $33 billion as of June 2010, with an additional $30 billion from Warren Buffett, spread out over multiple years in annual contributions (from gatesfoundation.org). The Broad endowment comes primarily from the sale of SunAmerica to AIG in 1999; the Walton endowment from Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.; and the Gates endowment from Microsoft.
[Ed. note: due to a production error, this article first appeared online with the subtitle “Public School Reform in the Age of Venture Philanthropy.”] | 726 |
Aviation authorities have grounded an Australian-made aircraft involved in a crash in Sweden in which nine people were killed.
Key points: The plane has been grounded for 15 days while the crash is investigated
The plane has been grounded for 15 days while the crash is investigated The skydiving flight crashed in northern Sweden on July 14
The skydiving flight crashed in northern Sweden on July 14 There are 228 of the aircraft in service worldwide
The Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) has suspended operations of the GippsAero GA8 aircraft for 15 days as a precaution, as investigations continue into the cause of the crash near Umea in northern Sweden on July 14.
All nine people on the skydiving flight died in the crash.
"While we gather more information about that, we thought it was prudent to put them on the ground," CASA spokesman Peter Gibson said.
Swedish authorities have expressed concern that the aircraft may have broken up during the flight.
The GA8 is manufactured in Australia by GippsAero, which is based in the Latrobe Valley.
The GA8 has been grounded for 15 days. ( Flickr: Chris Kennedy )
CASA said there were 228 of the planes in service globally, including 63 in Australia.
Spokesman Peter Gibson said the GA8 was first certified in 2000 and had not had a difficult safety history prior to the crash.
He said GippsAero held a production certificate issued by CASA to manufacture the GA8 and was subject to regular surveillance and safety checks by the authority.
The GA8 is a single-engine high-wing aeroplane with fixed tricycle landing gear.
It is used in Australia for a range of purposes, including charter flights and skydiving.
Investigators believe the plane may have broken up in the air. ( AP: Erik Abel / TT )
CASA has written to all Australian operators of GA8 aircraft, advising them of the suspension.
It has also written to all national aviation authorities who have GA8 aircraft operating in their jurisdictions.
In response to CASA's suspension, the European Union Aviation Safety Authority has issued an emergency airworthiness directive to European GA8 aircraft owners and operators to not fly the aeroplane except for ferry flights — for example, to return the aircraft to base.
CASA has sent an airworthiness engineer to Sweden to observe the accident investigation. | 727 |
TAMPA, Fla. – The seventh week of the 2017 USL regular season saw another player hit the ESPN SportsCenter Top 10, and a handful of other standout strikes that brought crowds to their feet. Now it’s your turn to select the best of the five selected for this week’s USL Fans’ Choice Goal of the Week award.
USL Fans’ Choice Goal of the Week – Week 7
Victor Souto - #PGHvTOR, 5/3/17: Souto’s first professional goal landed him on SportsCenter’s Top 10 at the No. 2 slot, and also gave the Riverhounds victory against Toronto.
Souto’s first professional goal landed him on SportsCenter’s Top 10 at the No. 2 slot, and also gave the Riverhounds victory against Toronto. Dane Kelly - #PHXvRNO, 5/6/17: Kelly notched a hat trick to lead Reno to its first win in club history, with the third the pick of the trio against Phoenix.
Kelly notched a hat trick to lead Reno to its first win in club history, with the third the pick of the trio against Phoenix. Jimmy McLaughlin - #RICvCIN, 5/6/17: McLaughlin’s first goal of the season came via a clinical finish after a standout piece of build-up play by Kadeem Dacres and Matt Bahner
McLaughlin’s first goal of the season came via a clinical finish after a standout piece of build-up play by Kadeem Dacres and Matt Bahner Jerry van Ewijk - #OCvLA, 5/6/17: Van Ewijk’s perfect chipped finish gave Orange County a two-goal lead as it swept to victory against Los Dos in the opening game at Orange County Great Park
Van Ewijk’s perfect chipped finish gave Orange County a two-goal lead as it swept to victory against Los Dos in the opening game at Orange County Great Park Kharlton Belmar - #SPRvVAN, 5/5/17: Belmar’s fourth goal of the season capped a great first half for the Rangers against Vancouver, with Lebo Moloto’s blind pass to set it up perfectly guided.
Voting will continue through 9 a.m. ET on Thursday, May 11. | 728 |
Washington (AFP) - Washington is considering arming Syrian Kurdish forces who will join the offensive to retake the Islamic State group's stronghold of Raqa, the US military's top officer said Thursday.
Though the United States has already helped arm Kurdish fighters in Iraq, a similar move in Syria is more contentious as key ally Turkey regards the group as terrorists and allies of PKK separatists fighting within Turkish borders.
"We're in deliberation about exactly what to do with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) right now," General Joe Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the Senate Armed Services Committee.
The SDF numbers about 30,000 fighters and is made up largely of Kurds, though Syrian Arabs also form a significant component.
While the Pentagon has already provided military equipment to the SDF, it insists these shipments have only gone to the Arab part.
The United States is helping train and advise the SDF, as they are expected to conduct the eventual push to retake Raqa, the de-facto capital of IS's self-declared "caliphate."
"They are our most effective partner on the ground. It's very difficult as you know, managing a relationship between our support for the Syrian Democratic Forces and our Turkish allies," Dunford said.
"We're working very closely with our Turkish allies to come up with the right approach... and still allay the Turkish concerns about the Kurds' long-term political prospects."
When asked by a lawmaker if arming the Syrian Kurds would make the SDF more effective, Dunford said: "I would agree."
"If we would reinforce the Syrian Democratic Forces' current capabilities, that will increase the prospects of our success in Raqa," he said.
Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said no "specific decision" had been taken on the issue. He did not directly respond when asked if he would support arming the Syrian Kurds.
"I support whatever is required to help them move in the direction of Raqa," Carter said.
Story continues
Forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad's regime were pushed out of Raqa, which lies on the Euphrates River, in 2013, making it the first provincial capital in Syria to fall out of government control.
IS rapidly infiltrated the city, which is strategically located near the Turkish border, and declared a caliphate in 2014.
Ousting IS from the city would be a turning point in the conflict and mark a huge blow to the jihadists. | 729 |
The Beast-Tamer
A crack of the whip. A lion’s roar. The gasps of countless patrons. A calamitous bang! Then, the deafening wave of applause. The tent shakes from the vibrations as you duck under the flap, heading back to your room. The defeated beast, caged now, rolls in behind you. A limp paw hangs between the iron bars. As soon as the flap falls back to the dirt, the beast hops to its feet. The cage opens and the ferocious predator leaps onto you in a single bound! You wrestle with your long time companion, “What a great show! A little dramatic at the end though, we really sold it!”
Swords clash all around the young elf. Instead of fighting she waits, drawing in her foes, letting them believe they have the upper hand. They cackle at her, they don't hear it. The rustling leaves. She smiles and they pause. Now they hear it, but its too late. Branches crack, and a dark shadow falls over them. An Owlbear pounces, Leaping over its master and mauling her enemies.
Merchants call out to busy city-folk. Wagon wheels spin in the mud, splattering unfortunate bystanders. The carts sludge through the rain puddled road, unperturbed by the storm. A tavern door bursts open and the cacophony from within spills out onto the street. Inside, shouts of laughter and wonder surround a small gnome. He hunches over like he's been struck and the room falls silent. He curls further into himself. And just as a concerned patron approaches... He leaps up! Beneath him a python the size of a man uncoils. The bar erupts in fear. Then in applause as the gnome continues to rise, balancing himself on his companion's head.
The Patient Hand The Beast-Tamer is a class of patience and training. When training monsters of all shapes and sizes impatience can lead to a few fingers missing... or worse. Their role in combat mimics their training techniques. Rather than rush into battle A beast-tamer waits. Pulling in their enemies, waiting until the precise moment, then striking with a flourish! While fully capable of stealing the show (and sometimes saving it) a beast-tamer prefers to lift those around them rather than take up all of the spotlight. Although deadly when needed, they find themselves most effective working in tandem with their creature companion. | 730 |
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As if the failure to achieve their seven-year goal of repealing the Affordable Care Act wasn’t bad enough for Republicans, a new poll released on Monday shows that Americans are still celebrating the GOP’s epic failure to pass Trumpcare (officially known as the American Health Care Act).
According to the HuffPost/YouGov survey, just 6 percent of the country was strongly in favor of the health care plan, which Trump failed to usher through Congress. Overall, 52 percent of the country opposed the effort. By a seven-point margin, people want Republicans to give up and work on other issues.
Worse? Not even a majority of the president’s supporters liked the legislation.
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“Trump voters were only lukewarmly positive about AHCA,” the Huffington Post reported. “45 percent say that they supported it and 31 percent that they opposed it.”
That’s right – Trump’s dealmaking skills were so bad during his push to repeal Obamacare that he couldn’t even get more than half of his own voters on board with the legislation. Perhaps that’s because Trumpcare would hurt the president’s own supporters the most.
More of the survey’s results:
The American Health Care Act, which was deeply unpopular during its brief lifespan, is no more popular in its demise. Just 21 percent say they supported it, with a majority, 52 percent, saying they were opposed. The 6 percent who say they strongly favored the bill are outnumbered nearly 6 to 1 by those who strongly opposed it. Americans say by a 7-percentage-point margin, 44 percent to 37 percent, that Republicans should move on to other issues rather than proposing another health care bill. Just under half think Donald Trump and Congress are still at least somewhat likely to repeal Obamacare, with 35 percent saying they’ll be disappointed if it remains standing.
It seems that nobody other than a handful of Republicans in Congress and the Trump White House were in favor of the disastrous health care bill, which is why the American people are pretty satisfied it didn’t pass. Still, it won’t soon be forgotten by voters what the president and his GOP allies tried to do to the health care system – kick 24 million Americans off their insurance and give a nice tax cut to the wealthy.
Republicans are now scrambling to move on from their health care collapse, but the epic GOP humiliation lives on. | 731 |
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Heading into the offseason, the Los Angeles Dodgers had a group of players who were eligible for salary arbitration. The list grew when Dee Gordon was ruled a Super Two and thus eligible for arbitration earlier than initially anticipated.
More names were added to the group as the Dodgers traded for Juan Nicasio and more recently, outfielder Chris Heisey hours before the tender deadline on Tuesday. Once the dust settled, the group of arbitration-eligible players included Darwin Barney, Drew Butera, A.J. Ellis, Gordon, Heisey, Kenley Jansen, Nicasio and Justin Turner.
Whereas several other teams announced their decisions well in advance of the 9 p.m. PT deadline, the Dodgers operated in a different manner. It wasn’t until after the deadline passed that the team announced they signed Barney to a one-year, $2.525 million deal and tendered contracts to the remaining seven players.
The Dodgers acquired Barney from the Chicago Cubs prior to last season’s trading deadline and he quickly became a strong defensive option for manager Don Mattingly. Of the players eligible to be tendered, Ellis presented the most intriguing situation.
Ellis struggled with injuries last season and the Dodgers were believed to have been interested in Russell Martin. Despite Ellis finishing the year batting below.200, Ellis turned his hitting around in the postseason and twice publicly received support from Clayton Kershaw.
With a position change to second base, Gordon is coming off the best season of his career that earned him a trip to the All-Star Game; Gordon led the Majors in stolen bases and triples. Turner signed with the Dodgers last offseason after being non-tendered by the New York Mets and wound up being a valuable commodity.
Kenley Jansen earned a career-best 44 saves in what was his first full season as closer. Jansen sits fifth on the Dodgers’ All-Time saves list with 105. If both Butera and Ellis are signed, it may signal the Dodgers will move forward with the same catchers as last season. While either conceivably could be traded, both are out of options and would need to clear waivers if sent to the Minors.
The players who were tendered contracts remain eligible for arbitration, though the Dodgers could avoid the process if they’re able to come to terms with them. The Dodgers’ 40-man roster remains full with Tuesday’s developments. | 732 |
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FIA race director Charlie Whiting believes Zandvoort would need "minimal" changes in order to host a Formula 1 grand prix.
Whiting recently visited Zandvoort to determine what course of action would be needed to bring the circuit up to modern F1 specification, having last hosted the Dutch GP in 1985.
The track was then rebuilt and shortened to its current length of 4.3kms (2.6 miles) and it has hosted contemporary F1 machinery in demo runs, with Max Verstappen breaking the track record in a 2012 car earlier this year.
The circuit co-owner has also stated that an F1 return to Zandvoort is "realistic," with Whiting now believing it is a feasible project.
"I think there's great potential there in Zandvoort," said Whiting when asked by Autosport.
"A few things need to be changed there, and there's a great willingness to change. "But I think it's rather too early to be talking about that.
"They're coming back to us with some proposals, and we'll see purely from a circuit point of view - nothing to do with the commercial elements of it - but from a circuit safety point of view I think it could be done.
"There would be a nice long straight good enough to use DRS well, and you'd maintain the historic elements of the circuit as well. I think it would be a very nice circuit."
Asked if changes to the layout would be required, Whiting said: "Not a lot. The amount of work is relatively minimal."
Whiting stressed that more elements will need to be considered before the venue would meet all of F1's requirements.
"I went to look at it [Zandvoort] from a safety point of view," Whiting added. "Could the track be modified to cope with modern F1 cars? That's all.
"Now how big the paddocks are, access, where you are going to put spectators is not something that I would get involved in normally."
Following the Russian GP, Whiting travelled to Hanoi to look at a potential site of a Vietnamese GP.
The site is around 9kms (5.6 miles) outside of Hanoi in an area undergoing development, with some roads intended to be used in a grand prix yet to be built. | 733 |
Turkish court blocks Twitter for hours, issues media ban over bombing
Hacer Boyacıoğlu - ANKARA
A Turkish court blocked Twitter for more than two hours after ordering a publication ban on photos and videos of the deadly bombing in southeastern Turkey in the latest instance of a gag order on the media after major crises.At least 32 political activists and aid volunteers were killed in a municipal cultural center in Şanlıurfa’s Suruç district on July 20, right before they were due to cross the border to help with rebuilding the Syrian Kurdish town of Kobane.The Suruç Magistrate of Peace banned “the publication of visual material related to the terror attack” by newspapers and televisions on July 22, state-run Anadolu Agency reported.The court also blocked Internet access to the images, the agency added.The ban was revoked after two hours when Twitter complied with all the court requests.Daily Hürriyet has learned that the court ordered Twitter to remove 107 pieces of content. Twitter quickly complied by removing 50 articles, but failed to remove the remaining 57 before the four-hour deadline imposed by the court, which led to the censure.The hashtag #TwitterBlockinTurkey entered the worlwide trending topics list on Twitter soon after the fresh ban.The ban was revoked after two hours when Twitter complied with all the court requests.“If you had expended efforts to safeguard national security instead of blocking Twitter, we would neither have experienced these tragedies nor would we have had our access blocked,” Republican People’s Party (CHP) chairman Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu said, addressing to the government.The CHP is currently in talks to form a coalition government with the AKP after the ruling party lost its parliamentary majority in the June 7 general election.From 2010 to 2014, Turkish media faced over 150 gag orders, Hürriyet reported last year. The subjects of the bans have included deadly attacks, corruption cases, the wiretapping of officials, a mining disaster and even football match-fixing claims.In March, Turkey blocked access to Twitter, hours after then-Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan vowed to close down the social media platform. The access was later restored by Turkey’s Constitutional Court, which cited a violation of citizen rights.On July 21, the governorate of Şanlıurfa, announced a ban on rallies, marches and similar gatherings in order to prevent any future potential incidents. | 734 |
Donald Trump kicked off the post-midterms era of his presidency on Wednesday by firing Attorney General Jeff Sessions, as part of a not-at-all disguised attempt to quash the ongoing investigation into the Trump campaign by special counsel Robert Mueller. Among his other qualifications for the job, interim replacement Matt Whitaker has said that the probe has "gone too far," and could be easily obstructed if only the Justice Department were controlled by a partisan loyalist willing to choke funds and seal records at the president's direction.
With that now the case, Democrats and other proponents of basic norms and laws are sounding the emergency alarm bells. On Thursday morning, New York Congressman Jerry Nadler—who will come January chair the House Judiciary Committee—described the situation as a "constitutionally perilous moment for our country," and promised consequences if Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein were to be taken off the investigation. And it appears that has happened with Whitaker's appointment—a Justice Department spokesperson confirmed yesterday that "the Acting Attorney General is in charge of all matters under the purview of the Department of Justice." [Emphasis added.]
Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Dianne Feinstein has also sent letters to top officials in the Trump administration demanding the preservation of all documents and materials related to the special counsel.
I cannot believe I'm going to have to march in anger at the fact that racist woodsprite Jeff Sessions lost his job, but here we are. — Mark Harris (@MarkHarrisNYC) November 7, 2018
Thousands of protesters are expected to rally in Times Square at 5 p.m. on Thursday, as part of a rapid response demonstration against President Trump's interference. Protest organizers—a coalition that includes MoveOn, Rise and Resist, and PEN America—will demand that the House Judiciary Committee immediately begin hearings into the president for obstruction, and that the Senate establish a "Watergate-type Select Committee" to investigate Trump's ties with Russia.
"The timing here is not a coincidence,” said Shannon Stagman, a member of Empire State Indivisible. “Donald Trump acted while we were still embroiled in midterm elections because he wanted to catch us off guard. But we’re always ready to rise up and defend the rule of law."
The activists will march down 7th Avenue toward Union Square, where there will be speakers and music from 6:45 p.m. until 8 p.m. Additional protests are in the works for Bayside and Far Rockaway—more info here. | 735 |
as could be.
“Oh, hi! Listen, I’ve got a couple more patients to check on, so just go ahead and wait at reception. I’ll be out in a sec.” She then walked down the hall, to room 237, or 243, or something, someone.
And just like that, my tension was gone. Making it to some silly bar for some silly song that no one understands the words to, it all seemed, well, it all seemed as stupid as it actually was.
The New Year is a big deal for most of us, who have the choice of heading to London for chaos, looking for wild orgies in Newcastle, or just having a quiet night at home. But for these people — our sick, our dying — spending New Year’s Eve in the neurological ward of a hospital, December 31, 2011 was just another night, a night you pray for resilience and search for any remaining strands of hope. The residents of room 235, or 237, or 243, didn’t have a disappointing New Year’s Eve; they had no chance at such luck. All they could do, with fluid draining into their bloodstream, as they breathed through a tube in their neck, was gather a small amount of family members to circle around a smelly bed in an antiseptic room and celebrate the fact that they even had this moment.
Only the healthy, the spoiled, the fortunate get to decide which fun place they’ll ring in the New Year at. Not here, not in room 235.
I know this would be a better story if we never made it out of the hospital, if I rang in 2012 by holding the hand of a crippled child and singing hymns. Well, sorry, but we eventually made it to Camden, with 10 minutes to spare. We counted down the last 10 seconds with some band called Stir, we all rocked to an unoriginal but still fun rock version of Auld Lang Syne, and I even had somebody to kiss. But if you ask me how my New Year’s Eve was, I’ll tell you it was the most fulfilling and most memorable one I’ve had in years.
Spent in a hospital, musing about room 235, thankful I had the freedom to celebrate at all, thankful I have friends and family to celebrate it with.
And I didn’t even have to avoid any nerve gas to do it. | 736 |
Image copyright Reuters Image caption The airline boss's younger daughter was involved in a water-throwing incident this month
The CEO of Korean Air says his two daughters are resigning after separate incidents that led to allegations of abuse of power inside the company.
Police are investigating the younger daughter, Cho Hyun-min, after she allegedly splashed water in a colleague's face.
Her older sister infamously delayed a flight in 2014 over a packet of nuts - and served jail time for the incident.
In a statement, their father apologised to the public and his employees.
Cho Yang-ho said his daughters would be stripped of all their responsibilities, Yonhap news agency reports.
Both cases hit the headlines in the country and reopened a national debate about the Korean business system, which is dominated by family firms known as chaebols.
Ms Cho, 36, apologised for her "foolish and reckless behaviour" in the most recent incident earlier this month.
Cho Hyun-min, also known as Emily, who was senior vice-president of the company, reportedly lost her temper because she was unhappy with answers to her questions in a meeting. She denied throwing water but admitted to shoving the advertising agency manager.
Dozens of online petitions to South Korea's presidential website were launched, demanding she be punished.
The airline was already under intense scrutiny after the CEO's eldest daughter, Cho Hyun-ah, known as Heather in English, flew into a rage when macadamia nuts were served to her in a bag and not on a plate on a Seoul-bound flight from New York four years ago.
Image copyright Getty Images Image caption The elder sister, Cho Hyun-ah, spent five months in prison over the 'nut rage' incident
Ms Cho, 44, was convicted of violating aviation safety, coercion and abuse of power in 2015 and served five months in jail.
She had been back at work for less than month, as an executive of the airline's hotel affiliate, when her father announced her decision to step down on Sunday.
The sisters are granddaughters of the founder of Hanjin Group, one of South Korea's massive family-run business empires.
Their brother, Cho Won-tae, remains president and chief operating officer of Korean Air.
According to Yonhap, the Korean Air offices and homes of the three offspring were searched by police on Thursday amid separate allegations they had avoided paying duties on luxury goods. | 737 |
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Alarms bark at me from all around, warning me of an enemy missile lock. While my hands send my craft left to dodge, my head turns right to seek my next target. The cockpit around me protects me from the vacuum of space.
The demo of CCP’s virtual reality space dogfighter EVE?Valkyrie only lasts for 90 seconds, but it takes a fraction of that to see the appeal of virtual reality: both to developers and consumers. It’s a technology that we’ve been longing for since first discovering it in the realms of science fiction – and now we can physically put it over our heads. Now it’s science fact.
Oculus Rift has, of course, been making waves for almost two years now, and it was perhaps inevitable that one of the traditional platform holders would fight back with something like PlayStation’s Project Morpheus. But I don’t think anyone can honestly say they predicted that Facebook would muscle in with a $2bn acquisition of the pioneering Oculus VR.
The why and the how of this surprising deal invites interesting discussions, but the burning question is: now what? As an indie, Oculus was a nice project for us to follow in the hopes that it would one day be in our hands. But with Facebook now calling the shots and Sony shouting about its own tech, virtual reality has just been given a violent shove from potential game-changer to oncoming storm.
For a concept as ambitious as VR to have gained such high-profile attention, you can’t help but feel that even more heads will be turning to the tech in the next few months.
Last month, I would have said virtual reality wouldn’t be available to the public for another year or so. Now it’s impossible to resist dreaming that it might be on shelves in time for Christmas.
And, far more than any next generation console, virtual reality really does open doors to developers to create entirely new experiences, titles that we still can’t conceive. It will be a bumpy road, with many fresh obstacles to overcome, but its a journey that we on Develop will hopefully be able to guide you through in the coming years.
Want to get involved in our VR special all this week? Have something to say about virtual reality and what it means for developers? Email [email protected] to find out how you can take part. | 738 |
demons.
And speaking of fighting demons, DMX recently came out in a podcast and unleashed a powerful rap/prayer called “Amen.” He even spoke about how he has been delivered from drug addiction.
DMX has always proclaimed to be a Christian despite what some of his lyrical content may otherwise suggest. In interviews, he has said that the persona he embodies in his music is just a character. He is not the same person that is portrayed in the songs. Nevertheless, the person in the tracks has caught up to DMX has he struggles to find the balance between a Christian man with aspirations to one day be a pastor, to someone who can’t stay clean.
The opening line of “Amen” is, “Dear Lord, I need to be rescued…please tell me the test is through.”
“…cause he knows my heart/And what grows from the start, glows in the dark/knows from the start, I was chosen as part,” rapped DMX.
“Imma give it to Jesus cause it ain’t my fight” he proclaims in another part.
Other content includes having faith, relying on Jesus for healing, and the power of the Word of God.
The examples listed above are “Christian” songs done by secular artists. With that being said, what would it take for these performers to be considered Christian artists? Would they have to put out an entire album of songs like that? Would they have to stop swearing or using derogatory vocabulary? What are the parameters of being a Christian artist? If these songs done by non-Christian artists are touching people and bringing people to Jesus, then wouldn’t that song be a form of ministering?
It is a rather interesting development, and something that needs some discussion because it is becoming more and more noticeable. With Christian music now cracking the Billboard charts and outselling secular artists, has making Christian art become cool because it’s profitable? Has culture become more accepting of Christianity if it’s packaged in your favorite artists’ catalog? Or maybe it is in fact that Christian music’s infiltration of mainstream music is starting to touch other artists. Whatever the answer or non-answer is, there are a lot of questions to be raised.
What do you think? Christian themed music, a fad or genuine? Stay tuned as we continue to unpack this discussion. | 739 |
a healthcare sharing ministry — an association of religiously like-minded people, primarily Christians, who cover one another’s medical costs.
Legislators and others who opposed including this exemption in California’s law argue that the ministries are subject to little regulatory scrutiny, the coverage they offer is limited, and it’s not guaranteed. More recently, concerns have arisen about sham ministries engaged in deceptive business practices.
Dr. Dave Weldon, president of the Alliance of Health Care Sharing Ministries, acknowledges some of the limitations and says the organizations he represents “all counsel their members that this is not insurance, there’s no contract, there’s no obligation to pay.”
Bob Stedman, 55, says he and his family were exempt from the federal penalty every year because of their membership in Samaritan Ministries International. The Lake Forest resident plans to take the same exemption under the California law.
Stedman figures he’s saving about $1,000 to $1,500 a month in premiums compared with regular insurance, and was pleased when the $50,000 bill he received following a stroke was heavily discounted by the hospital and then almost entirely covered by other ministry members. And knowing his money is not being used to finance abortions, which most commercial health plans in California are required to cover, gives him “the benefit of a clear conscience,” he says.
Weldon says the exemption is warranted on those grounds alone. “This nation has a long history of religious accommodation,” he says.
If you’re not sure whether you might qualify for an exemption, you can get more information from Covered California or the tax board.
Contact Covered California at its website or by phone: (800) 300-1506. You can log on to the tax board site, or call (800) 852-5711.
But don’t limit yourself to those two agencies. Insurance agents and tax preparers across the state are trying to master the details of the new law, and they can help.
For a list of insurance agents whose help is free, log on to the Covered California website and click on “find help,” or go to the website of the National Association of Health Underwriters and select “find an agent.” The California Society of Tax Consultants and the California Society of CPAs can help you find a tax preparer.
Advertisement | 740 |
reaction that your extended guitar outro gets…
PP: I believe they react well. Nobody has thrown bottles at us… so far.
SEM: How much improvisation went into that outro when you recorded it?
PP: There is a certain degree of improvisation both live and in studio in all the songs. Live, we play most of the songs that are in the album a bit differently.
Songs evolve, but we like to record them in their early stages. There is a form and structure, of course: specific areas where you should go in a given cue or time, but what you do in the in-betweens, when you are trying to work with the principle of uncertainty, you always have to leave some room for whatever can happen.
SEM: “Stakhanovets/Kalumet” clocks in at 13:35. How, in your opinion, do 10 000 Russos manage to keep listeners engaged for the entire song?
PP: I believe a listener can answer this question better than any of us in the band, but if you are in a trippy groove, you’ll probably feel engaged all the way.
These two songs bind together in a special way. “Kalumet” didn’t exist before going into the studio. We had another song that was supposed to go to the album – “Battle of Montevideo” – but when we were doing a take of “Stakhanovets,” we just didn’t stop playing afterwards.
When listening to the whole take in the studio, it made sense to keep these two together. Conceptually, it goes from all-out war to the remains of battle to finish in the peace pipe.
SEM: What’s next for 10 000 Russos? Live shows? Another record? Both?
PP: All of it! Well, we’ll keep working on new songs, for sure. That’s what we like doing. This month, we’re going down south to do some sessions in an ancient cromlech, and we’ll play in Reverence Valada, followed by a few shows with the Magic Castles. Afterwards, in the autumn, we’ll be working on going on an European tour.
SEM: Thank you, Pedro.
PP: Cheers, Paul! Abraço. | 741 |
LAS VEGAS (Reuters) - Hackers attending this weekend’s Def Con hacking convention in Las Vegas were invited to break into voting machines and voter databases in a bid to uncover vulnerabilities that could be exploited to sway election results.
The 25-year-old conference’s first “hacker voting village” opened on Friday as part of an effort to raise awareness about the threat of election results being altered through hacking.
Hackers crammed into a crowded conference room for the rare opportunity to examine and attempt to hack some 30 pieces of election equipment, much of it purchased over eBay, including some voting machines and digital voter registries that are currently in use.
“We encourage you to do stuff that if you did on election day they would probably arrest you,” said Johns Hopkins computer scientist Matt Blaze, who organized the segment in a conference room at the Caesar’s Palace convention center.
The exercise featured a “cyber range” simulator where blue teams were tasked with defending a mock local election system from red team hackers.
Concerns about election hacking have surged since U.S. intelligence agencies claimed that Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the hacking of Democratic Party emails to help Republican Donald Trump win the 2016 U.S. presidential election.
A Department of Homeland Security official told Congress in June that Russian hackers had targeted 21 U.S. state election systems in the 2016 presidential race and a small number were breached, but there was no evidence that any votes had been manipulated.
Russia has denied the accusations.
Jake Braun, another organizer, said he believed the hacker voting village would convince participants that hacking could be used to sway an election.
“There’s been a lot of claims that our election system is unhackable. That’s BS,” said Braun. “Only a fool or liar would try to claim that their database or machine was unhackable.”
Barbara Simons, president of advocacy group Verified Voting, said she expects Russia to try to influence the U.S. 2018 midterm election and 2020 elections. To counter such threats, she called for requiring use of paper ballots and mandatory auditing computers to count them.
More than 20,000 people were expected to attend the three-day Def Con convention.
The hacker voting village was one of about a dozen interactive areas where participants could study and practice hacking in fields such as automobiles, cryptology and healthcare. | 742 |
MARCH 15
Santa Cruz Warriors can clinch division title with a win AND a Stockton Kings loss.
Long Island Nets can clinch division title and a first-round bye with a win.
Windy City Bulls can clinch a playoff spot with a win OR a Greensboro Swarm loss.
Delaware Blue Coats will be eliminated with a loss AND a Grand Rapids Drive win.
Erie BayHawks will be eliminated with a Grand Rapids Drive win.
MARCH 13
Long Island Nets clinch division title with TWO wins.
Erie BayHawks are eliminated with TWO losses OR with ONE loss AND wins by both Windy City Bulls and Grand Rapids Drive
Westchester Knicks clinch a playoff spot with a Greensboro Swarm loss.
Maine Red Claws are eliminated with a loss OR a Grand Rapids Drive win.
MARCH 12
Stockton Kings can clinch a playoff spot with a win.
AUSTIN Spurs will be eliminated with a win by EITHER Salt Lake City OR Agua Caliente.
Canton Charge will be eliminated with a loss.
MARCH 11
Oklahoma City Blue clinches division title with a Sioux Falls Skyforce loss.
Westchester Knicks clinches a playoff spot with a win.
Raptors 905 clinches a playoff spot with a win.
Austin Spurs are eliminated with a Sioux Falls Skyforce win.
MARCH 9
Stockton Kings can clinch a playoff spot with a win AND a loss by EITHER Sioux Falls Skyforce or Agua Caliente Clippers.
South Bay Lakers will be eliminated with a loss OR a Sioux Falls Skyforce win.
Austin Spurs will be eliminated with a loss OR a Sioux Falls Skyforce win.
MARCH 8
Stockton Kings can clinch a playoff spot with a win AND a Salt Lake City loss.
Long Island Nets can clinch a playoff spot with a win AND a loss by EITHER Capital City OR Grand Rapids.
MARCH 7
South Bay Lakers are eliminated with a loss tonight.
MARCH 6
Oklahoma City Blue can clinch a playoff spot with a win today.
MARCH 5
Iowa Wolves will be eliminated with a Memphis Hustle win.
MARCH 3
The Rio Grande Valley Vipers can clinch the Southwest Division and a playoff berth with a win today over the Iowa Wolves. | 743 |
Columnists Charles Krauthammer called President Obama's claim Tuesday that he had no knowledge of any government officials being threatened for giving information about the Benghazi consulate attack "slightly incredible," during a panel discussion on "Special Report."
Fellow Fox News panelist Kirsten Powers called Obama's denial more evidence his administration does not take Benghazi seriously.
Fox News reported Monday at least four officials in the State Department and CIA were in the process of retaining lawyers or had already done so as they prepared to divulge sensitive information about the assault to Congress. Victoria Toensing, a former Justice Department official and Republican counsel to the Senate Intelligence Committee representing one of the State Department employees, told Fox News her client and some of the others, who consider themselves whistle-blowers, have been threatened by unnamed Obama administration officials.
But Obama, under questioning from Fox News' Ed Henry, claimed to not be familiar with anybody being blocked from testifying or that that any whistleblowers had sought legal counsel.
Krauthammer was highly incredulous of Obama's response, given Fox News' extensive coverage of Benghazi and the subsequent investigation into the attack that killed four Americans Sept. 11, 2012.
"Nobody at the White House has access to Fox News?" he asked. "This is slightly incredible, and it's a rather weak response for the president. He knew he was going to be calling on Ed Henry as the first question, because of his role [as president of] the White House Correspondents Association. He knew that Fox, or at least his staff knew that Fox had broken the story, spent a lot of effort on this story and time on the story last night. And he pretends he never heard of it? Call me skeptical."
Powers said it was very possible Obama's claim was true because his administration has never taken Benghazi seriously.
"They may have also not told the president about it, because they don't want him to have to answer any questions about it," she said. "This is a White House that actually has a pretty storied history of intimidating whistleblowers and prosecuting whistleblowers. It's not something the president is going to want to talk about."
Obama also repeated his claim Tuesday that his administration would bring the perpetrators of the Benghazi attack to justice. Nearly eight months afterwards, no one has been held responsible.
A 46-page House Republican report released last week included accusations that government officials purposely altered talking points about the attack to remove references to participation of al-Qaeda or Islamic extremists.
| 744 |
-year-old great-granddaughter, then dragged her mother out and shot her in the face. They left her expensive jewellery. The family believes this was a hit ordered by Pakistani intelligence. Nawab Bugti's grandson, Brahamdagh, lives in exile in Switzerland and is presumed the leader of another insurgent group, the Baloch Republican Army (BRA).
The violence is cascading. Baloch separatists have been on a killing spree of their own, aimed at Punjabi “settlers”, whose families may in fact have lived in the province for generations. The BLA gunned down a respected professor, Nazma Talib, by the gates of Balochistan University in Quetta, where she taught mass communication. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, an independent organisation, believes 800 settlers have been murdered since 2006, seemingly by separatists.
The rebels have also killed hundreds of fellow Baloch whom they accuse of siding with Pakistan. Six young, apparently unarmed men were tried and executed by the BRA in March in the rebel stronghold of Dera Bugti. Many passing civilians have been killed by insurgents' landmines.
Unconnected violence affects the province's Shia minority. Over 600 Shias have been killed over the past decade by Sunni jihadist groups. Late last year, buses were twice ambushed, and the Shia passengers were singled out and shot.
The police patrol just 5% of Balochistan. The rest is manned by tribal “levies” and the FC, which has 50,000 troops. Security sources estimate the strength of the armed separatists at 1,500-4,000 men. They are supported—with money, influence or sympathy—by some members of the powerful Bugti tribe and by parts of the Baloch middle class. This makes today's insurgency stronger than previous ones, but the separatists will nevertheless struggle to prevail over Pakistan's huge army. “Overall, the situation is under control,” the provincial home secretary, Naseebullah Bazai, insists.
In theory, provincial politicians should be able to settle the conflict before it gets worse. In practice, the corruption of local politics makes this unlikely. In March Lashkari Raisani, the brother of the province's chief minister, resigned from the Senate, Pakistan's upper house of parliament, complaining that politicians in Quetta and Islamabad were “not serious” about Balochistan. “We are going toward the point of no return,” he warns. | 745 |
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — The officer seen in a video punching a woman along the 10 Freeway in July could face “potentially serious charges” after the California Highway Patrol forwarded its investigation Wednesday to the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office.
Officer Daniel Andrew, who was seen hitting Marlene Pinnock on a cellphone video taken July 1, has had his peace officer duties revoked effective immediately and was moved from desk duty to administrative time off, officials said.
Although law enforcement agencies have primary responsibility to investigate allegations of misconduct, the DA’s Office requires “all allegations of criminal misconduct by law enforcement personnel, where probable cause exists to believe that a crime has been committed, must be referred to that office for review and consideration of filing of criminal charges,” according to the CHP.
A video, taken by a passerby, showed the officer punching Pinnock, a 51-year-old grandmother who was reportedly walking barefoot along the shoulder of the freeway near the La Brea Avenue.
CBS2’s Juan Fernandez reported that it took investigators seven weeks to prepare their findings for presentation to District Attorney Jackie Lacey, although Pinnock’s attorney, Caree Harper, questioned the length of time.
“I want some sort of action. I want some people put in jail right now,” said Harper. “If it were you or I, we would have been put in jail immediately. There would have been no questions asked.”
The DA’s Office will review the investigation and decide on the filing of criminal charges against Andrew. The CHP will also complete its ongoing internal administrative investigation, which is a separate process from the criminal investigation.
“The CHP understands the public’s interest in this case, and it is our desire to be as transparent as possible while adhering to the laws and due process that govern any investigation,” the agency said in a statement. “We value the public’s trust and appreciate the community’s patience as we complete this important process.”
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CHP Officer Accused In Beating Of Grandmother Identified In Federal Lawsuit
Woman Seen Being Beaten By CHP Officer Finally Breaks Her Silence
CHP Investigating Excessive Force Charge In Beating Of Woman
CHP Investigating Beating Of Woman On Shoulder Of 10 Freeway | 746 |
One of the most recognisable figures on Wall Street, Charlie Munger has compared cryptocurrency investors to the infamous figure from the Bible, Judas Iscariot (commonly just known as Judas).
The billionaire investor and Vice Chairman for Berkshire Hathaway have followed on in his criticism for the world’s biggest cryptocurrency, which has been ongoing for numerous years now. Munger’s comments come after his long-time partner Warren Buffett make remarks to Bitcoin, calling it a ‘gambling device’. Furthermore, he said that the state of Bitcoin and cryptocurrency investment is like a stage for fraudulent individuals and charlatans, despite the growth in value in cryptocurrencies.
Instead, Buffett used the opportunity to continue his attack against Bitcoin by market cap and claimed that the leading cryptocurrency was the reason behind a series of frauds and ‘disappearances’ in relation to BTC. Munger shared a similar sentiment.
As reported by Ethereum World News:
“The comments were made in relation to Munger being invited to a cryptocurrency event by an unnamed digital assets group. Despite declining the invitation, Munger managed to sneak in his views towards Bitcoin and cryptocurrency, which amounted to more negative press for the industry in the vein of comments made by Warren Buffett.”
The most recent comments made by Munger aren’t the first digs towards Bitcoin by the Wall Street guru.
Last year, Munger said that crypto trading is like ‘dementia’, going on to say:
“And I think the people who are professional traders that go into trading cryptocurrencies, it’s just disgusting. It’s like somebody else is trading turds and you decide, ‘I can’t be left out.'”
So even though Munger and Buffett like to slate Bitcoin, especially when the asset lost eighty percent of its value in 2018 during the crypto winter, now we are experiencing some fuel by the bulls, neither one of them want to pipe up and say something.
“Sentiment towards both cryptocurrency and Bitcoin took a 180 degree turn in the last month, with Bitcoin approaching the $6000 mark for the first time in the last six months, since November 2018. While the markets faltered at the beginning of last week, when news broke that the New York Attorney General’s office accused Bitfinex of defrauding investors and manipulating the market of cryptocurrency, the price of Bitcoin has since recovered.” | 747 |
Based on the number of jokes about X-Men in Deadpool, you’d think the screenwriters would’ve had to ask for permission from Marvel higher-ups every time they turned around — but that’s not the case. Apparently, they only needed to ask permission for one plot-point: Negasonic Teenage Warhead’s powers.
On the Q&A podcast, screenwriters Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese admitted that they only wanted to include the character because of her name. Then, they found out that her super-powers weren’t quite as exciting as her name, and then they had to figure out how to fix that.
In the comics, Negasonic Teenage Warhead doesn’t have the same powers that she has in the Deadpool movie — but since she’s a pretty obscure character, most people may not realize that. Her original powers are telepathy and pre-cognition, but in the movie, she can turn her body into a charged explosive — which fits better with the “warhead” in her name. In Rheese’s words, they wanted to make her “into a literal warhead because we thought it was funnier.”
This ended up being the main sticking point for Marvel, though. Wernick elaborated,
It was the one thing we needed Marvel’s actual approval on, that they had to reach out for. [Director] Tim [Miller] has a relationship with [Marvel President] Kevin Feige and I think he went straight to Kevin because all the lawyers, you know, it gets messy with the lawyers.
In other words, the Deadpool team must have had the rights to refer to any other aspect of Marvel canon, so long as they didn’t alter any of it. I guess that’s why the movie could get away with making fun of Wolverine: Origins so mercilessly? But then I’m left wondering why they didn’t let Vanessa have her Copycat powers — did they think it would be too complicated, what with all the other stuff going on in the movie?
(via CBR, image via Screen Rant)
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Have a tip we should know? [email protected] | 748 |
Image 1 of 4 The Tour of Beijing panda poses for a picture with the other Martin, world time trial champion Tony Martin. (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 2 of 4 David Lopez Garcia, Benat Intxausti and Daniel Martin made up the final Tour of Beijing podium (Image credit: AFP Photo) Image 3 of 4 The Tour of Beijing panda keeps watch over the peloton on the road to Qiandiajian on stage 3. (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 4 of 4 Andy Schleck making friends in China at the Tour of Beijing (Image credit: Barry Ryan)
The Tour of Beijing will host its fourth and final edition this October. UCI President Brian Cookson confirmed to L’Équipe they would not be renewing their contract with race organisers Global Cycling Promotion (GCP) for 2015. The French paper speculated that the new guard at the UCI is looking to sever ties with the race.
"I do not think that's the case,” Cookson told the paper. “We have been having discussions with them for some time. They have other goals and want to do different things. We too want to do something different, we believe that we need to change the direction taken by GCP.”
Speculation about the race’s future has been spreading, with GCP director Alain Rumpf telling Cyclingnews in August a new contract wasn’t yet secure.
The race was inaugurated in 2011 by the then-president of the UCI Pat McQuaid. Since then, the race has attracted a lot of criticism for its conflict of interest – GCP is owned by the UCI – its apparent failure to make money, and the air pollution often seen in Beijing. However, with the race's place on the calendar it was the last chance for teams to get some vital WorldTour points and attracted a strong field.
“It is an event that has had its successes, but it's not a major disaster,” said Cookson. “We will look for other partners to organize other events and try to find another way to end the season on the road.”
Tony Martin won the opening two editions, while last year saw the first summit finish for the race on Mentougou Miaofeng Mountain, with Beñat Intxausti taking the stage win and overall success.
The final edition of the Tour of Beijing will begin on October 10. | 749 |
FORMER porn star Christy Mack broke down on the stand when asked if the social media followers she gained after the brutal attack at the hands of her ex-martial arts fighter boyfriend were “worth it.”
The New York Post reports that Mack, whose real name is Christine Mackinday, had been fighting back tears for most of the late afternoon cross-examination, but wept when asked the question.
“I would not want to almost die for a few followers,” Mackinday said.
Mackinday, 25, testified at ex-MMA fighter War Machine’s attempted murder and sexual assault trial in Las Vegas about her domestic abuse victim advocacy and social media presence.
Her ex-boyfriend, whose name was legally changed to War Machine from Jonathan Koppenhaver, faces charges surrounding a nearly fatal attack in August 2014 at Mackinday’s Las Vegas home.
Mackinday said she suffered a broken nose, lost and broken teeth, damaged liver, fractured rib and broken bones in her face. Mackinday’s friend, Corey Thomas, was also present and attacked by Koppenhaver.
Koppenhaver, 35, was charged on more than 30 counts, including attempted murder, kidnapping and sexual assault.
Defence lawyers also cross-examined Mackinday about their sexual relationship, including racy text conversations and plans to use a “sex slave.”
At one point, defence lawyer Jay Leiderman grew uncomfortable reading the former couple’s text exchanges, as others in the courtroom snickered.
“I am sorry. There is just no way I can get around this,” he said.
The couple allegedly discussed a “sex slave,” which Mackinday said was for Koppenhaver “to have sex with when [she] was unable.”
“We had plans for the three of us, but I don’t recall us ever even having a threesome,” Mackinday said.
Earlier on Thursday, it was revealed that Mackinday sent Koppenhaver a topless photo before the August 2014 attack.
Koppenhaver has pleaded not guilty to all 34 charges.
The ex-MMA fighter faces life in prison without parole if convicted.
This article originally appeared in the New York Post | 750 |
Dive Brief:
Google Maps is adding a suite of new features designed to help users plan more efficient and less stressful commutes, including real-time information about potential delays and suggested alternate routes, the company announced in a blog post.
The new tab will pull up traffic and transit information customized to the user’s normal commute. The app will also support multi-modal commutes — in 80 cities, the app will give information on the next train and bus, and a final estimated arrival time for a multi-step trip to let users know when they’ll arrive at the office.
— To reduce distractions, the update will also allow users to control Spotify, Apple Music and Google Play Music directly from Google Maps.
Dive Insight:
According to data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s annual American Community Survey, the average one-way commute was 26.9 minutes last year, up from 26.6 minutes in 2016. That increase adds up to an additional 2.5 hours last year. Of those commuters, 85.3% drove to work, with 76.4% driving alone. That’s 2 million more than the prior year (by comparison, the number of carpoolers only rose 27,000 between 2016 and 2017), accompanied by a dip of 12,000 public transit riders from the previous year.
The transit information in Google’s app isn’t necessarily new — individual transit apps have offered real-time train and bus information for years — but it puts all the information in one place. In Sydney, the transit information will even go a step further. Thanks to a partnership with Transport New South Wales, the app will show how full the next bus or train is, so users can know if they’ll get a seat. That feature will roll out to other cities around the world soon, adding an important bit of information about the convenience and comfort of a commute.
Public transit agencies have been trying to get more information out; a partnership with Lyft now displays some transit information in the app to give riders another alternative to traveling in a car. The new information in Google Maps will help take away some of the uncertainty that may be keeping commuters away from public transit, where unpredictable delays can strand them for valuable minutes or even hours.
Even for drivers, the upgrades should help reduce delays by giving commuters alternate routes to help them avoid already-congested roadways, or giving them information to help avoid busy travel times altogether. | 751 |
after 9/11. "I feel stressed a lot." In Rippy's study, Muslim men were just as likely as women to report discrimination but more likely to become mistrustful and wary because of it. That can encourage sticking with your own group, "which intensifies feelings of paranoia," she says. Iraq war's fallout Men may back away more than women because they feel discrimination could have more serious consequences for them, for example being pegged as a terrorist or jailed, Rippy says. The USA TODAY/Gallup Poll suggests Americans have greater fear of Muslim men than women: 31% said they'd feel more nervous flying if a Muslim man was on the plane; 18% said they'd be more nervous with a Muslim woman. The poll, conducted July 28-30, has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points. The Iraq war has made its mark on U.S. Muslims as well, psychologist Ibrahim Kira will say at the meeting. In his study of Iraqi-Americans, the more time people spent listening to the radio and watching TV news about the war, the more likely they were to have post-traumatic stress disorder. Many of them had relatives still in Iraq, and stress-disorder rates were high: 14% compared with 4% for the U.S. population, Kira says. Tuning in to war news also correlated with more stress-related health problems, such as high blood pressure, headaches and stomach trouble, Kira says. Although the war creates special problems for Iraqi-Americans, they also share a key challenge with other Muslims: lack of trust from people living here. Many Americans clearly don't trust those of the Muslim faith. In fact, 54% said they couldn't vote for a Muslim for president in a June Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg poll. That compares with 21% who turned thumbs-down on an evangelical Christian and 15% who wouldn't cast their ballot for a Jew. Amer believes the world has changed for U.S. Muslims since Sept. 11 but says: "I don't think Americans understand what's happened. Muslims have the same anxieties and anguish about terrorism as everyone else in the U.S. At the same time, they're being blamed for it. They're carrying a double burden." Enlarge By Sara D. Davis for USA TODAY Motaz Elshafi, 28, teeter-totters with his wife Maria Morales, 23, while their daughter Tasneem, 2, swings in the background as they play at a city park in Cary, N.C. | 752 |
On 24 November 2016, an image purporting to show a pornographic scene that was accidentally aired during an episode of Anthony Bourdain’s Parts Unknown on CNN was widely circulated on social media, accompanied by the hashtag #BourdainPorn:
Numerous web sites picked up on the hashtag and reported that CNN had accidentally aired thirty minutes of uninterrupted pornography:
CNN accidentally aired a half hour of porn instead of Anthony Bourdain’s ‘Parts Unknown’ – spicing up Thanksgiving night, a Boston viewer has claimed. The viewer posted several photos of her screen on Twitter, showing how she was expecting to tune in for Bourdain’s travelogue but was met with explicit images of porn star Riley Quinn instead. The porn movie, according to the user, went on for at least 30 minutes. She first saw it on CNN around 10:30 pm, watched something else, and kept checking periodically until the channel blacked out completely at 11 pm.
While numerous outlets repeated this claim, they all pointed back to one single source: Twitter user @SoLikeARose. This Twitter account was the first to post the image displayed here, and the only one to complain to @RCNConnects (the local cable TV provider that provides CNN for Boston):
RCN responded to @SoLikeARose and stated that they had not heard any other reports about the accidental pornography:
CNN issued a statement to media outlets on Friday blaming the incident on local cable provider RCN. It read: “The RCN cable operator in Boston aired inappropriate content for 30 minutes on CNN last night. CNN has asked for an explanation.”
Despite the story’s single source, several outlets uncritically reported that CNN had aired thirty minutes of uninterrupted pornography. The network added more confusion to the situation when it released a statement blaming RCN for the mistake:
However, CNN later backtracked, denying that any inappropriate content had interrupted Parts Unknown (or any other television show) in the Boston area on 24 November 2016:
Despite media reports to the contrary, RCN assures us that there was no interruption of CNN’s programming in the Boston area last night.
RCN released a statement of its own on 25 November 2016:
We are in the process of researching this incident but see no evidence our CNN network feed was compromised last evening in Boston.
No other reports have surfaced, and the Twitter account @SoLikeARose has since been made private. | 753 |
Denim today can be found in many colours; women’s denim in particular is increasingly available in a broad palette. There is one shade of denim, however, that has been around for longer than them all, and is still the most common colour of denim available.
Indigo put the “blue” in blue jeans, and the dye and denim have had a long and successful career together. To give an idea of how popular Indigo is, it takes about 3-12 grams of indigo dye for a pair of jeans, and thousands of tons of Indigo dye are produced each year (most of which is actually used to make denim).
The cotton fibers used in denim were difficult to dye using other dyes, so traditionally Indigo became the primary dye used for cotton. This was the case going back to when denim was first being made in it’s namesake city Nîmes in France (the “Nime” in the cities named is believed to be the second part of the word “denim”).
The majority of Indigo used today is synthetic, made using a process that was perfected late in the 1800’s. Originally Indigo was a natural dye, harvested from a plant called Indigofera tinctoria. It was initially domesticated in India for use as a dye, and this association with India is reflected in the modern name “Indigo”. By the end of the 1800’s 7,000 square kilometers were dedicated world wide to meet demand for Indigo dyes.
Even though Indigo was more effective at dying cotton than other dyes, it still wasn’t easy to work with. Indigo itself is not soluble in water, so complicated chemical steps are necessary to get Indigo to adhere to the cotton threads used to make a cloth.
Working as an indigo dyer in pre-industrial Europe could be a dangerous profession due to the toxic chemicals involved. It could also be an unhygenic one; one of the techniques used during the dying process in pre-industrial Europe involved dissolving the Indigo in stale urine!
Most jeans today are dyed using the synthetic forms of indigo. However, some denim makers believe that the best results can still be found from the natural form. For instance, you can see Momotaro Jeans explains their use of natural indigo.
What do you think about indigo vs. other dyes when it comes to denim? Let us know in the comments!
Stay Raw! | 754 |
There will be a lot more green in the world in 2017.
Color forecasters at the Pantone Color Institute have declared "greenery" as next year's color of the year.
Although there is green in grass, leaves and apples, Pantone is specific about what counts as "greenery."
The company describes it as "a fresh and zesty yellow-green shade that evokes the first days of spring when nature's greens revive, restore and renew."
"It's the green that signals vitality, energy and warmth from the sun," said Laurie Pressman, vice president with Pantone Color Institute.
The yellow-green color was largely picked because it represents rebirth and regeneration, Pressman said.
She added that the hue is symbolic of "where we are in our lives and what we desire."
"We are so submerged in our routines and tethered to devices, but we have a great desire to disconnect and replenish," she said.
Related: Reinventing the color black
Pantone's team around the world typically spends the year studying trends in fashion, consumer products, social media and technology. It looks for influences that best describe the current mood of society and picks a color to reflect those elements.
"We're [even] looking at street art, animation, architecture, movies and headphones," said Pressman. "We capture a snapshot of what's being expressed through color."
Sometimes more than one color makes sense. Pantone picked two colors for 2016: baby blue and dusty pink. The company called them "welcoming colors that fulfill our yearning for reassurance and security."
More recently, green has stood out on fashion runways, in makeup and cars. For example, the "greenery" shade appeared on Mercedes and Skoda car models this year.
The green color also represents a growing movement around protecting nature.
"We're more conscious about the environment and protecting the planet," said Pressman.
Related: This is how Silicon Valley throws a fashion show
With "greenery" as the chosen color of the year, brands will also want to get in on the trend with their packaging and products, from handbags to jewelry and housewares.
It happened when Pantone declared Tangerine Tango its 2012 color of the year.
"People said it would never work but we were dead on," she said. "Tangerine is now a mainstream color." | 755 |
=Project funding cancelled; message us for details or information.
The Tock™ is a cool blend of LED technology, a truly unique design and a showpiece highlighting a very popular part of our modern culture. We always felt that a "clock" that JUST showed "4:20" would be awesome- and wanted to create something radically different to do so.
This Patent Pending design has DUAL "CNC" cut acrylic panels, each having a different "layer" of the complete image. A total of 12 microprocessor driven LEDs create a stunning "mix" of colors / modes that YOU select. The deep-cut grooves reflect the light in a most unusual way- while VERY HARD to capture on camera, the DEMO VIDEO does "just OK" to show off the jewel-like effect. In person? The illumination is beautiful and brilliant; pure!
It's like a diamond under bright light, but highly amplified.
There's a perfect place for The Tock™ just about anywhere! Internal battery power lets your light shine for about 12-15 hours (depending on the mode), and charges easily with the included USB adapter- or can run continuously from the adapter or any micro-USB power source.
OUR CAMPAIGN IS PART OF A KICKSTARTER EXCLUSIVE PROMOTION. We are taking pre-orders for ONE WEEK ONLY, and must achieve our goal in order to produce and deliver on time and on budget. We need the pledges and the goal amount to cover the bulk orders for components. We have already been approached by a MAJOR retailer that wants to carry these in their stores and online. By ordering now, you get an original SIGNED and NUMBERED piece, and that of course has value. You are helping an inventor get to the market FIRST- before the cheap knock-offs get there, and we're screwed out of a cool idea, hatched here. We've done our part, we have our suppliers all ready to go! These are proudly HAND-BUILT in San Diego, California. Let's make it happen!
You (or that "friend" you know!) would LOVE to have one of these- plus it makes a killer gift for the dude / chick who "has everything".
We thank you for reading this far, for your LIKES, SHARES (so important) and of course your donation with us.
It's "4:20" all the time; with The Tock™ | 756 |
Flat World Knowledge Offers Open Source-Style College Textbooks
by Ostatic Staff - Mar. 25, 2009
Part of the high cost of attending a college or university is due to the exorbitant fees for textbooks. It's an $8 billion dollar market and schools often pass on the high cost of textbook purchases to their students. Once a school selects course books, it's up to professors to mold their curriculum accordingly, rather than offer reading material that suits their teaching style and course content.
In an effort to make curriculum content more accessible to both students and teachers, New York-based startup Flat World Knowledge is going after the textbook industry by offering expertly-written books that educational institutions are free to modify to meet their needs.
Flat World's current "open source" book catalog is sparse since many of the books are still being written and edited, but thanks to recent venture capital funding, Flat World now has $8 million in series a funding in its coffers to finance the production of more books. The company also plans to unveil a textbook customization feature later this year that will let educators revise books according to the specific needs of their curriculum.
Flat World initially offered only business course textbooks while they tested the waters, but have since expanded their categories to include Accounting, Management, General Business, and general courses. In a prepared statement, company co-founder and chief marketing officer, Eric Frank, said that branching out into general education courses will have the biggest impact on community colleges. "Not only are general education courses the bread and butter of community colleges, community college students are feeling the greatest pinch from the high cost of traditional textbooks. With 40 percent of students sitting in a general education course at any given time, we know that expanding our offering will help a greater population of students."
Customizable textbooks is an idea that can't help but catch fire. The cost of college courses are nearly prohibitive for many families, even without the added cost of textbooks so, of course, free is good. I'm also intrigued that Flat World gives college professors the freedom to teach subjects the way they feel is best, not the way a faceless committee of textbook authors decided it should be taught.
Regan Caruthers, director of communications and business development for the California State University system, told CNN recently, "The Web gives us a rare opportunity to rethink the delivery mechanism for textbooks. If someone does this right, they'll make it better for everybody concerned: the professors, the students and the publishers." | 757 |
Man raped 3 women at gunpoint over 4 days, police say
Metro Police have arrested a man they say picked up three women and sexually assaulted them at gunpoint in the span of four days.
Police arrested 21-year-old Thurman Jackson on June 24 with 10 counts of sexual assault with a deadly weapon, three counts of first-degree kidnapping with a deadly weapon and a count of battery by strangulation to commit sexual assault.
According to an arrest report released by the Justice Court, the first attack happened on June 18. The unidentified woman told police she was walking from a party in the historic West Las Vegas neighborhood when a man with dreadlocks, who was driving a silver car, offered her a ride home.
After she got into the vehicle, he parked behind a vacant building, demanded for her to undress and then sexually assaulted her multiple times before leaving her stranded. During the attack, he ordered her to call him “daddy.”
Two days later, police found a naked woman walking near D Street and Washington Avenue. According to the arrest report, she told police that a similar crime happened to her by a man with the same description.
A woman, who admitted to being a prostitute, told police she had been sexually assaulted by a man who had dreadlocks and drove a silver vehicle. According to the arrest report, the woman was walking near Washington Avenue and D Street.
She told police that Jackson asked her how much she charged for sexual relations and then she got into his car.
According to the report, Jackson pulled into an apartment complex parking lot where he put a gun to her head while he raped her in the vehicle and ordered her to call him “daddy.”
She said he choked her and took photos of her during the incident. Investigators later found a used condom at the scene of the attack.
Each of the women were sent to University Medical Center for a rape exam, according to the report.
Police found Jackson two days later and arrested him under two outstanding warrants. According to the report, police found drugs, a gun and bullets in the vehicle.
During an interview with investigators, police said Jackson changed his story several times, but eventually admitted to having sex with the women. Jackson also confessed to using a gun during the attacks, but said he never intended to shoot the women, according to a police report.
Jackson is being held at Clark County Detention Center and could face additional charges in the future. | 758 |
A Florida woman has been convicted of conspiring with her lover to kill her husband—18 years after he disappeared and she collected $1.75 million in life insurance benefits when his death was ruled an accident.
Denise Williams, 48, reportedly showed no emotion as the verdict was delivered Friday in Leon County after a week-long trial that included details of threesomes and drew comparisons to the film noir classic “Double Indemnity.”
She now faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison after being found guilty of murder and conspiracy to commit murder in the death of her 31-year-old husband, Mike Williams, who vanished Dec. 16, 2000 on a duck hunting trip.
“We got justice for Michael,” the victim’s mother said to prosecutor Jon Fuchs, the Tallahassee Democrat reported Friday.
Cheryl Williams refused to believe her son drowned and was eaten by alligators, the newspaper reported.
THREESOME TWIST REVEALED DURING TESTIMONY IN DENISE WILLIAMS MURDER TRIAL
Prosecutors said Denise Williams hatched the murder plot with a man who was her husband’s best friend -- and her lover, Brian Winchester.
He became the prosecution’s star witness, testifying that they killed Michael Williams so they could be together and collect on life insurance policies by making the murder look like an accident, according to the reports.
Winchester sold Mike Williams one of those policies, worth $1 million.
Winchester told the jury that plans to make the murder look like a drowning went awry when Michael Williams’ duck-hunting equipment failed to drag him underwater.
He testified that he wound up shooting Michael Williams in the face with a 12-gauge shotgun and then burying the body near a lake, according to reports.
The New York Post reported that Winchester and Denise Willaims carried on their secret relationship until 2005 when they married.
FLORIDA WOMAN ACCUSED OF PLOTTING HUSBAND'S DEATH, MARRYING KILLER STANDS TRIAL
But 11 years later they divorced and soon after he was arrested for kidnapping Denise Williams at gunpoint to convince her not to turn him in to police, according to the paper.
Eventually, he confessed to killing Michael Williams in exchange for immunity and led authorities to the body.
The Associated Press contributed to this report. | 759 |
Sea, Green Island off Taiwan, and Saboga in Panama, where seawater conditions spanned a wide range of pH levels and carbonate ion concentrations. They used a 3-D Computerized Tomography (CT) scanner to image the skeletal cores, which reveal annual growth bands, much like rings on a tree. From the scans, they were able to discern and separately quantify the upward and thickening components of the coral growth. Their analysis revealed a consistent correlation: The skeletons of corals in more acidic (lower pH and fewer carbonate ions) waters were significantly thinner. However, they found no relationship between upward growth and carbonate ion concentration.
To better understand these processes, the researchers examined the coral growth process and showed that as pH and carbonate ions decline in ambient seawater, so do concentrations of carbonate ions in the corals' calcifying space. Consequently, the corals can't produce as much aragonite to thicken the skeleton. The corals continue to invest in upward growth, but "densification" or thickening suffers. As a result, corals in lower pH waters build thinner skeletons that are more susceptible to damage from pounding waves or attacks by eroding organisms.
The research team further analyzed published data on more than 100 Porites coral skeletal cores taken by other scientists in many locations where the ambient seawater chemistry is also known. The analyses validated the team's proposed mechanism of how seawater chemistry affects the density of coral skeletons.
The researchers note that ocean acidification is not happening in isolation and that other changes such as ocean warming will also affect coral growth.
"Our next step is to expand our model to incorporate the effects of multiple stressors on corals' skeletal growth," said Weifu Guo, a geochemist at WHOI and the study's lead investigator. "Knowing the details of how the different facets of ocean change will affect corals will enable us to quantitatively project the trajectory of reef-building corals under 21st century climate change."
Explore further Submarine springs reveal how coral reefs respond to ocean acidification
More information: Nathaniel R. Mollica el al., "Ocean acidification affects coral growth by reducing skeletal density," PNAS (2018). Journal information: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Nathaniel R. Mollica el al., "Ocean acidification affects coral growth by reducing skeletal density,"(2018). www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.1712806115 | 760 |
In the cosmic scale of things, black holes are a dime a dozen. Despite this, and despite what Christopher Nolan’s sci-fi blockbuster “Interstellar” would have you believe, we humans have never actually seen one with our eyes.
That may be about to change.
A team of researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s artificial intelligence laboratory and the Harvard University revealed Monday that they had developed an algorithm that may allow us to actually “see” black holes.
“We would never be able to see into the center of our galaxy in visible wavelengths because there's too much stuff in between,” Katie Bouman, an MIT graduate student in electrical engineering and computer science who led the development of the new algorithm, said in a statement. “A black hole is very, very far away and very compact. It's equivalent to taking an image of a grapefruit on the moon, but with a radio telescope. To image something this small means that we would need a telescope with a 10,000-kilometer diameter, which is not practical, because the diameter of the Earth is not even 13,000 kilometers.”
The algorithm, which the researchers call Continuous High-resolution Image Reconstruction using Patch priors, or CHIRP, will essentially fill in the gaps in data collected by radio telescopes spread across the surface of the planet — thereby mimicking one giant telescope — in order to create an image of the black hole. The algorithm would do so by sifting through the vast pile of gathered data, removing the interference and noise, and then translating what’s left into a visual image.
“You could think of the model as a rubber sheet covered with regularly spaced cones whose heights vary but whose bases all have the same diameter,” the researchers explained in the statement. “Fitting the model to the interferometric data is a matter of adjusting the heights of the cones, which could be zero for long stretches, corresponding to a flat sheet. Translating the model into a visual image is like draping plastic wrap over it: The plastic will be pulled tight between nearby peaks, but it will slope down the sides of the cones adjacent to flat regions.”
So far, six observatories that are a part of an international collaboration known as the Event Horizon Telescope, which seeks to capture an image of Sagittarius A* — the black hole at the centre of our galaxy — have signed up to join the project. | 761 |
もそれぞれのプロジェクトについて真剣に考えているではないか。
私はいまでも、Microsoftの上級幹部（地上からCraig Mundieへ、まだ着陸していませんか）から説明を聞こうとしている。おそらくNegroponteがオープンソースソフトウェアを選んだことで、Microsoftは独自路線を進むべきだと確信したのだろう。先ごろThe New York Timesで掲載されたある記事によると、NegroponteがWindows CEのようなMicrosoft製OSの代わりにRed HatのLinux採用を決めたことについて、Gatesは内心苦々しく思っているという。
さらに、この先にはもっと別の障害もある。しかし、革命的なアイデアはどれも難題にぶつかるものだ。そこで必要なのはコンセプトを現実に変える方法を見つけ出すこと。世界の貧しい人々を、ビジネスをめぐる駆け引きや個人的なエゴから、再び落胆させることにでもなれば、なんと恥ずかしいことだろう。
著者紹介
Charles Cooper
CNET News.com解説記事担当編集責任者 | 762 |
a 11-10 party line vote to move Dourson’s nomination out of committee.
Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) voted in favor of Wheeler despite reports that the EPA does not plan on regulating two chemicals – perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) — linked to cancer. The two chemicals have caused widespread contamination in Capito’s home state of West Virginia.
“For any senator who truly cares about the health of her or his constituents, opposing Andrew Wheeler’s nomination should be an easy decision,” Environmental Working Group President Ken Cook said Tuesday in a statement. “As acting EPA administrator, Wheeler has repeatedly demonstrated that he’s as unfit to be in charge of protecting the public from pollution as a career thief would be as police chief.”
At a Washington Post forum in November, Wheeler was asked to name three policies he had implemented to reduce air and water pollution. “I’m not sure I’m going to be able to give you three off the top of my head,” Wheeler responded.
During Tuesday’s hearing, the committee also voted along party lines to approve the nomination of Peter Wright, a former attorney for Dow Chemical, to be assistant administrator for the EPA’s Office of Land and Emergency Management.
The office oversees chemical plant safety rules and administers the federal Superfund program, responsible for cleaning up some of the country’s most contaminated industrial sites.
Wright, who worked on Dow’s Superfund cleanup program, has meanwhile agreed to recuse himself from working on any Superfund sites that DowDuPont may be responsible for contaminating for at least two years. For DowDupont sites that he personally worked on, Wright agreed to a permanent recusal.
Dow and DuPont merged in August 2017. Together, they are responsible for the cleanup of nearly 200 Superfund sites.
Last year, Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) said confirming Wright to oversee the Superfund program would be “a clear violation of the public trust” because he would “face dozens of conflicts of interest.”
The same committee approved Wright’s nomination in 2018. But since the full Senate did not vote on his nomination during the previous session of Congress, the committee was required to vote again on his nomination. | 763 |
(CNN) Turkmenistan's repressive president is alive, well and has been driving stunts around a flaming pit nicknamed the "Gateway to Hell," according to recently released footage following rumors that he had died.
In July, rumors swirled about the health of Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, 62, who had disappeared from public view for several weeks.
That speculation was then reported in Russian media after a little-known analyst told a Moscow radio station that the death was confirmed to him by businessmen in Turkmenistan "who have acquaintances in the security services," according to Agence France-Presse (AFP).
The Central Asian country's embassy in Russia denied the reports to the Russian state news agency TASS, calling the rumors an "absolute hoax."
Berdymukhamedov, who regularly stars in state media broadcasts, reappeared on television screens later that month, in a broadcast showing him reviewing pictures of bus shelters
On Sunday, Turkmenistan state broadcaster Watan Habarlary provided more detail on the leader's recent activities. It is not known when the footage was filmed.
In a 25-minute report, Berdymukhamedov rides a horse, composes music and appears to score three strikes in a bowling game to a round of applause from aides wearing matching tracksuits.
He also seemingly races through the Karakum Desert in a rally car before driving in circles and skidding around the famous Darvaza Crater.
While there's no concrete record of exactly how it came into being, the fiery crater is said to have formed in 1971 when Soviet geologists looking for oil realized they'd stumbled across a cavern of natural gas. They set it alight to avoid the spread of methane.
Berdymukhamedov on a stallion in celebrations for the Day of the Horse in April 2018.
Human rights concerns
Part of the Soviet Union until late 1991, the oil and gas-rich country has been run by Berdymukhamedov since the 2006 death of his equally authoritarian predecessor.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) accuses Berdymukhamedov -- commonly referred to as Arkadag, or protector -- and his associates of controlling all aspects of public life.
Foreign media outlets have little access to the country; religious and political expression are "brutally punished" by the government; and no independent monitoring groups are allowed in the country, HRW wrote. | 764 |
the open Internet are an essential step to maximize investment and innovation in the network and on the edge of it -- by establishing rules of the road that incentivize competition, empower entrepreneurs, and grow the economic pie to the benefit of all.
Throughout, Genachowski stressed his own background in business and his concern for innovation. He decried "detailed rules" that would be immediately outdated and made clear that ISPs could still throttle heavy users at peak times and take reasonable measures to manage their networks. But he is absolutely committed to broad principles of openness, and his background at both the FCC and in the private sector make him the sort of figure who might actually be able to push the idea through.
Defining moments
Genachowski has picked his battle. The network neutrality fight will consume much of his energy as chairman and won't be resolved any time soon, but if Genachowski gets his six broad rules and applies them to all forms of Internet access, he will leave a pretty serious stamp on the direction of the Internet in the US.
Google has come out in support of the idea, as have groups like Free Press. But Genachowski can't wave his magic "I was in business too!" wand and make resistance disappear. Wireless carriers, especially, despite a new commitment to openness on the part of Verizon Wireless and others, are worried.
Chris Guttman-McCabe, VP of regulatory affairs for CTIA - The Wireless Association, expressed his concern "about the unintended consequences that net neutrality regulation would have on investments from the very industry that's helping to drive the US economy. We believe that this kind of regulation is unnecessary in the competitive wireless space as it would prevent carriers from managing their networks—such as curtailing viruses and other harmful content—to the benefit of their consumers."
The Progress & Freedom Foundation upped the rhetorical ante with this pithy nugget from president Ken Ferree: "I find myself at a loss to understand why the administration wants to start meddling with a sector of the economy that, despite a challenging macro-economic environment, is performing pretty well by any rational standard. What exactly is the problem they are trying to remedy? It's almost as if they are trying to turn a story of success into one of failure."
But, to Genachowski, the openness of the 'Net has been the most crucial factor in its tremendous success, and he's ready to take on all comers in the battle that may define his time as head of the FCC. | 765 |
Figure 4. One of the personal hygiene sticks found in the latrine at the Xuanquanzhi site. The stick is wrapped with cloth at one end and there are traces of brown material, human faeces.It has long been suspected that ancient trade routes facilitated the exchange of parasites as well as more savory goods, particularly along the famous "Silk Road" that connected Europe to East Asia. Here, scientists set out to test this idea by probing "personal hygiene sticks" (cloth-wrapped bum-scrapers) for parasite eggs. The sticks were unearthed at a relay station along the Silk Road in northwestern China and date from ~100 BC. And boy were they loaded with useful "data": the scientists found eggs of Chinese liver flukes, tapeworms, roundworms, and whipworm. Well, crap!Early evidence for travel with infectious diseases along the Silk Road: Intestinal parasites from 2000 year-old personal hygiene sticks in a latrine at Xuanquanzhi Relay Station in China. "The Silk Road has often been blamed for the spread of infectious diseases in the past between East Asia, the Middle East and Europe. While such a hypothesis seems plausible, there is actually very little concrete evidence to prove that diseases were transmitted by early travellers moving along its various branches. The aim of this study is to look for ancient parasite eggs on personal hygiene sticks in a latrine at a large relay station on the Silk Road at Xuanquanzhi (111 BCE–CE 109), at the eastern margin of the Tarim Basin in north-western China. We isolated eggs of four species of parasitic intestinal worms: Chinese liver fluke (Clonorchis sinensis), Taenia sp. tapeworm (likely Taenia asiatica, Taenia solium or Taenia saginata), roundworm (Ascaris lumbricoides) and whipworm (Trichuris trichiura). The Chinese liver fluke requires wet marshy areas to sustain its life cycle and could not have been endemic to this arid region. The presence of this species suggests that people from well-watered areas of eastern or southern China travelled with their parasites to this relay station along the Silk Road, either for trade or on government business. This appears to be the earliest archaeological evidence for travel with infectious diseases along the Silk Road." Related content: What your poop looks like can tell you how long it’s been inside.Rectal salami.How do alligator erections work? | 766 |
NEW YORK (MainStreet) We're feeling better, a bit less stressed and beginning to loosen our grip on discretionary dollars. So says a Harris Poll of over 2,000 adults, who say they are a bit more confident in their financial prospects and cutting back less.
Forecasting their spending over the next six months, Americans are less likely than a year ago to say they plan on spending less eating out (56%, down 6 percentage points) or reduce spending on entertainment (53%, down 6 percentage points). Women are a bit more fiscally conservative though, admitting they are more likely to cut their budget for free time fun. Men are also more likely than women to plan on taking a vacation lasting longer than a week (40% vs. 34%).
Overall, Americans still aren't likely to save or invest more in the short term. Just half of the respondents say they plan to be prudent.
However, younger adults are planning to have it all: saying they are saving more and spending big. Millennials are more likely than any other generation to say they plan on saving or investing more money (64%). And Gen Y says (38%) they also expect to have more money to spend any way they want over the next six months. Baby Boomers (29%) and older Matures (28%) are more pessimistic about having extra cash to burn.
Millennials and Gen-Xers (15% and 12%) are also more likely than Baby Boomers or Matures (6% and 2%) in planning to buy a house or condo soon.
Americans are cutting back less when compared to one year ago, as well. Of those surveyed, fewer plan on buying generic brands (down 6%), brown bagging lunch instead of purchasing it (-5%), canceling magazine or newspaper subscriptions (-5%) or cutting back on dry cleaning (-5%). A little more than one-third (35%) say they'll make fewer trips to the hairdresser, stylist or barber, down 4% from last year.
Of course, having children can quickly break a budget. Comparing households with kids to those without reveals respondents who are more likely to brown bag lunch (48% vs. 36% of single households), cancel landline phone service (22% vs. 15%), change or cancel cell phone service (20% vs. 15%) and start carpooling or using mass transit (17% vs. 9%).
--Written by Hal M. Bundrick for MainStreet | 767 |
A new Franco-German assembly met in Paris on Monday in their first biannual summit as French and German parliaments deepen relations.
The move aims to cement the special bond and influence the two countries traditionally have in the European Union.
A total of 100 members of parliament, 50 from Germany's Bundestag and 50 from France's lower house of parliament (Assemblée Nationale), took part in the joint parliamentary summit. Bundestag President Wolfgang Schäuble and Assemblée Nationale President Richard Ferrand marked the occasion by signing the founding act for the new cooperation.
Schäuble, a member of Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Union (CDU), said the new entity "underlines our commitment to place bilateral cooperation in a European context."
"Germany and France have a special responsibility for Europe," the Bundestag president said, adding that the new assembly "will neither impair nor abolish the sovereignty of either nation."
In a post on Twitter, Ferrand called Monday's gathering a "historic day."
What is the Franco-German assembly?
The mini-parliament was first proposed on the 55th anniversary of the Elysée Treaty, signed by French President Charles de Gaulle and West Germany's first chancellor, Konrad Adenauer, in 1963, in January 2018. Last week, German lawmakers approved the new assembly.
The new body is designed to "make proposals concerning Franco-German relations," according to its founding document. Schäuble gave two examples on Monday: common ground on security and defense policy and the development of a Franco-German economic area. However, it cannot make binding decisions nor does it have its own budget sovereignty.
The assembly is to also monitor the implementation of a new friendship treaty signed by Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron at the end of January.
Every parliamentary group of the Bundestag and the Assemblée Nationale will have at least one seat in the Franco-Germany assembly. There are currently 14 factions represented in the body, eight French and six German. The assembly will meet on a biannual basis, once in Paris and once in Berlin.
Watch video 02:07 Aachen: France and Germany renew post-war pledge in new friendship treaty
dv/ng (AFP, dpa)
Every evening at 1830 UTC, DW's editors send out a selection of the day's hard news and quality feature journalism. You can sign up to receive it directly here. | 768 |
ll step back and wait, and the car will start to go again,” he says. “I’ve seen it a bunch of times. Most of us would be honking at the guy, but the car will continue to play the game.”
A year ago The New York Times reported that this conscientiousness kept one of Google’s driverless cars from making it through a four-way stop in 2009. The human drivers kept inching forward, and the autonomous vehicle—detecting the motion—remained still, paralyzed with prudence.
Harsh Gill, a Mountain View taxi driver, has witnessed a similar standoff between an autonomous car and three autos with far less intelligence.
Or so it seemed.
“It was the Google car’s turn to go, but it didn’t do it,” Gill explains. “You see two people sitting inside, but you don’t know who’s driving, who has the brain.”
Many challenges remain. Google doesn’t give an official date for when its cars will be consumer-ready. Fairfield notes that the company wants to continue to make sure that the cars are less accident prone than the average driver. “At this point our main focus is really on testing and improving the quality of the driving, and demonstrating to ourselves that we know the cars are ready from a safety perspective,” he says.
Still, if Google’s self-driving cars are going to be widely accepted by human drivers, they’re going to have to get a whole lot smarter. There have been some improvements over the years, such as recognizing hand signals used by cyclists and automatically pulling over to the side of the road when emergency vehicles are detected by sight or by sound (then safely merging into traffic once the vehicle has passed). But the cars will still have to recognize hazards—like, say, potholes—that don’t appear on maps. They will have to follow winding roads even when the lines are obscured by rain and snow.
Ultimately, they have to see the world a bit more like humans do.
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Consumer Reports has no relationship with any advertisers on this website. Copyright © 2006-2016 Consumers Union of U.S. | 769 |
If it ever opens, it will be part of a network of secure roads and tunnels that would link Nablus and Ramallah in the northern West Bank to Bethlehem and Hebron in the south.
It would enable people to do the normal things they want to do – visit relatives, go to work, go shopping. It would not make Arab Palestine a state. It has nothing to do with the issue of Jewish settlements in the West Bank – a problem made worse by Barack Obama's call for a moratorium, a demand even the Palestinian leadership had never made.
But it might help create a society in which a happy life was possible for many people. I suspect it is nearly finished. It is not the only sign that the human yearning for normality is strong. In Ramallah, unofficial capital of Arab Palestine, it is a pleasure to visit the busy streets around Manara Square at twilight, with the cafes and the shops invitingly bright.
A few years ago, the bullet-torn corpses of 'collaborators' were displayed here. Now the displays are of smart clothes – but not as smart as those in Ramallah's opulent shopping mall, stocked with designer goods, and with camel rides for the children outside.
Even in notorious Hebron in the south, famous for its massacres and its aggressive Israeli enclave, the mall culture is in evidence three miles from this seat of tension. And on the road from Hebron to Jerusalem stands a cut-price supermarket so cheap that Israeli settlers and Palestinians mingle happily at the cash tills.
I might add that an Arab intellectual, sitting in a Gaza cafe, recalled for me the happy days when Gazan women used to wear short skirts (now they all wear shrouds and veils) and you could get a beer by the beach.
But perhaps best of all was the comment of the Arab Israeli who mourned for 'the good old days before we had peace'. It may well be that no solution to the problem of Israel is possible, and that it will all end, perhaps decades from now, in a nuclear fireball.
But if outside politicians, more interested in their reputations than in the lives of Arabs and Israelis, would only stop their search for a final settlement, might it be that people – left to their own devices – might find a way of living together, a way that was imperfect, but which no longer involved human beings being dissolved into hunks of flying flesh by high explosive?
| 770 |
seeing. But I felt no quake on Æðey or indeed on any of the other eider farms I visited. Every season, the ducks came, and their down was harvested and shipped off to the middlemen for a stable price, much as has been done for centuries. And yet there were signs, too, that things might be changing, as Iceland continues to be shaken by the effects of the financial crisis, the influx of millions of tourists and rural depopulation. Like the sheep farmers, the eiderdown harvesters were getting fed up with the harsh weather and isolation. Many eiderdown farms, said Jón Sveinsson, another harvester, are merely summer houses, places of recreation for city dwellers. “The new owners are not interested in the pittance a few kilograms of eiderdown give. After all, they have come to the countryside to have a beer on the porch, fire up the grill and relax on the weekend, not to run around harvesting foul-smelling, flea-ridden eiderdown.”
The last bat: the mystery of Britain’s most solitary animal Read more
I tried to imagine what the Westfjords might look like in 50 years or so, as old ways of life faded away. “It’s not sad,” Jón told me, “just different. The world is getting smaller.” But I did feel sad, thinking that this tradition might disappear. When I returned to the UK, I made a habit of checking in department stores to see if they had eiderdown quilts or pillows. Finding them in a shop window, I always felt reassured that the traffic in down continued, that this tradition still had a place in our own century of synthetics and factory farming. Nestled in silk covers, the down was always hidden from view, its rich history condensed into a short description on the label. Tempted by an act of mischief, I almost wanted to rip them apart, allowing the down and its stories to expand and escape outward.
Adapted from Harvest: The Hidden Histories of Seven Natural Objects by Edward Posnett, published by The Bodley Head on 8 August and available at guardianbookshop.com
• Follow the Long Read on Twitter at @gdnlongread, and sign up to the long read weekly email here.
• This article was amended on 22 July 2019 to ensure names were correctly cited according to Icelandic naming conventions. | 771 |
Prescriptions have jumped 700% among US women in their late 20s, raising concerns amid questions over drugs’ safety during pregnancy
Prescriptions for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder medications have increased 700% among US women in their late 20s since 2003, according to new research by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Researchers raised alarms about the increase because “little information is available about the safety of taking ADHD medication during pregnancy”.
The second largest increase, of 560%, was among women between 30 and 34 years old. The most common medications prescribed for ADHD are stimulants, such as methylphenidate, a medication known best by its brand name, Ritalin. Increases among women of childbearing age represent the latest data on the fivefold increase in stimulant prescriptions that has taken place since the early 2000s.
While there are non-stimulant medications to treat ADHD, use of those medications has remained level over the last decade, as amphetamine-based prescriptions increased dramatically.
While the largest increases in ADHD prescriptions were among women in their 20s, prescriptions among all women between 15 and 44 rose 344%. The large increase among women in their 20s and 30s, considered the optimal age for having children, raised concern among physicians.
“Half of all pregnancies in the United States are unplanned, and women may be taking prescription medicine early in pregnancy before they know they are pregnant,” said Coleen Boyle, director of the CDC’s National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities.
“Early pregnancy is a critical time for the developing baby. We need to better understand the safest ways to treat ADHD before and during pregnancy.”
The new research examined private insurance claims between 2003 and 2015 of up to 6.8 million women. About 68% of women in the United States get insurance through a private company, according to health policy experts at Kaiser Family Foundation.
The dramatic increases mean that the proportion of all women in this age group who took ADHD medication rose from 1% in 2003 to 4% in 2015. Studies suggest about 4% of adults have ADHD, but those numbers have increased over time, as awareness of the diagnosis has grown.
“If a woman is pregnant or thinking about becoming pregnant, she should talk to her healthcare provider about all medicines she is taking,” Boyle said. “Pregnant women should also talk to their doctor before stopping or starting any medicine.” | 772 |
FZ7)
In a state where roughly 31 percent of residents are African American, nearly 72 percent of those on that list were African American. Just under 10 percent of the people on the list were white although, according to 2016 U.S. Census data, 54 percent of Georgia’s population are white non-Hispanics.
Voting rights groups say based on their experience of previous elections, the practice of exact match sows confusion, suppressing turnout, and that overstretched county workers are more likely to add a voter to a pending list to save time and meet deadlines.
Brian Kemp, Georgia’s Republican secretary of state, manages the state’s elections. He argues the state’s exact-match law is fair. Candice Broce, a spokesperson for Kemp, said more blacks end up on the pending voter list than whites because black voters used paper registrations more often than white voters.
THE PROBLEM WITH PAPER
Georgia contends that more than twice as many black residents registered to vote by paper than did white residents, and that substantially all of the pending voters came from paper registrations.
Broce blamed voter registration groups such as the New Georgia Project, which held the registration drive at Diaz’s high school, for registering voters predominately with paper forms, and then turning in “incomplete, illegible, or fraudulent forms,” which skews the data.
Broce added there was no significant racial disparity in voters landing on the pending list when they registered online. She said the issue “is limited to paper applications.”
Nse Ufot, executive director of New Georgia Project, called Broce’s comments “ridiculous” and said the problem was most likely caused by human error during the state’s transcription of the data on the paper forms to a computer. Errors occur because the counties, who record registrations, are short-staffed, workers are improperly trained, and often in a hurry to make election deadlines, she said.
Voting rights could become a flashpoint in this November’s race for governor in Georgia.
Kemp, the secretary of state, is running for office, as is Stacey Abrams, the former Democratic House minority leader in Georgia’s state assembly and the founder of the New Georgia Project. The two have clashed in the past, with Kemp accusing the group of voter fraud, and Abrams accusing Kemp of voter suppression. | 773 |
omed after Narendra Modi became India's prime minister two years ago.
Pakistan is seeking to forge closer ties with China and Russia to counter New Delhi's growing influence in Kabul
But Russia is skeptical about India's warming ties with the US and has sought to put pressure on New Delhi by reaching out to Islamabad. Over the last 15 months, several high-ranking Pakistani military officials have traveled to Moscow to boost bilateral ties, which resulted in a deal for the sale of four Russian Mi-35 attack helicopters to Islamabad.
Both countries also agreed on a pipeline project intended to transfer liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Karachi to Lahore. It could assist in resolving the Islamic country's protracted energy crisis.
"Improved ties with Russia augurs well for Pakistan," Shuakat Qadir, a retired Pakistani military official and defense analyst, told DW. "The US policies have forced Pakistan to look for alternatives. Islamabad is unhappy with the US-India partnership."
The analyst argues that Pakistan has finally come out of the Cold War dynamics, because it does not depend on one global power anymore. At the same time, Qadir said, the "closer ties with Beijing and Moscow do not mean that Pakistan should turn its back on Washington."
"We should engage with all countries," Qadir underlined.
Tug of war
The United States and China want stability in Afghanistan, but both have conflicting interests in the war-torn country. After the Taliban took Afghanistan's fifth-largest city of Kunduz in July 2015, US President Barack Obama revised his decision of complete troop withdrawal by 2017.
More than 5,000 US soldiers will now stay in the country to help the Afghan security forces for an indefinite period of time. But foreign and security affairs analysts say that President-elect Donald Trump could adopt a different policy on Afghanistan when he takes charge in January 2017.
Experts also say the US wants to leave Afghanistan, but it wants its interests to be protected in the country. For that reason, the Obama administration is seeking Islamabad's help. It believes that the Pakistani military enjoys considerable influence on the Taliban leadership.
China, on the other hand, is wary of the Islamists operating in Xinjiang and their alliance with the Taliban and other Islamist groups in Afghanistan and Pakistan. It is also seeking Pakistan's assistance - not only to help create peace in Afghanistan, but also to keep regional rival India at bay.
Additional reporting by Sattar Khan, DW's Islamabad correspondent. | 774 |
Tondo”), and Gil Portes (“Two Funerals”) came out of their comfort zones.
We remember Lamangan once saying to us in an interview: “Mabuti na lang may Cinemalaya, otherwise hindi ko alam paano mabibigyan ng hustisya ang ‘Hustisya.’”
The film had Nora Aunor in the defining role of Biring, a woman framed up for murder. This premise obviously won’t make it to commercial theaters.
Among the younger but experienced directors in this category were Mark Meily (“Donor”), Jerold Tarrog (“Sana Dati”), and Joselito Altarejos (“Kasal”), among others. Tarrog went on to direct the biggest grossing historical film to date, “Heneral Luna.”
And the list goes on.
In her earlier speech, Guillen emphasized why going to the cinemas offers a better experience.
“In the age of streaming devices, filmmakers and other stakeholders in the movie industry are lamenting of the declining number of people going to the cinemas,” she said.
Cinemalaya offers a better alternative. She mentioned how it worked at the CCP venues: “Every year at the different venues at the Cultural Center of the Philippines, the experience is like no other because it is there where the gala screenings, premieres, forums and other live interactions among audiences, filmmakers, and actors, among others, happen during the duration of the festival.”
Then she offered a challenge: “The question is, how can these films be seen by as many Filipinos as possible? How will their messages reach their audiences as quickly as the waves change take place? How will the films impact on humanity?”
“These are the challenges that face us in the next 5 years. Keeping the artistic integrity while evolving, and finding alternative distribution for alternative films. And keeping our optimism alive to keep looking ahead at where this dream will take us next!”
After all, cinema is all about the story and how well it is told by the filmmakers.
The 10 competing full length films and two sets of shorts can be seen in micro cinemas in Metro Manila and at selected Ayala Malls and Vista Cinemas nationwide until Tuesday, August 13. | 775 |
“Hardee’s should reimburse DHEC for the cost of the Hepatitis A vaccine.” Bill Marler
The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) today announced it has provided 4,592 vaccinations through its hepatitis A vaccine clinics in Spartanburg and Greenville.
Vaccinations are being offered to individuals who might have been exposed to hepatitis A at two Hardee’s restaurants located in Spartanburg County. The restaurants are located at 12209 Greenville Highway in Lyman and 1397 E. Main St. in Duncan.
Customers and staff who, as of today, ate at the Lyman-area restaurant between Sept. 10 and Sept. 15, 2015, or the Duncan-area restaurant between Sept. 10 and Sept. 13, 2015, should receive post-exposure treatment for hepatitis A.
To serve customers and staff, DHEC will operate a clinic at the Spartanburg County Health Department on Saturday, Sept. 26, 2015, from 9 a.m. to noon.
Customers and staff who ate at the restaurants between Aug. 31 and Sept. 9 are not likely to benefit from post-exposure treatment.
Anyone who ate at these Hardee’s restaurants between these dates should watch for symptoms of infection, such as nausea, vomiting, and jaundice, which is yellowing of the eyes and skin. Seek medical care if symptoms develop. There are no additional confirmed cases.
Hepatitis A: Marler Clark, The Food Safety Law Firm, is the nation’s leading law firm representing victims of Hepatitis A outbreaks. The Hepatitis A lawyers of Marler Clark have represented thousands of victims of Hepatitis A and other foodborne illness outbreaks and have recovered over $600 million for clients. Marler Clark is the only law firm in the nation with a practice focused exclusively on foodborne illness litigation. Our Hepatitis A lawyers have litigated Hepatitis A cases stemming from outbreaks traced to a variety of sources, such as green onions, lettuce and restaurant food. The law firm has brought Hepatitis A lawsuits against such companies as Subway, McDonald’s, Chipotle, Quiznos and Carl’s Jr.
If you or a family member became ill with a Hepatitis A infection after consuming food and you’re interested in pursuing a legal claim, contact the Marler Clark Hepatitis A attorneys for a free case evaluation. | 776 |
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RUBBISHING claims that cannabis is a psychologically addictive drug that can leave long term users who try to give up with withdrawal symptoms, an expert on the subject and local man Tim Price insisted he could give up the weed ‘anytime he wants’, despite vaping the herb daily for the past 9 years.
“I only vape a small bit every night to relax me before going to sleep,” Price explained, ignoring the multiple times he couldn’t sleep when he ran out of weed. “It’s not addictive, it’s just the fact it’s really therapeutic for my soul and that’s the only reason why I’d miss it”.
Unrecalling his last 4 unsuccessful attempts to ‘knock it on the head’, Price stated there was a massive campaign by multinational medical companies to taint cannabis as a dependent gateway drug, pointing out it was no more addictive than coffee, or sugary foods.
“It’s just Big Pharma trying to regulate it so they can synthesise it so they can make billions of euros,” he added, forgetting the time he drove over 150km one night to get a fifty bag because he ran out and couldn’t face a night being THC free.
“If I wanted to stop, I would, but I don’t want to because it’s good for me and even cures cancer,” he said, seemingly unaware of the high strength, mutated strains flooding the Irish market through criminal gangs, in favour of organic and original lower strength forms.
Asked why he didn’t use other beneficial natural medicines like aloe Vera, chamomile, lavender, turmeric or castor oil every night, Price said he enjoyed cannabis a lot more as it made him feel nice – like wrapped up in cotton wool – insisting it wasn’t an ‘addictive nice’, but more of just a ‘nice nice’.
“That’s a ridiculous question to ask someone,” he barked, hiding the fact he spends over 250 euros per month on the ‘non addictive drug’, “at least I’m not an alcoholic, or a skag head spending all my disposable income on it,” he concluded, before sparking up his vape in a bid to ‘settle his nerves’. | 777 |
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The Los Angeles Police Department announced Wednesday that officers will distribute reflective vests and LED clip-on lights to pedestrians who are stopped for violating traffic laws, in a bid to reduce the number of pedestrian fatalities.
Farmers Insurance Group donated 1,200 vests and 700 lights to the LAPD as part of the collaborative safety effort, said LAPD Chief Michel Moore.
“Approximately half of all traffic fatalities each year involve pedestrians,” Moore said in a news conference at LAPD headquarters. “Many of them — in fact, over half of those fatalities — are individuals that are outside crosswalks.”
So far this year, 107 of about 200 people killed in traffic crashes in Los Angeles were pedestrians, Moore said.
“According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, unfortunately as a nation we see a fatal traffic collision involving a pedestrian every two hours, and we experience an injury every seven minutes,” Moore said. “So, this initiative, we are hopeful, (is) an effort to open up a dialogue with pedestrians as our traffic officers move about the city.”
He said “officers will — in their day-to-day activities across the city — see a pedestrian violation, and they will conduct their traffic stop as they typically do.” But instead of issuing a citation, officers will issue a warning, hand out a pamphlet on traffic safety, and offer the pedestrian a reflective vest or an LED light to clip onto their clothing, the chief said.
“It’s not just an enforcement issue,” Moore said. “This is a matter of education, a matter of awareness, and a matter of personal responsibility.”
Moore said most of the pedestrian deaths and injuries occur on dark streets; and even if pedestrians are in a crosswalk, motorists might not be able to see them, so they should try to make themselves more visible by using reflective items.
“This is common sense,” Moore said. “This really should become part of the arsenal of every walker, of a cyclist, of a person who is moving around the city … We have `defensive driving’ (and should have) `defensive walking,’ as well.”
LAPD Announces Pedestrian Safety Initiative was last modified: by
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The book's title is as much a statement of a manifesto as a straightforward cookbook. That's not by accident – it's immediately stated as such. One of the book's first pages features a passage of "I Am a Filipino," an anti-colonialist essay written by General Carlos P. Romulo, first appearing in The Philippines Herald in August 1941. Filipinos have long existed in America's tapestry, and are the second-largest Asian ethnic group in America. Writer Nicole Ponseca (proprietor of New York City's Pinoy-centric hot spots Jeepney, Maharlika, and Tita Baby's) aims to push Filipino cuisine to the forefront, creating an authoritative affirmation of pride in Filipino heritage.
For readers who've never been to the Philippines, Ponseca and Miguel Trinidad's grounded tome serves as excellent foundational work, even including a section called Filipino Food 101, which provides age-old processes, essential ingredients, and linguistic data necessary for success with the sophisticated cuisine. From the start, a nostalgic Ponseca leans into her personal experiences as a second-generation Filipino-American and her profound desire for more broad representation of her culture. "I felt uplifted whenever I saw someone who looked remotely like me in the media," she writes. "I was hungry for it. Starving."
The book mashes on the gas, with Ponseca quickly pulling in co-writer/chef/restaurant partner Trinidad's influence. Together the duo builds out over 100 recipes, including curries, adobos, soups, 21st century fusions, and items for your sweet tooth. Surrounding Ponseca and Trinidad's blending of data and sentiment is gorgeous and earnest photography throughout. I Am a Filipino and This Is How We Cook is also served with love. Ponseca provides a recipe to kare kare, an oxtail-based dish – the first she remembers. While surprising her mother with her enjoyment of the fishy, fermented condiment bagoóng, her father says, simply: "Of course. She's Filipino."
I Am a Filipino, and This Is How We Cook
Ponseca will speak at “Filipino Culture Through Family and Food” at 11am Sunday, Oct. 28, in Capitol Extension Rm. E2.028, and Ponseca and Trinidad will sign I Am a Filipino at 3pm in the Adult Signing Tent on Congress. | 779 |
res with my home network. Changing it to a non-overlapping RFC 1918 subnet worked great!
Potential pitfalls
Some issues I ran in to while making this post (and maybe you’ll hit too!) are:
Host resolv.conf making kube-dns confused - I wrote another blog post about this! The gist is, if your /etc/resolv.conf on the host includes 127.0.0.1, you might have trouble.
- I wrote another blog post about this! The gist is, if your on the host includes, you might have trouble. Calico’s etcd doesn’t clean up after itself - if you’re iterating a lot on cluster configuration and kubeadm options, you might use kubeadm reset to blow away your current configuration and start again. If you do, one thing to note is that the Calico configuration I use runs its own etcd on Kubernetes, which stores its data in the host’s /var/etcd. While kubeadm reset cleans up after the Kubernetes etcd cluster (which stores data in the host’s /var/lib/etcd ), it wont clean up the Calico one - you have to do that yourself.
- if you’re iterating a lot on cluster configuration and options, you might use to blow away your current configuration and start again. If you do, one thing to note is that the Calico configuration I use runs its own etcd on Kubernetes, which stores its data in the host’s. While cleans up after the Kubernetes etcd cluster (which stores data in the host’s ), it wont clean up the Calico one - you have to do that yourself. The “sock shop” example app uses a lot of RAM: the kubeadm getting started guide suggests a sample application to run run on your cluster, the Sock Shop (a basic ecommerce site that sells socks). While this is a pretty neat example app with a lot of depth, it consumes a lot of RAM. I initially was going to use it in step 7 “Run some services!” but it ran my droplet out of memory! I ran it on my (much beefier) home machine - simply starting it up seems to take 4.5 GB of RAM.
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A contentious effort to introduce a sex-drive drug for women may be nearing a climax. After rejecting “the pink Viagra” (AKA flibanserin) twice in the past five years, a Federal Drug Administration advisory committee voted today that the the pill should be approved if measures are taken to reduce its potential side effects, such as low blood pressure and fainting.
The nonhormonal drug, developed by Sprout Pharmaceutical, is meant to be taken nightly. The company says it works by altering chemicals in the brain to increase a woman’s sexual desire (unlike Viagra, which increases blood flow to certain parts of the body). Women who took the drug in trials reported no more than one additional “sexually satisfying event” per month than women who received a placebo.
Women who took the drug in trials reported no more than one additional “sexually satisfying event” per month than women who received a placebo.
Today’s vote comes 17 years after the FDA approved Viagra, the incredibly profitable erectile dysfunction treatment. Since then, more than two dozen prescription drugs have been approved to assist with male sexual performance, but none for women.
Even the Score, a group backed by the pharmaceutical companies that developed flibanserin, says that women also suffer from sexual dysfunction and that the unwillingness to develop and approve drugs to treat it is a matter of bias. They called today’s vote a victory for gender equality. “Women with Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder deserve the safety and peace of mind that comes with access to FDA-approved medical treatment options, and today we write a new chapter in the fight for equity in sexual health,” Even the Score said in a statement.
But others believe that potentially profitable drugs for a dubious disorder are being pushed with little proven effectiveness. “I don’t think there is anything sexist about denying approval for drugs that don’t have an adequate risk-to-benefit ratio,” Thea Cacchioni, a professor of women’s studies at the University of Victoria in British Columbia, told the New York Times. According to Forbes, $50 million in private investment rest on flibanserin’s approval.
The FDA is expected to come to a final decision on the drug in August. | 781 |
‘Clown’ tries kicking in door to vacant law office, arrested by Alton police
Photo: John Badman | The Telegraph Photo: John Badman | The Telegraph Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close ‘Clown’ tries kicking in door to vacant law office, arrested by Alton police 1 / 1 Back to Gallery
ALTON — Police arrested a man well-known to them Friday morning, undaunted by his appearance in a clown costume.
The suspect, Ronald M. Singleton, 54 — a longtime Alton resident but with court records listing a Dupo address — allegedly entered a vacant house in the 2500 block of Washington Avenue, a witness told The Telegraph.
Once inside, Singleton put on a colorful red, white, blue and yellow clown costume, came outside and began kicking the door of a second empty building that formerly housed a law office, the witness said. He also carried a complementing, multi-colored umbrella.
The witness, an employee of a nearby business, called police and they arrested Singleton at about 9:30 a.m. about a half block south on Washington Avenue, still dressed in the costume. Singleton had left the umbrella behind on the steps of the second building, which is just north of James H. Killion Park at Salu.
Pfc. Emily Hejna, public information officer at the Alton Police Department, said Friday morning it was too early to say what charges Singleton might face in the incident.
People were frightened several years ago during a spate of incidents across the country where individuals would pop up along roads or in wooded areas dressed as clowns, with authorities warning the public they could endanger themselves by wearing the costumes.
Earlier this week, the Madison County State’s Attorney’s Office on Tuesday charged Singleton with criminal damage to government-supported property, less than $500 — Class 4 felony — and a misdemeanor charge of criminal trespass to vehicles. The felony charge accuses Singleton of damaging the tint on a window in Alton City Jail, with a judge setting bond of $25,000.
Last month, Singleton was cited with pedestrian under the influence of alcohol or drugs on Aug. 17 and 19; and with littering on Aug. 18, as part of 11 total offenses in 2018, not counting Friday’s incident.
Reach Linda N. Weller at 618-208-6450 or on Twitter @Linda_Weller | 782 |
According to an article in the Register, NASA came across what it calls a “transiting circumbinary multi-planet system” – in layman’s speak, “two worlds orbiting two suns” – using its Kepler planet-hunting telescope, and the Register likens to “Doctor Who’s Time Lord homeworld [of] Gallifrey – or alternatively the luxury-planet-builders’ planet Magrathea [from] The Hitchhikers’ Guide to the Galaxy”!The Register reports the lead author of the study, Jerome Orosz – associate professor of astronomy at San Diego State University – as saying, “Each planet transits over the primary star, giving unambiguous evidence that the planets are real.”Digital Journal's Andrew Moran first reported on the discovery in January of this year, but the full study report has now been accepted by and published in Science.The new system, which has been named Kepler 47, has two stars circling each other every 7.5 days. One of them is similar in size to our sun, whereas the other is approximately one third its size.The inner planet – Kepler-47b – is three times the size of our world, making it the smallest known transiting circumbinary planet, and it orbits the stars every 49 days. The second – Kepler-47c – lies in the habitable zone around the two suns.The Register goes on to state that Kepler-47c is “slightly larger than Uranus and circles its stars every 303 days, making it the longest transiting planet currently known. The whole system lies about 5,000 light years away in the Cygnus constellation”.The full report of NASA's twin-system discovery is published in Science.The fictional Time Lord planet of Gallifrey resides in a binary star system within the constellation of Kasterborous. Although Doctor Who began in 1963, the name of the Doctor’s home planet was not revealed until the Third Doctor named it in "The Time Warrior" in 1974.Since then, exiled from his own people, the Doctor has returned to Gallifrey on only a few occasions – The Deadly Assassin (1976) The Invasion of Time (1978), Arc of Infinity (1983) and The Five Doctors (1983).During the Time War, Gallifrey was time-locked and has only featured fully once since 2005, in David Tennant’s swansong as the Doctor, The End of Time (2010). | 783 |
Researchers with the Computer Emergency Response Team in the country of Georgia say they turned the tables on a hacker who planted advanced espionage malware on Georgian and American computers to collect sensitive security documents.
Researchers had been following perpetrators behind the "Georbot Botnet" they said used advanced methods to infiltrate the computers of government ministries and parliament, banks, and non-governmental organizations. The Botnet's targets spanned Georgia, the US, Canada, Ukraine, France, and other countries. Besides exploiting unpublished software vulnerabilities to install malware, the attackers also planted malicious links on specific webpages that would interest the kinds of people being targeted.
The campaign searched victim machines for documents with certain terms and also used embedded webcams and microphones to eavesdrop on targeted individuals. It began as early as March 2011 and lasted as long as 12 months. The CERT members tracking the hacking said they linked it to "Russian Security agencies."
Part of their research, outlined in a 27-page report, included infecting one of the perpetrators with the same malware used in the campaign. The researchers then recorded a man as he used one of the computers the researchers had compromised.
As the report explained:
We have infected our PC from Lab, then gave Cyber Attacker Fake ZIP Archive with his own virus inside and the name "Georgian-Nato Agreement". Attacker stole that archive and executed malicious files. As we had access to BOT Panel, we had maintained control over his PC. Then captured got video of him, personally. We have captured process of creating new malicious modules. We have obtained Russian Document, from e-mail, where he was giving someone instructions how to use this malicious software and how to infect targets. We have linked him with some of German and Russian hackers. Then we have obtained information about his destination city, Internet service provider, e-mail, and etc.
Attribution—that is, the task of determining what group or country is behind a physical or network attack—has long been a complicated and imprecise undertaking. That makes it hard for disinterested third parties to state with certainty who is behind an attack and easy for the accused party or country to provide facts that seem to rebut the claims. In 2008, crippling denial-of-service attacks on Georgian banks and government websites preceded Russia's military campaign in that country. Many Georgians claim the attacks were carried out by Russians. The photographs and other data allegedly taken by the hacker's own computer may be of particular value as this latest dispute plays out. | 784 |
with the name of the variable, which is what the reader is most interested in, and is followed by the default value. The names are left-aligned and are the first thing on each line (save for the initial var which establishes that these are variables). The commas, being incidental, are hidden nicely at the end of the line.
We can reinforce this structure with vertical alignment of the = :
var x = shape. left (), y = shape. right (), numSides = shape. sides ();
We could go even further and align the commas and semi-colon, however this draws attention to aspects of the code that aren’t important (much as the comma-first style does). Although JavaScript needs to know when each declaration ends, we, the human reader, already know - the line merely ends. The declaration block itself ends with whitespace - that JavaScript requires a semicolon is incidental to reading this code.
This is why the “comma-first” typesetting is so distracting. It puts the comma - something unimportant to reading the code - right up front, forcing the reader to slog through it to get to the real meat of the declaration.
I could go on about many more idiomatic typesetting in various languages, but I thought it would be a fun exercise to make an argument against this style, based purely on tyopgraphical concerns, and see if it sticks.
Thinking about code typography has made more more bold in my code formatting choices, but there is a practical cost to this: source control diffs.
Unlike a printed book, code changes frequently. When we use heavier typography, we end up having to re-set the code around a particular change, and this creates non-functional changes to source code, making the overall changeset larger than it needs to be. I suppose we’d have to start applying typographic principles to our diffs as well :)
Despite these problems, I still think it’s worth taking a fresh look at code typography - anything that helps us read and understand code better has to be a good thing. At the very least, having a clear understanding of why code is set in a certain way can help us better understand the purpose of the code, and the trade-offs we make between reading, modifying, and writing it.
Special thanks to @mrmrs_ for the book recommendation and to @jxblk for reviewing this post. | 785 |
“It’s the hot tip in K-beauty right now.” This, I’m told constantly, and always take with a fat grain of salt. But at dinner in Seoul last week with a particularly plugged-in friend, I heard that a rather unorthodox trick called jamsu makeup (roughly translated to “diving” or “submerging”) had swept the city this summer, producing a perfectly matte, melt-proof face with little more than a bottle of baby powder and a basin of water. Given the thick humidity enveloping both the U.S. and Korea of late, I was at least intrigued by the wholly whimsical proposition.
It was purportedly a Japanese beauty blogger who sparked the trend on YouTube, though it quickly became a Korean sensation. The novel technique bears some similarity to “baking”—setting your makeup with powder and body heat—but feels rather next-level. First, cleanse and moisturize, then swipe on primer, foundation, and concealer, per usual. Then, shake heavy handfuls of Johnson’s Baby Powder onto your palms (though any loose powder will do) and pat it on freely, releasing clouds of it into the air until a pale kabuki-style base appears. Filling a sink with cool water, plunge your powdered complexion into the bath and hold it there for no more than 30 seconds. Finally, pat your face dry, and finish the rest of your look with a lasting, pitch-perfect canvas.
“If you have dry skin, don’t push your face in the water too long,” my friend says, adding that one might take a facial mist and spray liberally, instead. A bit reluctantly, I dunk my Ringu-esque head in the sink for some 15 seconds, feeling (frankly) ridiculous. But, I quickly find, the results are beyond. Yes, my skin is intensely matte, but also incredibly smooth and even-toned. Better yet, when shading in my arches and applying liner, there is no oil-induced glide, allowing me to craft fine, pencil-thin strokes that are the best brow-work I’ve done in ages—all thanks to a $4 tin of drugstore powder. It lasts remarkably well with no under-eye smudging and, I’m frequently told, my face looks softer and even younger—appropriately enough, like the skin on a baby’s bottom. | 786 |
An Italian poll has shown the right-populist La Lega led by firebrand Interior Minister Matteo Salvini ahead of the anti-establishment Five Star Movement (M5S) for the first time.
The poll, released Monday by Italian firm SWG, shows La Lega (The League) with 29.2 percent of the vote, just ahead of their coalition partners the anti-establishment Five Star Movement which polled 29 percent.
The popularity of La Lega has almost doubled following the national election in which the party scored 17.4 percent in March after the party formed a new government with M5S which was the largest single party in the election with 32.7 percent.
Much of the newfound popularity of La Lega has come following Salvini’s decision to ban the migrant transport ship Aquarius, operated by NGO SOS Méditerranée, earlier this month from Italian ports along with the 629 migrants onboard.
While the move was criticised by French President Emmanuel Macron and others, an IPSOS poll showed that nearly 70 percent of Italians agreed with Salvini’s decision.
Following the move, Salvini spoke of other NGOs trying to bring migrants to Italy saying: “These gentlemen know that Italy no longer wants to be complicit in the business of illegal immigration, and therefore will have to look for other ports [not Italian] where to go.”
Over the weekend the NGO Mission Lifeline referred to Salvini as a “fascist” in a tweet which was later deleted.
In response, Salvini posted a picture of a man with a large nose-piercing and a dyed pink mohawk he claimed was a member of the crew of an NGO vessel and wrote: “This gentleman is in the crew of the German NGO ship who, while waiting to load immigrants, called me a ‘fascist,’ Reassuring I would say!”
Salvini has also begun to forge an alliance with several anti-mass migration governments including the conservative-populist government of Austria and met with Vice-Chancellor and leader of the populist Freedom Party Heinz-Christian Strache on Tuesday.
Con il vicepremier austriaco Strache, amici e alleati per difendere i nostri popoli! @HCStracheFP pic.twitter.com/B9uwEsxW7F — Matteo Salvini (@matteosalvinimi) June 19, 2018 | 787 |
. Mary's Pro Cathedral in Dublin.
Pope Francis visits Ireland amid outrage over church abuse Irish PM urges action Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar, the country's first openly gay leader, urged Francis to follow through on his promises to provide justice for church abuse victims. "We must now ensure that from words flow actions," Varadkar told Francis in a strongly-worded speech at a reception for the pope.
Pope Francis visits Ireland amid outrage over church abuse Supporters line streets Crowds of people lined the streets in Dublin along the popemobile route for a chance to see Francis on Saturday. Despite the cheering supporters, Francis' reception was much more subdued compared to the massive crowds that greeted Pope John Paul II during his papal visit in 1979.
Pope Francis visits Ireland amid outrage over church abuse Protests by the popemobile Not all the banners along Francis' route through Dublin were ones of support. As Francis waved to the crowds, one protester held up a sign reading: "Pope head of the biggest paedophile ring in the history of mankind."
Pope Francis visits Ireland amid outrage over church abuse Pushing for change in church Protesters decorated Dublin's Ha'penny Bridge with rainbow flags and purple umbrellas to support LGBT inclusion in the church and women's ordination. The blue ribbons tied on the bridge were to remember the church abuse victims.
Pope Francis visits Ireland amid outrage over church abuse 'I beg forgiveness' Rounding out his two-day papal visit, Francis led a Mass in Dublin's Phoenix Park where he issued a sweeping apology for the abuse carried out by church leaders. Tens of thousands of people braved the windy and rainy weather to attend the Mass, although turnout was lower than expected. Earlier in the day, he told a crowd in the city of Knock: "I beg forgiveness for these sins."
Pope Francis visits Ireland amid outrage over church abuse Solidarity march for abuse survivors Elsewhere in Dublin, thousands of people joined the Stand4Truth solidarity march for abuse survivors that took place at the same time as Francis' Mass in Phoenix Park. Survivors, their families and supporters walked in silence to the last of Ireland's former Magdalene laundries where unwed mothers were forced to work and separated from their babies. Author: Rebecca Staudenmaier (with AP, dpa, Reuters)
Each evening at 1830 UTC, DW's editors send out a selection of the day's hard news and quality feature journalism. You can sign up to receive it directly here. | 788 |
New Jersey Republican Jeff Bell is trailing incumbent opponent Cory Booker in the race for the Senate, and he knows exactly why: It's because all the single mothers in the state are "wed" to the Democratic Party for the social benefits. Bell attributes Booker's 20-point lead not to his own outdated, conservative social views, but to the demographic rise in the number of unmarried female voters.
"I've done a lot of thinking about this and looked at a lot of different polls, I think it has more to do with the rise in single women," Bell explained to the Asbury Park Press. "Single mothers particularly are automatically Democratic because of the benefits. They need benefits to survive, and so that kind of weds them to the Democratic Party."
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It's not just unwed mothers who love those Democratic social benefits, though. "[Single] women who have never married and don't have children are also that way," Bell went on. "If you take married women, they aren't that different from married men. So it's really a problem with the decline in marriage rates. The Democrats do benefit from that."
Married women and married men do tend to vote more similarly to one another than to unmarried women, likely because of the emphasis on issues such as flexible family leave policies, equal pay and affordable childcare, in addition to contraception and reproductive healthcare access. According to Bell, though, the gender gap in voting isn't so much about the issues as it is about (stereotypical) gender differences.
"Even before the gender gap appeared, men were more willing to vote for change," Bell said. "They're more bomb-throwers. Women are more cautious.... If you're doing well among men, that is something that an insurgent candidate needs."
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Booker's campaign responded to Bell's comments by touting the senator's support for the very "benefits" his opponent criticized. "It is not surprising that women across New Jersey are supporting Sen. Booker," campaign spokeswoman Silvia Alvarez said. "Whether it is his fighting to expand college affordability, equal pay, increasing the minimum wage or expanding access to women's health care, New Jerseyans can always count on Sen. Booker to reach across the aisle to find bipartisan solutions to the issues affecting our state."
On Twitter, another Booker spokesperson added, "Wow. [Jeff Bell] would give Don Draper a run for his money in the antiquated thinking department."
(h/t Raw Story) | 789 |
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Manor sporting director Graeme Lowdon is wary of the threat likely to be posed by Haas next year when Formula 1's grid expands to 11 teams.
The arrival of Haas, increasing the F1 field to 22 cars, will put pressure on Manor to retain its lucrative top-10 place in the constructors' championship.
Under current regulations a team that finishes outside the top 10 two years out of three is not entitled to any prize money from F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone.
With Manor the present back-of-the-grid team, it will be determined to at least keep ahead of Haas when the American team enters F1 in 2016.
Asked whether that was the task facing Manor, Lowdon told AUTOSPORT: "Yes, that's right.
"From what I can see the team coming in next year has gone about making a Formula 1 car in a very different way to everybody else.
"When they do fall under the rules at some stage it will be interesting to see how all that progression goes.
"But we have to focus on what we can do within the rules, and try and be as competitive as we can for next year.
"We are developing the next car. What I am happy about is the progress on it does look really good, so that gives everybody energy to push forward.
"As you know the races come thick and fast [over the second half of this season] so we can't be complacent, and equally we can't wait around for performance to come.
"We have to keep pushing as much as we can, keep trying to add speed, and just see how the second half of the season pans out."
As to what can be expected from Manor after the F1 summer break, Lowdon initially joked: "Hopefully we won't look quite so knackered."
He then added: "It's been non-stop. I know it's the same at every team, but we had a very unusual start to the year and we've not had half a chance to draw breath, but now we can.
"People have been tested physically, mentally, and without any question emotionally.
"Because of the regulations, which we support, there is the two-week factory shutdown, so all the guys can go and spend some time with their families, recharge their batteries and be ready to push for the second half of the season." | 790 |
Minecraft
I recently discovered the game Minecraft. It’s an open-world sandbox: basically, you just build things out of blocks. Technically, there are two modes: creative mode, where you have an infinite palette of materials, and survival mode, where you start with nothing and have to mine raw materials in order to build things and craft other items. In survival mode, there is an optional added challenge of monsters that roam around at night. The presence of these “mobs” imposes some focus on your activity, as it becomes important to build a defensible shelter.
Somewhat surprisingly, I find that I prefer the survival mode. I don’t care much for dealing with the monsters, but planning how to collect or create the materials needed to build interesting structures requires just the right amount of strategy, in my opinion, to keep the creativity fun without becoming frustrating or boring.
(There is also a “hunger” mechanism that requires you to occasionally hunt or harvest food in order to stay active. This only applies when mobs are enabled. Ideally, I would like to be able to toggle these challenges independently, so that I could face the logistical challenge of maintaining adequate levels of both food and supplies without also being harassed by giant spiders.)
Anyway, here’s a dome I built in peaceful survival mode:
The glass (lots of it!) was smelted from sand using charcoal derived from trees I chopped down. Trees are a renewable resource – you can plant the saplings that sometimes drop from their leaves – so, yes, I’m practicing sustainable forestry.
Here’s another sunset scene. As you can see, there are different biomes in Minecraft. This fort was built in a wintry forest with mobs (and therefore also hunger) enabled. It started out as a mere bunker and grew to include the tower and courtyard pumpkin patch you see here:
(The game is updated frequently, so it’s worth noting this post is based on version 1.1.)
The popularity of Minecraft and the apparent vitality of its peripheral economy (subscription-based multiplayer servers; ad-supported map designers and mod-makers; revenue-sharing YouTube channels) makes me rethink the viability of my old idea for a custom LEGO kit store. People do like to build stuff for fun, and will support accessible services that enrich their hobby.
Posted on Sunday, February 26th, 2012. Tags: games, minecraft. | 791 |
Cardi B turned down Super Bowl Halftime gig to support Colin Kaepernick.
Recently, the rapper Cardi B revealed, she declined Super Bowl Halftime gig to stand behind ex-NFL player Colin Kaepernick.
On Friday evening, during an interview with the Associated Press, the Grammy-nominated singer revealed about the "mixed feelings" she went through after turning down the show.
"You have to sacrifice that. I got to sacrifice a lot of money to perform. But there's a man who sacrificed his job for us, so we got to stand behind him."
The singer said it was a tough decision as her husband, rapper Offset, loves watching football.
"He really wants to go to the Super Bowl, but he can't go to the Super Bowl, because he's got to stand for something."
The former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick kneeled down during playings of the pre-game anthem in 2016 to raise awareness on police brutality, racial inequality, and other social issues, igniting a lasting political firestorm.
Following the incident, some other musical artists including Rihanna and Pink reportedly turned down offers to perform during this year's halftime.
In a recent song, Jay-Z also alluded to declining to perform at the Super Bowl, and Amy Schumer refused to appear in a TV ad during the game.
Apparently, Maroon 5 will perform during the halftime show alongside Big Boi of Outkast and rapper Travis Scott while Gladys Knight will sing the national anthem. Cardi B will also have a brief appearance on a Pepsi Super Bowl commercial.
Last year, during her interview with TMZ, the rapper persisted she wouldn't perform at the big game until Kaepernick was offered a job.
As per the singer, the arrogance of the apparent leader is the prime cause behind the increased hatred and prejudice regarding race.
"We got an arrogant president, and the racism right now has been reborn. They feel mighty brave nowadays. When Obama was around, I just feel like they were praying on the day when his eight years was over. A lot of jealousy."
Cardi B added:
"When they see (how) the choices they made due to racism has affected the country, that's when things are going to start changing. Right now, they don't want to accept that their decision has affected the country."
With the protest supporting Kaepernick, Cardi B hopes to bring about the positive change in the world. | 792 |
By Laura Zuckerman
(Reuters) - A Montana bride accused of killing her new husband by pushing him off a cliff at Glacier National Park had spoken of killing her mother and stepfather in the weeks before her June wedding, federal prosecutors said in legal documents.
U.S. prosecutors say 22-year-old Jordan Graham was unhappy in her new marriage and deliberately shoved her husband of eight days off a rock ledge during an argument while hiking a steep trail on July 7.
She was indicted last month on charges of first- and second-degree murder in the death of Cody Johnson, 25. Her attorneys have said his death was an accident.
Prosecutors, in filings in U.S. District Court in Missoula, said they plan to produce evidence at next month's trial that Graham made statements about killing her mother and stepfather about five weeks before Johnson plunged to his death.
They argued that Graham's remarks about killing her parents, made in the weeks before her wedding, would be used to "negate innocent intent and demonstrate the likelihood that the defendant did an act with the requisite intent in the charged case," according to legal documents filed late on Monday.
Prosecutors also notified the court that they intend to prove Graham lied about alleged abuse she suffered in previous romantic relationships, arguing that such fabrications provided key insights about her state of mind and credibility.
Graham told federal investigators that Johnson had "tried to hold me down" during an argument at their home in the city of Kalispell just before the couple went for the hike at Glacier, court records show.
She said that when her husband "tried to grab my arm and my jacket" during the dispute and that she acted in self-defense by pulling away even as she pushed him, according to legal documents filed by Graham's federal defenders.
Her attorneys have previously scolded prosecutors for labeling their client a sociopath and for theorizing that a cloth found near Johnson's body might have been used to blindfold him. Her lawyers could not immediately be reached for comment on Tuesday.
Prosecutors said in legal filings on Tuesday that an FBI forensic scientist who conducted tests on the material will testify at trial about "the discovery of six human hairs embedded in the cloth."
A U.S. judge in September ordered Graham released from jail, fitted with an electronic monitoring device and placed in the custody of her parents at their Kalispell home pending trial.
(Editing by Cynthia Johnston and Doina Chiacu) | 793 |
A new report estimates consumers spent $53.3 billion on cannabis in North America last year.
The first-of-its-kind analysis, compiled by ArcView Market Research, spans legal, medical and illegal marijuana markets across both the United States and Canada. At around $46 billion, the illegal market constituted 87 percent of marijuana sales in 2016 (a decrease from 90 percent in 2015), dwarfing both medical and legal sales.
The marijuana investment and research firm provided a 25-page executive summary of its fifth annual State of Legal Marijuana Markets to The Huffington Post Tuesday, ahead of the full report’s release in February.
Arcview projects the legal marijuana market will expand from its current $6.9 billion to $21.6 billion by 2021, as California, Massachusetts and Canada expand their cannabis sales, and medical sales begin in Florida. The $6.9 billion figure is itself a 34 percent increase in just one year from 2015.
Assuming the projections hold, the five-year growth rate for legal marijuana from 2016 to 2021 would fall just short of that seen by broadband internet providers from 2002 through 2007, which expanded at around 29 percent per year, from around $7 billion to north of $25 billion.
Unlike most of the billion-dollar industries that preceded it, marijuana is in a unique position, ArcView argues, because the market doesn’t need to be created from scratch ― it just needs to transition from illicit to legal channels.
“The enormous amount of existing, if illicit, consumer spending sets cannabis apart from most other major consumer-market investment opportunities throughout history,” Arcview Market Research CEO Troy Dayton explained in an emailed statement.
“In contrast to comparable markets with fast growth from zero to tens of billions in recent decades such as organic foods, home video, mobile, or the internet, the cannabis industry doesn’t need to create demand for a new product or innovation ― it just needs to move demand for an already widely-popular product into legal channels.”
In states that have moved to tax and regulate the drug, the black market has decreased rapidly, the report found. Colorado’s black market, for instance, accounts for about one-third of all cannabis sales, with the majority having transitioned to legal marketplaces.
ArcView found the cashflow going to drug dealers and cartels has diminished accordingly, helped in part by the shrinking “illegality premium” for the product once demanded by the black market. | 794 |
We are thrilled to announce the hiring of digital product designer Jon Myers as Chief Design Officer. This move reinforces our commitment to provide cryptocurrency traders with an industry defining platform.
As many of you will know, we operate two cryptocurrency exchanges, QUOINEX and QRYPTOS, which will soon merge to become one, the LIQUID platform. Jon has been brought on board to oversee all design work going forwards to ensure that LIQUID meets the high expectations of today’s cryptocurrency traders with a product that is exceptional in both design and function.
This past year we have worked tirelessly to lay the foundations for building a world-leading, sustainable blockchain fintech company. This has meant that our focus has been on securing a license with the Japanese Financial Service Agency and ensuring our exchanges adhere to the highest possible standards, particularly in the area of security.
It’s of the utmost importance to us that we operate within the realms of the law and work with governments, regulators and financial institutions alike.
Now that we have those pieces in place, we can turn our attention to the look and feel of our products. Jon will lead our design team and play a key role in the transformation of our platform as we strive to provide the best possible experience for cryptocurrency traders of all levels, as well as token issuers, institutional investors and the whole crypto economy.
Message received
We have heard loud and clear the feedback from our community on the current UI and UX of our products. While we have been rolling out updates and making significant changes to our products to make them more user-friendly and appealing, these are really only temporary measures as we work towards the launch of LIQUID and the opportunity this gives us to draw a line in the sand and build the kind of brand we know you expect from us.
We couldn’t think of a more ideal candidate to get this done. Jon is a leading authority on design and startups. Combining a mix of psychology, economics and business strategy, he has worked with startups, governments, banks and Fortune 500 companies to leverage design and turn it into economic value.
He has consulted with the likes of Goldman Sachs, General Electric, Billboard Magazine, the FBI, the government of Dubai and more. Through speaking and mentoring, Jon teaches startup founders best practices and unconventional approaches to business, which has resulted in numerous success stories.
This hiring is the latest in a number of acquisitions of world-class talent who have joined our leadership team this year. | 795 |
this morning. The public service is essential. #COVID19Aus pic.twitter.com/egUvCYQYqm — Cinzia Myatt (@cinziamyatt) March 22, 2020
Huge numbers of people are about to understand why @CPSUnion & many others have been fighting against staff cuts and privatisation of Centrelink.
Pls do not blame Centrelink workers for delays & problems.#auspol #coronavirusaus https://t.co/alxF2FPUL1 — Michael Tull (@Michtull) March 22, 2020
With Centrelink’s online services down, the government services minister, Stuart Robert, said that the MyGov website had suffered a distributed denial-of-service attack. He would not give any details.
He later told parliament that, in fact, the system had simply been overwhelmed when about 90,000 users tried to access the website concurrently just after 9am.
In a bid to clear the enormous lines at Centrelink offices, Robert also announced the government would once again pay jobseekers from the date they contacted the agency to start a benefits claim, reversing a savings measures passed in 2018.
And he said people claiming unemployment benefits for the first time could prove their identity over the phone, rather than in person at a Centrelink office.
This statement probably should have been posted BEFORE everyone started to line up at Centrelink #coronaaustralia pic.twitter.com/JeLtzaM0t0 — Sam Clench (@SamClench) March 23, 2020
Centrelink call centre operating hours would also be extended until 8pm on weekdays and 9am-5pm on weekends.
Labor’s government services spokesman, Bill Shorten, said the there had been a “lack of planning to deal with demand at Centrelink shopfronts”.
“Many families, workers and business owners who have never accessed social security before are being forced to by the financial effects of the coronavirus,” he said.
“People should not have to wait weeks to access these vital payments.”
Robert said the government had upgraded the MyGov website to cater for 10 times its usual traffic over the weekend. It can now deal with more than 55,000 concurrent users.
But for hours on Monday, it still could not cope. | 796 |
By Sharon Bernstein
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Reuters) - A federal judge hearing the case of nine men accused of illegally growing marijuana in California said Wednesday she was taking very seriously arguments by their attorneys that the federal government has improperly classified the drug as among the most dangerous, and should throw the charges out.
Judge Kimberly J. Mueller said she would rule within 30 days on the request, which comes amid looser enforcement of U.S. marijuana laws, including moves to legalize its recreational use in Washington state, Colorado, Oregon and Alaska.
"If I were persuaded by the defense's argument, if I bought their argument, what would you lose here?" she asked prosecutors during closing arguments on the motion to dismiss the cases against the men.
The men were charged in 2011 with growing marijuana on private and federal land in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest in Northern California near the city of Redding.
If convicted, they face up to life imprisonment and a $10 million fine, plus forfeiture of property and weapons.
In their case before Mueller in U.S. District Court in Sacramento, defense lawyers have argued that U.S. law classifying pot as a Schedule One drug, which means it has no medical use and is among the most dangerous, is unconstitutional, given that 23 states have legalized the drug for medical use.
Lawyer Zenia Gilg, who represented defense attorneys for all of the men during closing arguments, pointed to Congress' recent decision to ban the Department of Justice from interfering in states' implementation of their medical marijuana laws as evidence of her contention that the drug's classification as Schedule One should be overturned.
"It's impossible to say that there is no accepted medical use," said Gilg, who has argued that her client was growing pot for medical use.
But Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory Broderick said that it was up to Congress to change the law, not the court. He said that too few doctors believed that marijuana had medical uses for the drug's definition to change under the law.
Story continues
"We're not saying that this is the most dangerous drug in the world," Broderick said. "All we're saying is that the evidence is such that reasonable people could disagree."
The defendants, he said, were illegally growing marijuana on federal land.
"They had weapons," Broderick said. "These guys were not producing medicine."
(Editing by Eric Walsh) | 797 |
if you’ve decided to sell your eth because perhaps you need whatever, rather than plainly doing so you can lock it in dai which you can then fairly easily turn into actual fiat cash by say buying eth with the dai, selling that eth on Coinbase or wherever for fiat dollars, and then withdrawing them to your bank account.
Obviously there’s the more complex element here that locking your eth into dai doesn’t lock the eth at the current price. You’d probably want to lock more eth than withdrawn dai dollars worth of eth as otherwise the activity is no different than straight selling.
That means if price moves against you, then your eth may be sold at a lower price than current price. So there’s a balancing aspect of just how much risk you want to take, whether you’re fine with the eth potentially sold at a lower price than current price, and whether that is offset by price potentially increasing, something which you wouldn’t be able to take advantage of if straight sold.
For those with means, they can lock say 5 times the amount of eth, and withdraw just 1eth worth of dai dollars. They can then use these dollars however they want while being fairly safe in knowing that while obviously there is still some risk, it is a very small risk.
That could potentially have taxable benefits as selling your eth is a taxable event, while drawing dai isn’t as far as we’re aware.
Making this aspect a use case, at least for some, in addition to margin trading and the pegged dollar value. Use cases which for Maker holders translates into “dividends” as the “profits” from the circa 0.5% interest rate that dai currently charges are used to burn MKR tokens, thus lowering supply.
In addition, as dai is digitally native, it benefits from easy integration with other dapps as Augur has announced for example.
Making it all one of the biggest success story for ethereum so far and perhaps for the entire blockchain space as the concept of smart contracts is finally proved in as far as nearly one million eth are locked in the dai smart contract and no one has yet been able to take them.
As long as that remains the case, and there are fail safe mechanisms but they haven’t been tested, then PJ is probably right that this is a game changer.
Copyrights Trustnodes.com | 798 |
Technically Incorrect offers a slightly twisted take on the tech that's taken over our lives.
KOMO News screenshot by Chris Matyszczyk/CNET
There are many ways of inflaming passengers on today's claustrophobically cramped airlines.
Anna Crail, however, managed it in quite a novel and inadvertent way.
She was flying from Bellingham, Washington to Hawaii with Alaska Air on Thursday. It's spring break, don't you know.
Suddenly she started to emit flames. Well, her iPhone 6 did.
"When it started I thought we were going down, and I was like, 'oh my god, there's a fire on the plane,'" she told KOMO News.
The fire, it seems, came from her own phone. And the plane was 90 minutes from Honolulu, over the Pacific Ocean.
"All of the sudden there was like 8-inch flames coming out of my phone," she told KOMO. "And I flipped it off onto the ground and it got under someone's seat, and the flames were just getting higher and a bunch of people stood up."
One imagines they did. It's not every day you see flames on a plane. Snakes, certainly. But not flames.
The Federal Aviation Administration told me that it's investigating the incident. A spokesman added that the Boeing 737 landed safely, with no damage to humans or machine. Other than the iPhone, that is.
Alaska Air and Apple didn't immediately reply to requests for comment.
Reports of flaming phones have occurred from time to time over the years.
This isn't even the first time a phone has burst into flames on a flight. Five years, a passenger on an Australian flight suddenly noticed his iPhone began to glow and emit smoke.
Phones do occasionally catch fire, with the causes not always being entirely obvious. Last year, an eighth-grader in Maine suddenly heard a pop from her iPhone and her back pocket began to smoke. Two years ago, a Hong Kong man blamed his Samsung Galaxy S4 for burning his house down.
Fingers get pointed at overheating batteries and, when a phone blows up while charging overnight, unauthorized chargers.
Such incidents are rare. In Crail's case, the fire was quickly put out with the help of the crew.
I wonder if anything on Crail's spring break was as exciting as her flight. | 799 |
Subsets and Splits