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Next-gen games are expected to be pretty, and 2K Sports is confident that the next-gen iteration of NBA 2K14 will bring more eye-candy than any other launch game.
With excruciating attention to detail and an archive of facial scans from nearly all NBA athletes behind it, there's no question that NBA 2K14 will look the part when it hits PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. In fact, senior producer Rob Jones expects the game to set the gold standard for what it truly means to look like a next-gen game.
"Players are looking to fully experience their next-generation console," Jones told Polygon. "Usually what's the best way? Well, usually you get it in two places. You get it in the best first-party game, and you get it in the game that looks the best." Jones believes NBA 2K14 is exactly that—the game that pushes next-gen systems furthest and brings staggering visual fidelity to the table.
Jones expressed similar sentiments to Extra Mustard in October. What's more, it's readily apparent how heavily 2K Sports has invested in the graphics of the game. From dynamic lights and shadows to perspiration to the scuff marks on the phones of announcers (yes, they have those), not a single detail received anything short of the full next-gen treatment. More than simple pixel count, this micromanagement of detail is unique to the power of the new software.
Having the best graphics straight out of the gate is a bold claim, especially for a launch title, but having seen the details myself, I can confidently say that, at least for a time, NBA 2K14 could indeed set the bar for PS4/XOne visuals. |
This will probably be the last Batman v Superman box office post of the morning. But hey, I grew up on Batman box office, so I suppose it makes sense that I should overdose on this one over the next week, right? Besides, my daughter is out of school today so now I get to post these three pieces and be on dad duty for the rest of the day. I have other stuff in the back of my head, but it can wait until next week.
Anyway, Dawn of Justice opened in 38 markets yesterday and continued to add to its global cume. The film earned an additional $33.1 million on 19,7000 screens. That brings its two-day overseas cume to $44m.
Now if you add in the $20.3 million from China on Friday and the $27.7m from America on Thursday night, you get an extra $48m and thus you have a worldwide cume of $92m. So Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice should be crossing $100m worldwide by the end of this sentence.
Regarding yesterday's big openings, we've got Mexico, which debuted with $5.8 million including record-breaking midnight showings. It's the largest opening day in history in said market for a Warner Bros./ Time Warner Inc. movie. It nabbed the biggest opening day of all-time in Brazil as well with $3.5m. Germany debuted with $2.8m for the largest opening day of 2016 and the largest superhero movie ever. It had a 70% bigger opening than Deadpool, for what that's worth.
The film opened with $2.5 million on594 Australian screens and $1.9m in Russia. It earned $1.7m in Korea and made a whopping $1.1m in the United Arab Emirates, which is apparently not only Warner's biggest opening ever but 93% bigger than Star Wars: The Force Awakens and 68% bigger than Deadpool. Huh... Deadpool had a bigger opening day than The Force Awakens? I did not know that.
It opened with $1.1 million in Hong Kong, $855k in Singapore, $804k in Malaysia, and $740k in Thailand for a combined $3.5m opening day on around 1,300 screens in those four Asian markets. In markets where it opened on Wednesday, it has earned $2.9m in Spain, $2m in Italy, and $2.7m in France. The film, of course, opens in 17 key markets today, including America, China, and Japan, and the United Kingdom.
And we'll have a lot more tomorrow, including the all-important Friday U.S. figure and word on whether it has legs in China past a strong $20m single day debut. |
On Tuesday, I wrote about the surprisingly strong early play of the Arizona Diamondbacks, and whether it was time to talk about them as potential contenders, at least for a Wild Card spot. Of course, Arizona isn’t the only expected also-ran to be playing well. It’s May 25th, and the Milwaukee Brewers are in first place. But despite thinking the second-place Diamondbacks may have put themselves in a position where going for it could make sense, I don’t think the Brewers have yet played themselves into being a buyer.
As it stands at the moment, the Brewers are 25-21, a half-game ahead of the Cardinals in the NL Central. And they’ve gotten there by slugging their way to the top of the standings; they are fifth in the Majors in runs scored (240) and tied for third in home runs (68). Eric Thames, of course, has been the big catalyst, putting up monstrous numbers early in the season, but the team’s entire line-up has shown power up and down the order.
The Brewers have given nine hitters at least 100 plate appearances this year, and six of those nine are running an ISO over .200, including the likes of Jett Bandy and Hernan Perez. Those guys won’t keep hitting at their current levels, but the team’s outfield has power in all three spots, and with Travis Shaw showing some pop at third base, this is a line-up that can drive mistakes.
Of course, the downside of power is often a lack of contact, and the Brewers have the second-highest strikeout rate in MLB to date, at 24.3%. And that’s why, despite the serious thump the team has assembled, this probably isn’t a truly elite offense. The Brewers team wRC+, to this point, is 101, and even if you exclude pitchers to focus just on the position players, they only rise to 108, tied for seventh-best in baseball.
And that’s with most of their hitters performing better than you’d expect to this point. If you look at the underlying Statcast numbers, the Brewers are almost at the very top of the list when it comes to expected production versus actual production.
Team wOBA and xwOBA Team xwOBA wOBA Difference COL 0.299 0.332 0.033 MIL 0.309 0.338 0.029 TB 0.301 0.328 0.027 ARI 0.317 0.343 0.026 NYY 0.324 0.347 0.023 WSH 0.336 0.355 0.019 HOU 0.317 0.335 0.018 CHC 0.313 0.328 0.015 CIN 0.324 0.337 0.013 PHI 0.303 0.316 0.013 BOS 0.320 0.331 0.011 ATL 0.319 0.330 0.011 MIA 0.308 0.315 0.007 SD 0.283 0.289 0.006 SEA 0.313 0.317 0.004 LAD 0.331 0.333 0.002 MIN 0.329 0.330 0.001 TEX 0.320 0.318 -0.002 NYM 0.323 0.320 -0.003 LAA 0.312 0.308 -0.004 PIT 0.309 0.305 -0.004 BAL 0.327 0.322 -0.005 STL 0.331 0.323 -0.008 SF 0.292 0.283 -0.009 CLE 0.332 0.321 -0.011 OAK 0.332 0.320 -0.012 CWS 0.321 0.309 -0.012 TOR 0.322 0.307 -0.015 KC 0.305 0.287 -0.018 DET 0.347 0.323 -0.024 SOURCE: Baseball Savant
Now, MLB’s expected wOBA calculation doesn’t take park factors into account, which is why the top of the list is generally filled with teams in good hitting parks, and the bottom of the list is teams who play in bigger ballparks. Miller Park is friendly to offense, so we shouldn’t expect the Brewers to regress all the way back to their xwOBA, but the current magnitude is probably unsustainable; they only beat their xwOBA by 11 points last year and 10 points in 2015. Coors Field is pretty much the only place in MLB where a 30 point spread between xwOBA and wOBA might be a sustained park effect; the Brewers are probably not going to keep getting results like this unless they start hitting the ball better or more often.
And unfortunately, if the offense stops scoring runs at quite the same pace, it’s going to be difficult for this team to win games, because the run prevention side of things is still pretty rough. The Brewers have allowed a .344 wOBA, the worst in baseball, and their 4.33 ERA is nowhere near the marks being put up by teams with similar wOBAs allowed. The Phillies (.341 wOBA allowed, 4.93 ERA) and Mets (.339 wOBA allowed, 5.11 ERA) are a better representation of how many runs a team should allow at this level of offense.
But because the Brewers have specialized in allowing rallies to start (.359 wOBA with the bases empty), they’ve managed to wiggle out of a lot of jams by allowing just a .325 wOBA with men on and a .317 mark with the bases empty. This kind of “clutch pitching” is enjoyable while it lasts, but generally not predictive of how the future will go, and the Brewers shouldn’t count on putting out fires at the same rate over their next 116 games.
And as those baserunners turn into actual runs allowed, the losses are likely to start to pile up. By BaseRuns, we have the Brewers as a team that has played more like a team that would go 22-24 in their first 46 games, so they’ve picked up an extra three wins through sequencing. Teams with dominant bullpens can sustain a bit of an advantage over their BaseRuns record, but that’s not really the Brewers, who have already swapped out Neftali Feliz for Corey Knebel in the closer role, and rank in the middle of the pack in most of our bullpen metrics.
That’s a few of the reasons why, despite a strong start to the season, our projections aren’t really buying into the Brewers early success; we have them posting just a .451 winning percentage over the rest of the season, the fifth-worst mark in baseball. That is up from the .435 expected winning percentage our forecasts gave them before the season started, but that means our projections thought they were a 70 win team before the year started, and think they’re more of a true talent 73 win team now.
Of course, by playing over .500 for a few months, they’re now likely to finish north of both of those numbers. Even with a forecasted .451 winning percentage from here on out, we expect the Brewers to finish around 77-84. But that still puts them nine games behind where we expect Arizona and St. Louis to finish, and both of those teams have more incentive to upgrade their roster at the trade deadline in order to make a run at the postseason. While the Brewers have played better than expected, they are still pretty clearly in the beginning stages of a rebuild, and don’t have the roster of aging stars or guys nearing the end of their contracts that help encourage a team to make win-now moves at the deadline.
In reality, a June and July fade from postseason contention is probably in the organization’s best interests anyway. Making the buy-or-sell decision easier should give the team another opportunity to turn some present value pieces into things that can help more in 2018 and beyond, and given how well the team has made out in their present-for-future trades so far, that’s an exciting opportunity to give this front office.
This doesn’t mean they should tear the team down and trade for prospects, of course. The Brewers probably are close enough that, with some improvements to the rotation over the winter, they could be interesting Wild Card contenders next year. I would think the team’s moves this summer probably look more like the Travis Shaw trade (swapping a big leaguer for a less-valued big leaguer and some stuff) than the Jonathan Lucroy trade, where they acquired guys who wouldn’t help for a while.
Ryan Braun is the obvious trade chip, a 33-year-old who can still hit well enough to help a contender, but has less value to a team looking at 2018 and beyond. Beyond him, and maybe another reliever trade — though after they sold high on Will Smith, Jeremy Jeffress, and Tyler Thornburg, I might be a little reluctant to buy an RP from David Stearns — I don’t think the Brewers need to have any kind of fire sale this summer. There’s the core of a long-term winner coming together, but right now, they’re just a few arms short. So see if you turn Braun and maybe Knebel into some arms for 2018, see what Lewis Brinson can do in the second half, and generally stay the course.
The first few months of 2017 have gone pretty well for Milwaukee, but unlike Arizona, I don’t think they should be changing plans just yet. This is an interesting young team with a lot of good pieces, but it doesn’t look like a legitimate contender just yet. |
By David Harsanyi - August 6, 2010
In the 1500s, a pestering theologian instituted something called the Marriage Ordinance in Geneva, which made "state registration and church consecration" a dual requirement of matrimony.
We have yet to get over this mistake. But isn't it about time we freed marriage from the state?
Imagine if government had no interest in the definition of marriage. Individuals could commit to each other, head to the local priest or rabbi or shaman -- or no one at all -- and enter into contractual agreements, call their blissful union whatever they felt it should be called and go about the business of their lives.
I certainly don't believe that gay marriage will trigger societal instability or undermine traditional marriage -- we already have that covered -- but mostly I believe your private relationships are none of my business. And without any government role in the institution, it wouldn't be the business of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, either.
As the debate stands now, we have two activist groups trying to force their own ethical construction of marriage on the rest of us. And to enforce it, they have been using the power of the state -- one via majority rule and the other using the judiciary (subject to change with the vagaries of public opinion).
If marriage were freed from the state, folks at The New York Times editorial board could avoid making outrageous claims like "marriage is a constitutional right." (Apparently, anything can be a constitutional right at The Gray Lady, as long as it's not mentioned in the Second, Fifth or 10th amendments.)
Even new Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan recently wrote that "there is no federal constitutional right to same-sex marriage." It might be fair and it might be the decent thing to do, but a constitutional "right"?
If marriage were a private concern, U.S. District Chief Judge Vaughn Walker would not have ruled that California's Proposition 8 violated the Constitution's guarantees of equal protection and due process, because Proposition 8 would not have existed.
Walker never would have to sit in judgment of Americans and claim that "moral disapproval alone" was behind this plot to define marriage as a union between one man and one woman.
Moral disapproval alone?
As best as I can tell, support for gay marriage is tepid. A recent CBS poll shows that 42 percent of Americans support marriage rights for gays and lesbians, though no state has been able to pass a referendum to legalize same-sex marriage.
Does that mean that approximately half of voters -- and all 7 million Californians who voted for Prop 8 -- have no logical or legal reason for believing that marriage should be between a man and a woman other than bigotry?
Is President Barack Obama, who David Axelrod says opposes same-sex marriage (also subject to change with the vagaries of public opinion, no doubt) a homophobe?
In my world, the answer is: Who cares? Is there any other personal relationship that is defined by government? Other than in legal terms, of course, this one isn't, either.
Yet we have decided that a majority on the Supreme Court or, perhaps, a majority of the voters in your state or, even worse, a majority of the legislators in your state have the power to define what is often the most intimate bond of your life.
In our Utopian vision, no group is empowered to dictate what marriage should mean to another. And one of the great perks would be the end of this debate. |
Deconstructing Coraline Ada Ehmke’s “Contributor Covenant”, And Why It’s Foolish
GethN7 Blocked Unblock Follow Following Feb 26, 2016
Recently, this happened, where the subject of this article got mad when someone pointed out their Code of Conduct policy idea was hypocritical given their own hypocrisy:
https://www.reddit.com/r/KotakuInAction/comments/47p3f5/ethics_shanley_kane_the_ceo_of_model_view_culture/
Since I agree this CoC is, for the most part, unwanted, parasitical, and political, thus has no real value to a coding community except to allow unskilled ideological interlopers to insert their gender politics where it is not wanted, I plan to examine this CoC and explain why it is a useless document and it’s imposition should be resisted:
From here:
http://contributor-covenant.org/version/1/4/code_of_conduct.txt
(Original in italics, my comments in bold font)
Contributor Covenant Code of Conduct
Our Pledge
In the interest of fostering an open and welcoming environment, we as contributors and maintainers pledge to making participation in our project and our community a harassment-free experience for everyone, regardless of age, body size, disability, ethnicity, gender identity and expression, level of experience, nationality, personal appearance, race, religion, or sexual identity and orientation.
Alright, this sounds great on casual inspection, but here's the thing that is wrong when you give it thought: Coding communities generally DO NOT CARE about most of this. Most may never meet in person and all they see is pull requests, commits, discussions on changes.
Second, harassment. This is pure bullshit. If someone is being an asshole, they can be banned without needing a CoC to enforce this. In fact, let me quote Jack Ryan from the Tom Clancy novels:
"If you have to write your ethics rules down, you've already lost"
Practically all of this is common sense and the coding community is quite good at tossing out abusive assholes with their existing policies, and common sense dictates abusive assholes contribute nothing but drama and thus they get tossed out anyway.
And to close any loopholes arguments, someone like Linus Torvalds telling you your code sucks is NOT harassment or abuse, he's shitting on your code, not you, and since the code is raison d'etre of why you and anyone else is there, it is not a personal attack, it is frustration the code is bad, and should be taken as a call to improve it.
If you get upset by that, you clearly are unable to take criticism.
Our Standards
Examples of behavior that contributes to creating a positive environment
include:
* Using welcoming and inclusive language
* Being respectful of differing viewpoints and experiences
* Gracefully accepting constructive criticism
* Focusing on what is best for the community
* Showing empathy towards other community members
This is mostly common sense crap no one needs this CoC for.
Examples of unacceptable behavior by participants include:
* The use of sexualized language or imagery and unwelcome sexual attention or
advances
Well no shit. A coding environment is no place for this anyway, common sense again, this CoC is telling us crap anyone should know.
And if this is just veiled bitching some code strings might sound sexual, get your mind out of the gutter. It's code, not dirty language meant to offend people looking to cry over something.
* Trolling, insulting/derogatory comments, and personal or political attacks
Well, duh. I did not need this patronizing document to explain this.
* Public or private harassment
Again, duh. Bear in mind, OUTSIDE the coding project is beyond the coding projects purview, you need to contact the proper authorities. If you don't, it's your fault for not trying to deal with things appropriately.
* Publishing others' private information, such as a physical or electronic address, without explicit permission
Well, no shit. However, if you publish your email address in public anywhere, you can't complain later if it is republished. If you are referring to SSN numbers or something like that, again, common sense dictates this is not allowed anyway in every code community I am aware of, since it's illegal in every jurisdiction I'm aware of.
* Other conduct which could reasonably be considered inappropriate in a professional setting
This is pretty vague and unreasonable. It's basically a "whatever I don't like clause" and is a slippery slope to oust people for offending whatever fits your definition of this. This is flagrant bullshit and needs removed.
Our Responsibilities
Project maintainers are responsible for clarifying the standards of acceptable behavior and are expected to take appropriate and fair corrective action in response to any instances of unacceptable behavior.
Common Sense.txt.
Project maintainers have the right and responsibility to remove, edit, or reject comments, commits, code, wiki edits, issues, and other contributions that are not aligned to this Code of Conduct, or to ban temporarily or permanently any contributor for other behaviors that they deem inappropriate, threatening, offensive, or harmful.
Again, more weasely nonsense that gives god like power to remove anyone for offending you without clear definitions. This section is bullshit and should be amended to the following:
"Project maintainers have the right and responsibility to remove, edit, or reject comments, commits, code, wiki edits, issues, and other contributions that are not aligned to this Code of Conduct, or to ban temporarily or permanently any contributor for other behaviors if the offense warrants such sanctions"
I purposely excised the "for other behaviors that they deem inappropriate, threatening, offensive, or harmful." part because it's the same vague "whatever excuse I want to come up with depending on how I feel" BS I pointed out earlier and could be easily abused to drive out anyone the enforcer of this CoC sees fit according to whatever arbitrary whim they may have.
Scope
This Code of Conduct applies both within project spaces and in public spaces when an individual is representing the project or its community. Examples of representing a project or community include using an official project e-mail address, posting via an official social media account, or acting as an appointed representative at an online or offline event. Representation of a project may be
further defined and clarified by project maintainers.
All but the last sentence is fine. The last sentence is a thinly veiled way of giving an excuse for giving a code editor grief for behavior outside the scope defined by the rest of the paragraph, again, at the whim of the enforcer.
Enforcement
Instances of abusive, harassing, or otherwise unacceptable behavior may be reported by contacting the project team at [INSERT EMAIL ADDRESS]. All complaints will be reviewed and investigated and will result in a response that is deemed necessary and appropriate to the circumstances. The project team is obligated to maintain confidentiality with regard to the reporter of an incident.
Further details of specific enforcement policies may be posted separately.
This isn't too unreasonable, though as a transparency advocate, I would argue all but extremely sensitive cases (like that involving legal issues or private data) should be made public to ensure honesty on the enforcer's part.
Project maintainers who do not follow or enforce the Code of Conduct in good faith may face temporary or permanent repercussions as determined by other members of the project's leadership.
So decisions on sanctions are made by majority vote or by an arbitrary number of people on the project? This is vague and unhelpful, and yet another potential wedge for abuse.
Attribution
This Code of Conduct is adapted from the Contributor Covenant, version 1.4, available at http://contributor-covenant.org/version/1/4/
For transparency reasons, I have submitted my objections to the project in question here:
https://github.com/ContributorCovenant/contributor_covenant/issues/281 |
Former President Barack Obama will return to the political fray Thursday, headlining a rally for Ralph Northam in the Virginia governor race. Northam, a Democrat and currently Virginia’s lieutenant governor, is opposed by Ed Gillespie, a Republican who currently works as a lobbyist.
With Obama entering the fold, the race is gearing up to be a sort of popularity test pitting the former president against President Trump. Though Trump hasn’t endorsed Gillespie outright, he has tweeted an attack against Northam, and on Saturday, Vice President Pence is expected to campaign for him at a rally.
Ralph Northam,who is running for Governor of Virginia,is fighting for the violent MS-13 killer gangs & sanctuary cities. Vote Ed Gillespie! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 6, 2017
Polls for the Virginia governor race put Northam at a 6.8% lead, according to RealClear Politics, but some experts argue the numbers may not matter. Gillespie is a former Bush administration and Romney campaign staffer who is running a Trump-like campaign, despite the fact that he’s not received a thumbs-up from the president.
In light of the defeat of Luther Strange, Trump’s pick for Alabama’s Senate seat, some in the GOP are wondering how much Trump’s endorsement is worth, anyhow.
For Obama, however, the Virginia gubernatorial race will be the first test of his endorsement power, post-presidency. The 44th president ended his second term with a 60% approval rating, a high mark for modern presidents. |
Battlerite is still an Early Access title on Steam, but the fledgling arena combat game just got its first esports acquisition. Onslaught eSports announced on Friday the signing of the North American squad Legendary, who will compete in Battlerite under the Onslaught banner.
Made up of Connor "Averse" Shacklady, Dominic "Arakune" Valentino and Alvin "Ninjas" Xu, the team is currently the top ranked-squad in Battlerite. Each player boasts a top-10 worldwide ranking as well, with Shacklady as the best individual player in the world. This will carry over into streaming as well, where Shacklady is one of the top most popular Battlerite streamers. The added stream viewership is a boon that Onslaught GM Patrick O'Brien hopes will drive more players to watch competitive Battlerite and get involved in the scene.
"Anytime that you're taking a risk as an organization, you're jumping into a relatively new esports title, you want to make sure that you're putting yourself and the team in the best position you can," O'Brien told ESPN. "A large part of that is making sure there's viewership and interest in the game they're playing."
The present landscape for Battlerite is made up of multiple weekly tournaments, most notably the "BattleRekt" series, which takes place every Saturday. Though small in comparison to other multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) games like League of Legends or Dota 2, part of Battlerite's appeal is its arena combat, which does away with objectives and farming gold in favor of three-on-three combat in short best-of-five rounds.
"[Battlerite] makes it easier for someone brand new to [MOBAs] to watch this, and know right away what they're watching," Onslaught COO Jen Dalton told ESPN. "[It's] easier to get involved and get really into it, because the learning curve of watching it probably a bit easier."
One of the first major organizations to get involved in Battlerite, Onslaught is breaking ground, but according to sources, other major organizations are already flirting with the idea. Though one of the smaller scenes, Onslaught plans to get involved with the Battlerite community to drive more viewership and fans.
"I think that as the scene continues to develop, I think you're going to end up seeing a lot more teams in there," said O'Brien. "I'm more than happy to stick our neck out, because I think that there's a lot of promise in the scene, and if we end up being the first of many, that's a very good thing." |
We know you’re an incredibly prolific writer and songs flow out of you as quickly as your morning wheatgrass shot from the juicer at Whole Foods. But, let’s just say you have a friend – a distant acquaintance, rather – who is a little stuck when it comes to songwriting. New ideas already feel stale and everything seems to wrap itself into a dreaded cliche. Since you’re such a caring person, here are 15 tips you can pass along to your frustrated (cough) friend.
1. Get a notebook:
Creativity works like a bank account. You have to make a deposit before you can make a withdrawal. Stick a notebook in your pocket and become an anthropologist. When something moves you, write it down. When your five-year-old coins a beautifully brilliant phrase, jot it. Observe what moves you and others and how they describe it and write it all down so you don’t forget.
2. Exercise:
Think of this as a bonus paycheck in your bank account. Sometimes the best way to create is simply not to. Give your mind a rest and your energy a boost by getting out of the writing room and moving around. Endorphins do wonders for creativity, as does the open headspace you’ll enjoy during those 30 minutes or so.
3. Watch a movie:
Songwriting is storytelling. One of the best ways to take in a complete story is by watching a film. From documentaries to outlandish comedies or even thrillers, movies give insight into the human experience that can be easily plucked and put to work in a song.
4. Go on an Artist Date (alone):
This is a wonderful idea borrowed from Julia Cameron’s revolutionary book The Artist’s Way. Cameron recommends taking yourself on an Artist Date, which she describes as “a once-weekly, festive, solo expedition to explore something that interests you.” Cameron explains it best, saying “The Artist Date need not be overtly ‘artistic’ — think mischief more than mastery. Artist Dates fire up the imagination. They spark whimsy. They encourage play. Since art is about the play of ideas, they feed our creative work by replenishing our inner well of images and inspiration. When choosing an Artist Date, it is good to ask yourself, ‘what sounds fun?’”
5. Try a different craft:
When you feel a little stuck in your own discipline, branch out and try a different one just to stretch your creative mind. Pick up a pencil and pad and sketch something (and don’t think twice about whether it’s good or not) or grab a brush and paint whatever comes to mind. Write a poem – do anything that’s outside of your own art form and you’ll open yourself up to something new.
6. Find a woobie:
What’s a woobie? Think of a little kid’s favorite blanket or teddy bear. It’s that one thing you absolutely have to have. For a songwriter, this looks like discovering a specific scent (possibly a candle) or a flavor of tea or a time of day that allows you to feel most creative. Then, let yourself light that candle or drink that tea whenever you create and you can actually train your brain to more easily get into that zone.
7. Temporarily relocate:
There’s nothing like a change of scenery. Whether you just try writing in a different spot or you actually pack up and take a trip or go on a writing retreat, changing your physical location can do a lot toward changing your perspective and offering new insight for writing.
8. Read:
While this may sometimes feel counterproductive (like watching a film when you feel you should be writing), this is another great example of putting money in the bank before you can take it out and spend it. Dive into a book you enjoy, find a blog that really interests you, pick up poetry or even thumb through a children’s book and see what you find there. Reading the writing of others is an invaluable way to learn more about the way others see the world, making it great fodder for lyrical content.
9. Listen to music you love:
There’s a difference between listening to songs for the sake of gleaning something and observing for your own songwriting and just listening to the music that moves you, the musicians who made you want to start writing in the first place. If you’re in a rut, go for the latter and just allow yourself to listen – really listen – to music and be moved by it without letting it make you feel inferior.
10. Do something uncomfortable:
It’s always valuable to put yourself in someone else’s shoes. As a songwriter, you’re looking to write about the human experience, and what better way to expand your repertoire than to experience something totally outside of your realm? Don’t be afraid to jump into something you’ve never tried and see how it expands your mind.
11. Cook a meal:
While this could fall into the same category as number five, there’s something very cathartic and satisfying about putting your hands to a craft you actually get to enjoy (read: eat) in the end. Gather some friends together and cook a fancy meal or find a recipe for something you absolutely love and get to it. Cooking is a great way to see something from beginning to end in a relatively short amount of time, and the experience is well worth it.
12. Get outside:
Just do it. Being outdoors offers an endless supply of inspiration, and something about nature has a way of getting your mind off yourself.
13. Listen to someone else’s story:
Songwriters are often looking to compose songs that others can relate to, to get outside of themselves and offer up a truly good story. If you’re looking for stories you haven’t lived, put up your antenna and start really listening for the stories others are telling. When you hear something interesting, ask questions and truly pay attention to the answers (and possibly jot them in your notebook as soon as no one’s looking).
14. Tune in to public radio:
Public radio is an unrivaled source of inspiration, if for no other reason than the sheer number of totally unrelated stories you can hear in just one 20-minute drive. You might be listening to an artist interview one minute and then international news the next and a comedy segment the next. Also consider getting the app to give yourself the option of listening to your favorite programs on a regular basis whenever you’d like.
15. Create without boundaries:
This one is vital for a writer in a rut. Though it can be incredibly hard to get into a non-judgmental headspace, allowing yourself to create without boundaries, even just for a short amount of time, restores within you the feeling of being a kid and being allowed to just play. When a career is on the line, it’s tempting to only want to create material that is useful and that you deem “good.” But try giving yourself an hour or two to venture into that place you wouldn’t normally go. Free write or do something you’d absolutely never publish, but just allow yourself to play – and turn off your inner judge while you’re at it. |
Shrimp.
We can all use more of it. That's why I'm fundraising to create the Shrimp Cloud, a salty terabyte of online storage packed to the brim with millions of shrimp.
Benefits of the Shrimp Cloud
Access millions of shrimp pictures from anywhere in the world (with access to internet).
Shrimp Cloud safely located where shrimp boats can't go.
Looking at millions of shrimp pictures has similar effect to seeing Grand Canyon.
Excellent Value.
Shrimp.
Where your money is going
Money is going towards the cost of shrimp hosting. I will use google drive, which costs about $120 a year. Funding will support the first year of shrimp hosting, and additional money will help in securing the shrimps future.
Shrimp Math:
I'm not a shrimp math guru, but here's some figures I fished up:
Two dollars will grant access to over 2 million shrimp images.
The Shrimp Cloud supports the equivalent of 80,000 pounds of shrimp.
That's about $0.000025 per pound of shrimp
Please join me on my quest to bring shrimp into the modern age. |
The Arcade is just around the corner but before that Kustom9 is still going on! There are a lot of things there from a lot of great designers so be sure to check that out before it closes at the end of the month.
Speaking of newness, Truth has been a busy bee and popping out new hairs left and right! In the photo above, I’m wearing one called Nissa and it’s a really cute fishtail braid. In the images below I’m wearing Freya, which is a pretty long braid going down the back. I think it looks great for fantasy looks!
Now, The Arcade will start on the 1st of September, so prepare your wallets! Glam Affair has made a new skin called Skye for the event and you can win one of 12 commons or 5 rare skins! The commons are in Asia tone and the rares are in Jamaica and Pearl tone! I really really like the makeups she comes in! And of course you get 8 eyebrow colours in each box as well as a browless version.
*X*
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The 49ers once again are proving that winning draws fans to the games, and that losing drives them away.
According to C.W. Nevius of the San Francisco Chronicle (via SportsBusiness Daily), the market for tickets and Personal Seat Licenses has been “plummeting.”
Currently, a total of 1,825 PSLs (consisting of 4,601 seats) are available, with dozens priced below market value. When the new stadium opened, tickets were completely sold out and a waiting list existed for PSLs and season tickets.
Per the report, some fans that financed their PSL purchases over 10 years are thinking about “stopping payments and walking away.” While the 49ers would have the right to enforce the PSL payments, Nevius raises a great question: What would the 49ers do if a large number of PSL holders simultaneously walk away? Sue all of them?
Regardless, things are looking suddenly ordinary for an organization that, not long ago, was moving back toward elite status. |
Have Heart
You were that annoying kid in high school who used to take over the stereo at house parties and play your own music, thus alienating everyone around you. You lament for the days when you used to enjoy life, but your sense of apathy seems to have reached an all time high. You have grown a beard in the past two years. You also became a raging alcoholic upon reaching the age of 21.
Turnstile
You have said the word “rad” unironically in the past 12 months. You reblog gifs of The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air and Saved By The Bell on Tumblr despite being born in 1995. You own a dusty Sega Genesis along with a copy of Kid Chameleon which you play on a semi-daily basis. Pauly Shore is your style icon. You really really liked A Goofy Movie.
Ceremony
You unironically wear Unknown Pleasures shirts in the current year. You wish your friends would stop reminding you how wild and rebellious you were in your younger days, while constantly reminding them how you’re not that person anymore and how you’ve “really matured as a person.” You’ve also also make a point to mention how you’ve “really gotten into shoegaze lately.”
Trapped Under Ice
You spend at least 15 minutes contemplating just which pair of New Balances you should wear to the gym each day. Your wardrobe is entirely monochromatic, except for that one red Yankees hat you bought when you were 13. If you haven’t already got tattoo sleeve, you’re at least one bad decision away from obtaining one. Small children fill you with rage.
OFF!
Earth Crisis
You wear XXL hoodies and still drive a 1998 Toyota Corolla on your way to your job as a public school teacher. Your breath smells like a mixture of granola, oatmeal and regret. If you don’t already live in a commune, you’re seriously considering moving to one once you finally hit retirement age, so you can get those damn kids to finally stop bugging you.
Agnostic Front
You panic whenever your friends ask you why you own a copy of Mein Kampf, stating you only read it because you “really respected his leadership skills”. Of course, that doesn’t really explain why you own the entire Skrewdriver discography on vinyl, but that’s neither here nor there.
Madball
Your glory days might be behind you, but that’s sure as hell not gonna stop you from hustling the local Belgian kid who keeps showing up in front of your house every Tuesday night.
H2O
Your older brothers always had to rescue your whenever the neighborhood bullies would beat your ass. You were really grateful for them, but you secretly wished you could always step out of their shadow and make a big name for yourself.
Backtrack
You like to remind everyone of that one time you pranked the teacher in Geography class and won the adoration and respect of your peers for a solid two weeks. It’s safe to say you most definitely peaked in high school.
Expire
You like to remind everyone of how you were best friends with the kid who pranked the teacher in Geography class and rode his coat tails for a solid two weeks. You didn’t even really have a peak, come to think of it.
Twitching Tongues
Your brother really wishes you’d just fucking get rid of all those Chevelle CD’s clogging up his car stereo. You’re also starting to regret that tattoo of Peter Steele’s face you ended up getting in your first year of college.
Code Orange
You used to be the biggest fan ever of My Chemical Romance in high school, but then your older brother lent you his copy of the first Slipknot album and that changed your life forever. You also have an unhealthy obsession with VHS horror movies.
Refused
You were a local legend for a good two decades after leaving town because of some cheap stunts you pulled in high school. But once you came home and people actually saw you for the fraud you were, their respect for you dwindled significantly.
Bane
You collect Star Wars PopVinyls and get fucking pissed whenever your friends try and touch them.
Deez Nuts
You never really grew out of your Wu-Tang Clan phase. You’re also probably the most painfully white person who will ever exist on the planet, if you don’t already realise it. You still wear OBEY snapbacks.
Hatebreed
Your pickup truck has multiple Metal Mulisha and Monster Energy Drink decals on the back window and your Tapout hoodie has started to fade because you wear it so often.
Fugazi
Lecturing other people gives you a sense of enormous self-superiority. Despite giving off the vibe of all-inclusiveness, you’re secretly one of the most close-minded people on the face of the earth and absolutely despise people who have different ideas to you. You also have no understanding of economics.
The Ghost Inside
You just really wish your father would be impressed by you, because no matter how hard you try to please him, he still wishes you were like all the other boys. Sucks to be him, I guess.
Bad Brains
Your family doesn’t let you attend social gatherings anymore because of that one time you made a scene after your nephew brought his boyfriend Michael to Thanksgiving dinner.
Power Trip
Leeway changed your life.
Nails
Your mother really wishes you would call her every once in a while, it’s been so long since she’s heard anything from you and she’s very worried. Your girlfriend just wishes you would last longer in bed.
Black Flag
You’ve honestly spent way more time talking about your past accomplishments than you have actually going out and making a living for yourself in the present. Also, you should really consider moving into a retirement home, just for the good of yourself and everyone around you.
Trash Talk
You have a thing for watersports |
Transcend Information, Inc. (Transcend ), a worldwide leader in storage and multimedia products, today announced the company's first 128 GB SDXC memory card. Perfect for consumers who need vast storage space and high-speed performance, Transcend's new 128 GB Ultimate Series Class 10 SDXC cards boast an incredible amount of storage capacity for extended Full HD video recording, and help improve camera response with ultra fast transfer rates up to 22 MB/s.To meet the increasing capacity demands of professional-quality photos and videos, Transcend's SDXC cards provide an enormous 128 GB of storage space. Each 128 GB SDXC card can store a full 32 hours of 1080p High-Definition footage (based on 1920 x 1080 9Mbps H.264 AVC compression) or over eight thousand high-megapixel RAW images (based on 14 MB total size), eliminating the need to pause and switch memory cards during recording sessions or photo shoots. Additionally, with the use of the exFAT file system that supports files larger than 4 GB, today's professional photographers and videographers can enjoy prolonged periods of burst-mode shooting and nonstop 1080p HD or even 3D video recording.Optimized for use with today's high-performance equipment, Transcend's Ultimate 128 GB SDXC cards fully comply with the SD 3.0 Class 10 speed rating, which guarantees write speeds of at least 10 MB/s. However, thanks to their use of premium quality NAND flash chips, these cards can achieve extraordinarily fast read/write speeds of up to 22/16 MB per second. This not only allows users of digital single lens reflex cameras (DSLR) and HD camcorders to easily capture fast-moving subjects in stunning detail, but also greatly reduces wait time when copying, saving or uploading stored content.For added value, Transcend SDXC memory cards offer a free download of RecoveRx Tool. With just a few mouse clicks, users can easily recover their precious documents, videos, spreadsheets, music, and virtually any other type of digital file. Aside from the new extra-large 128 GB (US$169) version, Transcend SDXC cards are also available in 64 GB (US$79) capacity, and carry Transcend's renowned Lifetime Warranty. |
The situation won't be quite as dire as it was a week ago, but the Seattle Sounders are going to be short-handed again when they host FC Dallas on Saturday. In addition to missing Marco Pappa (national-team duty) and Chad Barrett (hamstring), Osvaldo Alonso is listed as "day-to-day" and Brad Evans' availability is still in question after returning to the Sounders after spending the last week with the United States in Europe.
Alonso's status comes as a bit of a surprise, considering he just got a week off due to a suspension. But it also sounds like he may have been nursing an injury already.
"It's been a little bit slower than we expected," Sounders head coach Sigi Schmid told the media on Thursday. "We'll just have to continue to see."
Obafemi Martins, who missed last week's game after undergoing nose surgery, has returned to full training and is wearing a mask. He's at least expected to play and could even start.
"With the (nose) injury and the (tibial contusion) that he had, has really only trained maybe a week and a half out of the last four weeks or so," Schmid said. "We really have to give him a little more time to say he's 90-minutes fit again, but I think he can certainly come in and impact the game for certain minutes for sure."
Getting Martins back -- as well as Clint Dempsey, who's been training in full all week -- would be a boon to the Sounders. The Sounders have scored just two goals and been shut out three times in the four games he's missed. |
MUMBAI (Reuters) - Stressed loans in India’s banking sector crossed $138 billion in June, central bank data reviewed by Reuters shows, an increase of nearly 15 percent in just six months that suggests a state clean-up effort will take longer and cost more than expected.
Commuters walk past a bank sign along a road in New Delhi in this November 25, 2015 file photo. REUTERS/Anindito Mukherjee/Files
Fixing the mountain of bad debt weighing down India’s banks is vital for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government to revive weak credit and investment growth and put a faltering recovery in Asia’s third largest economy on a firmer footing.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has set a March deadline for banks to fully reveal problem loans on their books. When lenders disclose bad loans, they need to take writedowns that hit their bottom line and eat into equity.
The latest data obtained by Reuters through a right-to-information request showed stressed loans rose to 9.22 trillion rupees ($138.5 billion) as at end-June, from 8.06 trillion rupees ($121 billion) in December.
The end-December $121 billion figure has been cited by the government and bankers as the peak of stressed assets in the banking sector.
Stressed assets include both non-performing loans (NPLs) - defined as those that have not been serviced for 90 or more days - and restructured or rolled over loans, where banks have eased interest rates or the repayment period.
India’s nearly two dozen state banks, which dominate the sector and account for 88 percent of the bad loans, already need $27 billion in new equity capital by March 2019 to meet tougher global banking rules known as “Basel III”.
BALANCE SHEET CLEAN-UP
The surge in stressed loans will mean banks need even more cash to shore up their balance sheets - funds that will have to come from the government as their ability to raise money through stock or bond sales is constrained by low profits and poor valuations.
State-run lenders accounted for about $122 billion of the total stressed loans as of June, while private sector lenders had $14 billion, according to RBI data. Local operations of foreign banks had about $2.3 billion in stressed loans.
Bankers have previously said that, while the number of non-performing NPLs kept rising after an asset quality review ordered by the RBI earlier this year, the overall number of stressed loans was not going up - instead, loans earlier restructured were falling into the NPL category.
The numbers obtained by Reuters, however, show the overall number of stressed assets continuing to rise.
“The impression we have is that the numbers are certainly going to go up,” said Saswata Guha, a director at Fitch Ratings, which estimates Indian banks’ total capital requirement to be as much as $90 billion through March 2019, with state banks accounting for the bulk of it.
Guha estimated NPLs in the current financial year would rise by 35 to 40 percent. For the state banks it would be much higher, he said.
“The pressure of provisioning is going to be very, very significant,” Guha said. “I won’t be surprised if some of the banks continue to report losses in the coming quarters.”
Most analysts reckon the struggling state-run lenders will need far more than the $10 billion the government plans to inject into them over a four-year period to March 2019.
The government has yet to specifically say if it will raise the cash injection, but Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has said the administration was solidly behind the banks.
As focus on cleaning up banks has intensified, credit growth has fallen to two-decade lows, threatening economic expansion and investment.
Economic growth slowed to 7.1 percent in the April-to-June quarter, below the 8 percent level seen as necessary to maintain full employment and challenging Modi’s pledge to create 250 million jobs over the next decade.
MORE PAIN TO COME?
NPLs as part of the stressed loans total jumped to about $101 billion, from $65 billion in December.
Adding to the banks’ woes, the data shows another 1.93 trillion rupees ($29 billion) worth of loans as of June that were not yet classified as “stressed” but on which borrowers are more than 60 days behind on interest or principal payments, putting those at high risk of becoming NPLs.
The RBI and the government have announced new schemes to tackle stressed assets, albeit with little success yet.
A debt-for-equity swap scheme unveiled by the RBI has found few takers, although a host of foreign investors have this year announced investments in Indian distressed debt after an easing of regulations by the government.
India’s newly appointed RBI Governor Urjit Patel has said the regulator will deal with the bad loans situation with “with firmness but also with pragmatism”.
Patel’s predecessor Raghuram Rajan, who had ordered the asset quality review and called for a “deep surgery” of the bad loans, had been criticised by some that the excessive focus on clean-up was choking credit growth.($1 = 66.5919 Indian rupees) |
NORRISTOWN -- "This is war."
Thus began the closing argument of Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele, citing an email message Kane wrote to a political consultant in advance of an alleged leak of secret grand jury materials. Kane, he said, leaked the documents to get back at former prosecutors she saw as enemies.
"As you know, wars have casualties," Steele said, his voice rising gradually from a whisper to a shout. "Wars leave scars. And, over the course of the last week, you've gotten to see some of those casualties."
The prosecutor recounted the testimony of Catherine Hicks, the business partner and fiancee of J. Whyatt Mondesire. The leak of a 2009 grand jury investigation that never resulted in charges against the Philadelphia NAACP president took a toll on his reputation and his health, she said. He died last year.
And Kane's war, Steele said, affected current and former employees of Kathleen Kane who "all of the sudden see their name in the newspaper" and who risked their livelihoods to share evidence with the prosecution team.
The simple fact, he argued, is that prosecutors -- even the attorney general -- have a duty to uphold the law and keep their oaths. If they don't, he said, people can get hurt.
"You may not release grand jury investigations," he said. "You may not release (the content of) criminal investigations."
Steele's closing argument came after a 90-minute presentation by Kane defense attorney Seth Farber, who argued that prosecutors had not proven its case. In his own nearly 2-hour-long closing, the prosecutor asked the jury to use their "common sense" in evaluating the facts of the case.
http://www.pennlive.com/news/2016/08/kathleen_kane_closing_argument.html#incart_river_home
The prosecutor walked the jury through the charges and a timeline of the case, starting with the grand jury oath Kane signed on Jan. 17, 2013, shortly after taking office that bound her to all previous investigating grand juries.
Kane would later testify that she did not have to sign such retroactive oaths, a statement that her defense team called a "simple mistake." It nonetheless resulted in a perjury charge after a secretary who notarized the oaths brought them to the attention of a trusted superior and, in turn, to Kane's criminal prosecutors.
Those prosecutors argued that Kane blamed a former AG's office attorney, Frank Fina, for Mar. 16, 2014, article exposing Kane's decision to shut down a sting of state lawmakers. Within a week of that article, a top Kane aide recorded an interview with the agent in charge of the Mondesire investigation, which had been shut down by Fina.
Kane directed the release of the Mondesire information in her own words, Steele said.
"When you go to evaluate the evidence in this case," he said, "don't lose sight of how straightforward it is."
http://www.pennlive.com/news/2015/12/kathleen_kane_legislative_inve.html
Steele cited an email exchange between Kane and her first deputy, Adrian King, from several days later, in which King raised concerns about her hiring a private law firm to handle all media requests involving criminal investigations. King told his boss that he believed the measure was ill-advised and quite possibly illegal.
"And I am well aware of the limitations of disclosing criminal files and the Wiretap Act," Kane responded. "I have been in this business for quite sometime."
"Then you know the rules," Steele said, after reading the emails. "Clearly."
At about the same time, another top aide, David Peifer left the only printed transcript of his interview with the Mondesire investigation with Kane.
On April 22, Steele said, Kane decided to release the transcript and other grand jury materials from the Mondesire. He cited Kane's own testimony before a 2014 grand jury: "Adrian and I then said, 'well, then let's put it out into the press, and we did'."
Responding directly to the closing arguments of Kane's defense attorney, Seth Farber, Steele asked the jury to consider what testimony was corroborated in evidence when they decide which witnesses are credible.
Prosecutors did not choose King and political consultant Joshua Morrow as witnesses, Steele said. Kane chose them to facilitate the release of the documents.
"These are people she chose," Steele said, citing Kane's phone calls and texts with Morrow that the consultant said pertained to the leak of the Mondesire documents.
The prosecutor then played the FBI wiretap recording of a conversation Morrow had with another politico, John Lisko, seeking advice on Kane's leak request. The FBI had been recording Lisko's line as part of an unrelated investigation.
"Kathleen is unhinged," Morrow said, in the recording. "She doesn't even have a strategy to do this -- just throw everything at the wall and see what sticks."
http://www.pennlive.com/news/2016/08/kathleen_kane_grand_jury.html
Steele said the language Morrow used in the call--that Kane called about documents that King had that she wanted to leak out--makes it clear that Kane knew what she was orchestrating.
"This has such a ring of credibility to it," the prosecutor said.
Lisko advised his friend against getting involved, but Morrow did so anyway--because, he testified, he considered Kane a close friend and he felt protective of her.
The next day, Morrow retrieved the package, and it was then delivered to Philadelphia Daily News reporter Chris Brennan about two weeks later.
Steele said Kane and Morrow stayed in touch over the days and weeks that Brennan was working on the story.
Morrow texted Kane: "What's the saying about revenge?"
"Best served cold," Kane replied. "Are we eating out soon?"
"They got up here and told you that was about going out to dinner," Steele said, referencing the defense team's interpretation of the exchange. "Really?"
Morrow went on to detail his conversation with Brennan, noting that the Daily News had "four reporters on it."
"Josh, you really get things done," Kane replied.
Kane's defense attorneys, however, have argued that Kane never said anything explicitly acknowledging Mondesire or the leak from his grand jury investigation.
"Please," Steele said. "As you go through this, don't throw your common sense out the door."
Similarly, the prosecutor said, the defense team's argument that Kane's release was all about transparency was undercut by another exchange between her and Morrow.
"Just please keep this between us," the political consultant wrote. "Very, very small circle."
Kane responded: "I won't tell anyone."
On May 12, Steele said, as the Mondesire story still hadn't seen the light of the day.
"She says, 'Where is my story'," Steele said, quoting Kane's text message to Morrow. "'I'm dying here while you are drinking.'"
The jury, he said, must keep the context of such messages in mind as they are considering the facts of the case.
Still later, Morrow texted Kane about "our story," and mentioned that an early draft was "brutal on our friends."
"Anything about me?" Kane asked. "Please tell me now."
"You are fine."
Steele said the jury needs to keep in mind that, when the Mondesire story was published, Kane did not speak out publicly about the 2009 grand jury investigation or the leak. Neither was she quoted in the story itself, which she had previously testified was part of a larger attempt at transparency.
"Why do they say 'no comment'?" Steele asked. "Because it's wrong and they know it's wrong."
http://www.pennlive.com/news/2016/08/kathleen_kane_aide_the_attorne.html
After the article came out, Kane's incoming first deputy, Bruce Beemer, spoke to Kane about the Mondesire leak.
"'Very troubling'," Steele said, quoting a page from Beemer's daily notes. "'She said don't worry about it and it's not a big deal'."
Steele then cited another office staffer's testimony that she scanned the news article and 2009 Mondesire memo and emailed them to Kane. That, the prosecutor said, undercuts her testimony before the grand jury that she had not read the article until August.
A short time later, Kane expressed her wish to Beemer to make some kind of legal filing to quash the grand jury investigation into the Mondesire leak.
"She knows she's wrong," Steele said. "She knows people are looking at her."
Morrow would then testify that, in August, he had a lunch with Kane in which they developed a cover story for the alleged leak prior to their respective appearances before the grand jury.
Throughout that late summer and fall, Steele said, Kane's attorneys repeatedly pushed back her testimony before the grand jury. During the three days between Morrow and Kane's testimony that November, he said, the pair communicated numerous times.
http://www.pennlive.com/news/2016/08/kathleen_kane_false_swearing.html
"What are they talking about?" Steele said. "This is about, 'What did you say?', 'What did you tell them?', 'Our stories have got to match'."
The records, Steele said, bolster Morrow's testimony in the criminal case, regardless of the defense attorneys' protestations.
"This is the person they ask you not to believe," Steele said. "This is their relationship. Who should you believe?"
Despite the defense team's closing arguments calling into question the credibility of the prosecution witnesses, he said, the jury must keep focused on the facts.
"You're not here to decide Adrian King. You're not here to decide Josh Morrow," he said. "This is about the Commonwealth of P.A. and the defendant Kathleen Kane."
Nearing the end of his closing arguments, Steele brought the jury back to the victims, with a photo of Hicks together with Mondesire.
Kane leaned back in her seat, eyes focused on the jury box.
"Mr. Mondesire was never arrested," Steele said, his voice nearly shout. "He was never arrested. But she put it out," his voice fading to a whisper, speaking slowly and directly to the jurors. "And that is not permitted under the law.
"That affected him."
http://www.pennlive.com/news/2016/08/as_kathleen_kanes_criminal_tri.html |
"Surprises like this are poison to the stock market, and this is one of the big surprises," exclaims the head of listing for Nasdaq's Copenhagen exchange as OW Bunker A/S - a marine fuel bunker company - went from $1 billion-plus IPO in April to bankruptcy today.
From $1billion IPO to bankruptcy in just over 6 months...
As Bloomberg reports,
Investors in OW Bunker A/S woke up to a string of horrors yesterday.
OW Bunker, which provides fuel to the marine industry, said on Wednesday shortly before midnight that it had lost $275 million through a combination of fraud committed by senior executives at its Singapore office and poor risk management. Its shares have been suspended since Nov. 5 and the company says its equity has been wiped out.
Just eight months ago, investors drove OW Bunker’s shares up 21 percent in their first day of trading, following an initial public offering that valued it at almost $1 billion.
“There’s no doubt this case is damaging to investors and the stock market,” Borring said. “The stock market depends deeply on the relationship of trust between investors and companies.”
According to Niels Henrik Jensen, chairman of OW Bunker, the Singapore employee behind the alleged fraud “turned up at the company’s office and told his manager” what he’d done. Jensen declined to provide more details.
“I can’t speculate on how long this has been going on, I didn’t speak to the man myself,” he said. “We’re still not sure whether this was actually illegal -- that’s being investigated.”
...
The company said it lost $125 million through the alleged fraud at its Singapore office. Separate from that, it said it also lost $150 million following a “significant risk management loss” and has as a result fired its head of risk management, Jane Dahl Christensen.
The banks who helped bring OW Bunker to market all say they’re as shocked as anyone else by its revelations over the past two days. |
Fox wants to kick the cost of Super Bowl advertising over a new line.
Fox Sports is seeking more than $5 million for a 30-second commercial in its 2017 broadcast of Super Bowl LI, according to people familiar with the situation, a level that would raise the price tag for ad inventory in what is usually the nation’s most-watched annual TV event into the stratosphere. Other networks may have secured $5 million for a few commercials in the gridiron classic, but if Fox has its way, each ad in the game will fetch the princely sum – and possibly more.
The effort does not come without risk. In 2014, NBC made a bid to sell Super Bowl commercials at $4.5 million a pop, a 12.5% hike from what Fox had sought in the year prior, and worked until just a few days before its 2015 broadcast of Super Bowl XLIX to sell out its inventory. CBS fared better in 2015 when it sought at least $4.5 million to $4.7 million for a 30-second spot (and more in some cases) for this year’s Super Bowl 50, though it kept the till open in case of last-minute interest. Marketers flock to the Super Bowl to get a pitch in front of the outsize audience the event attracts, but in recent years, they have taken more time to join the ad roster, rather than rushing in full-bore.
With advertisers enjoying an abundance of choice of places to run their commercials, even the Super Bowl, it would seem, is under scrutiny.
In early talks, Fox Sports has sought between $5 million and $5.5 million for a 30-second commercial slot, according to one of the people familiar with the pace of negotiations. Another executive suggested the 21st Century Fox-owned unit has in some cases sought $5.6 million or higher. The costs would include the ads appearing in Fox’s live stream of the game, according to one of the people with knowledge of the discussions. Fox Sports has also sought to have Super Bowl clients spend a similar amount to run ads across the company’s media portfolio, a tactic that is not uncommon in these kinds of talks. That means a single advertiser could end up paying $10 million or more for the chance to appear in the event.
Fox declined to make executives available for comment.
How much higher can the price go? One ad buying executive balked at the notion of a Super Bowl ad costs moving closer to $6 million per berth. “They will not be getting $5.7 million a spot,” this executive said, suggesting the current price range may be meeting with resistance in negotiations. While a single price point often makes the rounds in media reports about Super Bowl commercials, the fact is not everyone pays the same figure. The cost fluctuates depending on when the ad airs in the game, how many commercials the advertiser is buying, whether or not a sponsor has a multi-year sponsorship deal in place, and other factors
The cost of advertising in the Super Bowl has always been astronomical compared to other TV properties, but the price has risen significantly in recent years. A decade ago, the cost of a 30-second spot was a mere $2.5 million, according to Kantar Media, a tracker of ad spending – cheap by today’s standards. By that measure, the price of a 30-second commercial has risen 76% between 2006 and last year, Kantar said. Advertisers typically spend hundreds of thousands of dollars more on the production of their commercials, which often require special effects, celebrities, expensive licensing rights for music and social-media promotion.
The lure? The chance to get a promotional message about a new product in front of millions of consumers in a single maneuver. Denny’s in 2009 and 2010 used the Super Bowl to offer free breakfast giveaways and get people to come in to its restaurants to sample the fare. Chrysler in 2011 ran a massive two-minute commercial that helped tout the notion that U.S. automakers had rebounded from a crippling recession and were ready to get back to business. As a defiant Eminem song played, the automaker boasted that its cars were “Imported from Detroit.”
The Super Bowl in recent years has proven to be a game-changer in the world of TV ratings, breaking records in multiple years for the most-watched TV broadcast of all time. The honor was once held by the series finale of “M*A*S*H” on CBS, which lured 105.9 million viewers in 1983. That benchmark has been surpassed in every year this decade by the Super Bowl. After the event set new records in 2014 and 2015 with 114.4 million viewers and 112.2 million viewers, respectively, Super Bowl 50 notched an audience of 111.9 million.
PepsiCo, Busch and Group, owner of Chrysler and Fiat, are among the marketers who become regular sponsors of the Super Bowl. Spokespersons for the brewer and the soda giant did not respond immediately to queries about their possible plans for Super Bowl LI, while a spokeswoman for said the company had “nothing to share” at present.
PepsiCo, Anheuser Busch InBev and FCA Group, owner of Chrysler and Fiat, are among the marketers who become regular sponsors of the Super Bowl. A spokeswoman for Anheuser said the company will return to the Super Bowl ad an advertiser in 2017. A spokeswoman for the soda giant did not respond immediately to a query, while a spokeswoman for FCA said the company had “nothing to share” at present. |
by Trevor Fisher
Last autumn the Labour leadership issues seemed possible to discuss objectively, with a possible clean up of a deeply confused rule book. Perhaps even a sensible mid-term election could be devised while the Fixed Term Parliament Act was in force, a mid term election being discussed in passing during the summer leadership debates. This is no longer possible and even before a rumoured leadership plot is launched, the situation is becoming more confused and dangerously fraught.
The context of what Kevin Meagher rightly described as a ‘putsch‘ is internal disputes in the Whitehall bubble, mirroring tensions over Labour’s direction. There has been little to justify a leadership challenge despite the EU referendum dispute, and as Kevin Meagher pointed out, “The risk is that the current putsch plays straight into the hands of the Corbynites and inflicts lasting, long term damage on the party”. This is clearly true and while I suspect a general election in the autumn is unlikely for Theresa May, if one was called leadership dispute would seriously damage Labour.
However the immediate issues are two-fold, and centre on the nature of the putsch.
The first issue is whether they plotters can keep Corbyn off the ballot paper. If the rules are used to prevent enough supporters to nominate Corbyn, I cannot see how a legal challenge is unavoidable. He is the elected Labour leader. Whether he can be excluded is open to legal challenge but if successfully excluded, this has the effect of making the leadership a PLP matter. The membership is merely rubber stamping the PLP decision.
This would put Labour back in the 1970s and negate the move to membership democracy common to all political parties in the current era. The Tories have a leadership ballot and are now staging a members’ ballot. Old and right wing, but with a real choice. Would Labour gain from being less democratic?
The second problem is what happens if the challenge fails and Corbyn goes onto the ballot paper – the plotters then have to get enough votes to beat him. If they do not, then they are in a worse position than they were when they started. What is their plan B? At the least damaging they have taken themselves out of the shadow cabinet, leaving Labour with the second string.
There is more to the weakness of the shadow cabinet than just the fact it is the second choice, but it’s going to be an issue for the media. Corbyn might argue he has his supporters in place. But as someone neither New Labour nor a Corbynite, a ministry of all the talents is what I want.
And if the plotters lose to Corbyn, what happens then? There have been 129,000 new members in the last fornight, and maybe the long awaited revolt of the moderates is happening. Or perhaps not. A divided leadership, PLP and Grassroots is being mooted, by Frank Field in Guardian letters and Roger Godsiff in the Birmingham Post, but the chances of relegating Corbyn to local party leadership are problematic.
The divisions in the party would be laid bare. Unless there is an eleventh hour settlement, then the old rule that Divided Houses Do Not Stand looks likely to be the text of the moment.
Trevor Fisher was a member of the Labour Coordinating Committee executive 1987-90 and secretary of the Labour Reform Group 1995- 2007
Tags: democracy, EU referendum, Jeremy Corbyn, Labour leadership race, NEC, Trevor Fisher |
Here’s how a hockey game works: two teams dress 18 skaters and two goaltenders and play at least 60 minutes of hockey in three periods until one of said teams score more goals than the other. It’s basic. The coach uses the four forward lines, three defensive pairs, and one goalie to generate offense in order to score goals, and play defense to prevent the other team from doing the same.
For the Boston Bruins, this has become a reputation of sorts – the whole, rolling four lines thing. At times, Claude Julien has been guilty of relying too heavily on the Bruins fourth line, giving them valuable minutes and putting them out on the ice for key shifts and faceoffs in the offensive zone that should be reserved for, frankly, better players.
On Monday night, the Bruins’ fourth line consisted of Jordan Caron, Alex Khokhlachev, and David Pastrnak, all recent call-ups from the Providence Bruins. In Providence, this trio is the team’s first line and are each point-per-game players. So when Julien began line rushes prior to Boston’s game against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday, he kept the three together as the Bruins fourth line. What happened next was both a departure from the norm and more of the same.
If anything, Julien’s departure from rolling out four lines could be a reason why the Bruins lost 3-2 to the Penguins in overtime on Monday. By the end of regulation, eight of the Bruins’ 12 forwards had over 15 minutes of ice time. In fact, each of those forwards plus Simon Gagne, who logged just under 13 minutes of ice time, played over their average time on ice for the season. The Bruins fourth line was the glaring exception.
Aside from Pastrnak who played 7:53 in his first NHL game thanks to some late shifts with some of the other Bruins lines, Caron played 3:35 while Khokhlachev only saw 2:53 of ice time in Monday’s loss. It leaves you wondering that if the Bruins hadn’t slowed down in the third period due to logging extra shifts from their first three lines, including 17:26 of ice time for Gregory Campbell and 15:51 for Daniel Paille, could they have generated more offense? Especially with the speed that Khokhlachev’s line can bring forward.
“Again, guess that’s coaching,” said Julien. “That’s me coaching the way I felt I had to coach tonight.”
Keep in mind this was both Caron’s and Khokhlachev’s second and third, respectively, game of the season. This was Pastrnak’s first of his NHL career. It’s also fair to point out that both Caron and Khokhlachev were on the ice for the Penguins’ first goal, over a minute for each, pinned and somewhat out of position in their own zone. Julien’s “that’s coaching” quote could be a nice way to say the two were benched.
Pastrnak wasn’t on the ice and was given late shifts alternatively on Patrice Bergeron’s line to rest both Brad Marchand and Reilly Smith.
“I thought he had good legs and so I put him on a couple lines here,” said Julien on Pastrnak. “And obviously, you can see he’s a pretty dynamic player. He had that one shift with Bergy’s line; Marchand and him had a real good shift there in the o-zone. I liked his game. I know he probably didn’t get a ton of ice time, but when he was out there I liked what he did.”
While Julien does rely a bit heavily on the Bruins fourth line at times, it’s usually comprised of Gagne, Campbell, and Paille, not a handful of younger players. Julien has been criticized in the past for not giving younger players enough of ice time and against the Penguins, one of the best teams in the NHL, this is probably okay. The problem is that Bruins had two other regular players available who didn’t dress.
To make move for the Caron and Pastrnak recalls, the Bruins assigned Seth Griffith back to Providence and scratched Matt Fraser. While Griffith and Fraser each played top nine minutes, they were either subtracted from the roster in exchange for Caron and Pastrnak. Julien didn’t have an answer for the reasoning behind demoting Griffith, the player tied for the team lead in goals.
“You might want to deal with upper management on that one,” said Julien. “I coach, I don’t make the decisions. So probably, they would be better fit to answer that than I would.”
Against a team like the Penguins, the Bruins would need to roll out four lines in the first two periods, shortening the bench in the third period. With the exception of Pastrnak, the Bruins fourth line played a total of five shifts in Monday’s loss. Five. The three of them were on the ice together only twice. And the line that Julien does rely on a bit too heavily at times? The Campbell line? They played in between 20 and 23 shifts if you include the penalty kill.
So why did that experiment have to happen against the Penguins on Monday night and not against one of the sub-par teams the Bruins faced earlier this season? Guess that’s coaching.
Follow Mike on Twitter for more Bruins news, updates, and commentary. |
Interviews about marriage with couples who were living together found that two-thirds were worried about the “legal, emotional and economic consequences” of splitting up later.
Many expressed concerns about the “hassle” of divorce lawyers or arranging child support payments, while others had painful memories of their parents divorcing.
However most respondents insisted they did still want to get married one day, but only once they had met “the one” and were emotionally and financially ready for such a commitment.
Experts say the findings, published in the journal Family Relations , disprove the common belief that the marriage rate is declining because young people do not respect the institution of matrimony.
The paper, by Sharon Sassler and Dela Kusi-Appouh at Cornell University and Amanda Miller and the University of Central Oklahoma, states: “More than two-third of those in our sample expressed views about divorce that were in some way connected to their sentiments regarding marriage.
“There were numerous ways that the issue of divorce was discussed, though most raised at least one of four possible concerns with regards to marital dissolution.
“Respondents most frequently mentioned a reluctance to marry because of their desire to ‘do it right’, which they defined as marrying only once, to the ideal partner.
“The belief that marriage was difficult to exit was referenced nearly as frequently. Next, respondents expressed concerns that the rewards of marriage were not worth the risk of what might occur (namely, divorce).
“Finally, a small group of the respondents referenced past experiences with divorce as a reason to be leery of marriage.”
The research was carried out among 61 young cohabiting couples in Ohio, but living arrangements in Britain are closer to those in the US than in previous decades.
One in six people are now cohabiting in Britain while married couples now make up less than half the population, and the average age at which a woman gets married for the first time has reached 30.
Divorce rates have also fallen in recent years – as there are fewer spouses who can separate – but the new research suggests that fear of it colours people’s perceptions of marriage.
In-depth interviews about marriage with the couples found that 81 of the 122 respondents mentioned the “spectre” of divorce.
Most of them said they wanted to “prepare themselves personally, financially and emotionally” for tying the knot, so they would “get it right” and so avoid splitting up, although some also had strong religious beliefs against divorce.
Many also said that marriage was “hard to exit” and so they wanted to avoid a “painful” end to a relationship, particularly if they had children.
Some told researchers that the institution of marriage was “doomed” and was not taken seriously enough in society, and even that walking down the aisle might “jinx” a happy but less formalised relationship.
Although a few believed that marriage was “just a piece of paper” and so no different to living together, most couples believed there were some benefits even if they were only making their parents happy or gaining better legal rights.
However some interviewees, particularly women, saw marriage as a “trap” that would burden them with greater expectations and prove difficult to get out of.
“This flies in the face of the idea that men are the ones who must be dragged to the altar.”
Anastasia de Waal, head of family and education at the think-tank Civitas, commented: “This fear of ‘breaking’ a marriage strongly indicates the reverence that people have for it today.
“Non-marriage is often interpreted as indicative of marriage not being valued, whereas research shows us that not marrying is often down to the fact that it is valued to the point of becoming ‘unachievable’.
“This attitude is mirrored in people’s expectations around the position that they must be in when they get married – in the perfect relationship and financial situation. In short, couples are worried about entering marriage, commonly perceived as the ideal relationship, in case they don’t live up to that ideal.” |
House members can extend their holiday vacations, but senators have no such luck.
House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy’s office announced Friday that the House will not kick off work for the second session of the 115th Congress until Monday, Jan. 8, with a customary 6:30 p.m. vote series.
That means under the planned schedule there will be just eight legislative days for the House before the next government funding standoff, with the continuing resolution that became law Friday morning running through Friday, Jan. 19.
The original House calendar had the chamber convening on Jan. 3. The Senate is still slated to return on that Wednesday.
When Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell closed the floor Thursday night, he set up a schedule of pro forma sessions, with no business conducted, starting on Saturday and running through Jan. 2 of the new year.
The Senate will convene at noon on Jan. 3, to resume regular business, when two new senators will be joining their ranks — Democrats Doug Jones of Alabama and Tina Smith of Minnesota.
The first roll call vote is slated for 5:30 p.m. that day, on the confirmation of President Donald Trump’s nomination of John C. Rood to a senior post at the Pentagon.
Watch: What Got Left in Our Notebooks in 2017 |
But it's already unbalanced in CAR...
We are compelled to note that while Ms. Pitt has always been polite, the new head of OCHA Communications is Kieran Dwyer, previously the spokesperson for UN Peacekeeping chief Herve Ladsous, who has refused to answer basic Press questions including about the CAR.
We are also compelled to note that not only was Ladsous France's Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN during the Rwanda genocide, arguing for the escape of genocidaires into Eastern Congo, but he is also the fourth Frenchman in a row to head UN Peacekeeping. Doubts grow as he refuses to answer questions, particularly about Mali and CAR given France's history there. Video compilation, including Dwyer's statement on why questions are not answered, here.
Back on March 7 when Chad's Permanent Representative to the UN Mahamat Zene Cherif came to the Security Council stakeout on March 7, beyond asking him about child soldiers Inner City Press asked him about those who have had to flee Central African Republic into Chad. Shouldn't they be able to return to CAR? Video here and embedded below
Mahamat Zene Cherif said while Chad will not force anyone back, they should be able to return. He said that eighty percent of the Muslims have been chased out of the CAR.
How can elections be held this way, he asked.
Inner City Press asked if perhaps those displaced could vote even while in Chad. Mahamat Zene Cherif said the UN could check the feasibility, but that Chad would hope the displaced could return to CAR.
The day before, Inner City Press tried to ask French Ambassador Gerard Araud about a statement or report by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay that the French Sangaris force first disarming the ex-Seleka had left Muslim community vulnerable to attack by Christian anti-Balaka militias.
Araud refused to take the question while at the microphone, then from the wings insisted there is no Navi Pillay report. Click here for that. |
From left: Iain Cook, Lauren Mayberry, Martin Doherty. Photo by Christina Kernohan.
Chvrches: "Recover" (via SoundCloud)
The three members of Chvrches span a wide range of both ages and previous career experiences. At 25, vocalist Lauren Mayberry is the youngest and the one with far more educational credentials than indie cred-- she's already got a law degree, a masters in journalism, and a sense of humor about the futility of such assets in today's job market. "I've always worked in cinemas or cafes to make money because it turns out freelance journalism is quite hard to get into," she admits. Meanwhile, Iain Cook, 38, and Martin Doherty, 30, were previously in brooding post-rock bands whose volcanic soft/loud dynamics positioned them as progeny of Scottish standard bearers like Mogwai and Arab Strap. Cook was a guitarist in the underrated Aereogramme, whereas Doherty performed live with the Twilight Sad. "I'm having more fun on stage than I did with previous bands," says Doherty. "When you play aggressive rock music, or shoegaze, or whatever you want to call it, you're expected to act a certain way on stage because you can't just be smiling and jumping around."
Chvrches: "The Mother We Share" (via SoundCloud)
So Chvrches' keyboard-heavy pop is a tremendous shift in every way for all three in both sound and profile; their 2012 singles "Lies" and "The Mother We Share" placed Mayberry's regional accent and sweet melodies against sharp synth lines and militaristic beats, drawing immediate comparisons to the Knife and Purity Ring. A UK tour with Passion Pit followed, and now they're preparing their first EP, Recover, due out March 26, with an LP in the works for later this year.
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Pitchfork: You originally presented Chvrches as an anonymous entity, did you always have an idea of how long you planned to keep that going?
Lauren Mayberry: There wasn't an evil master plan. It was more like, "Let's put a song on the internet and see what people think about it." We're lucky that people responded, but considering the type of music that we make, there are also dangers about how your band will be perceived-- especially for the female in the band. We've had to be quite careful as far as how that gets portrayed. Not that I'm paranoid or anything... but I am paranoid.
Pitchfork: Have there been any situations where you were disappointed with how you've been portrayed so far?
LM: We've been reasonably lucky. I did my dissertation on the idea of femininity and women's writing, so I spent eight months reading about how women are portrayed in the media in terms of images and tone of voice and what words are used. It's something that I think about all the time, so I've been on the offensive with that from the start. We've had a couple of situations where people pitched things to us that we would never do, like individual entries in women's magazines. It's nice of them to offer, but I don't ever want to do that. Not that there's anything wrong with anybody doing that-- that's absolutely their choice-- but it would make it trickier for me to sleep at night. I worry enough anyway.
Chvrches: "Lies" (via SoundCloud)
Pitchfork: How did you guys first get together?
LM: I met Iain when he was producing the EP of my other indie rock band, Blue Sky Archives. He mentioned that he and his friend Martin were hoping for an electro-something band; I've always been a big fan of electronic music and pop music, but I'd never really tried it. Luckily, we've gelled quite well so far, which is helpful because when you're in a windowless basement with just the three of you, it helps to get on well. Otherwise, I'd imagine someone would get murdered, and that would be a shame.
Pitchfork: Does this style of music inspire you to write different sorts of lyrics?
LM: Someone once said to me that no one gives a shit about the lyrics in pop songs, but I find that very offensive because I always listen to them. I never wanted to write really cheesy pop lyrics-- like, "baby, baby, the sun is shining"-- that's not something that interests me personally. I'm always wanting to write something that has some kind of meaning.
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Pitchfork: Have you been surprised at all by some of the bands you've been compared to?
LM: I haven't read a huge amount of any of that, but I love the Knife. They're really great at making secrecy a part of their career; they have a lot of control over how they come across, which is unusual in this day and age.
Martin Doherty: A lot of people say we sound like Purity Ring, but I don't think we do, though they're an amazing band.
Iain Cook: Purity Ring are a lot more obscure in terms of their melodies-- they try to bury their hooks a lot deeper, whereas we want our melodies to be up-front and immediate.
Chvrches: "The Mother We Share" (Miaoux Miaoux Remix) (via SoundCloud)
Pitchfork: Has there been a situation where you've come across your own music playing around Glasgow yet?
LM: I heard "Mother We Share" on the jukebox in a pub we sometimes go to, but other than that I don't really go into places seeking people who are playing our songs-- it would be disturbing, and maybe as embarrassing for them as it would be for me. It'd be uncomfortable. |
(TSX-V: MGW, OTCQB: MGWFF)
May 1, 2017 – $0.57
CALGARY, ALBERTA – May 1, 2017 – Maple Leaf Green World Inc. (TSXV: MGW) (the “Maple Leaf” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce that, further to its press releases on March 17, 2017, and March 21, 2017, due to higher than anticipated demand and its increased capital requirements in connection with its engineering and construction plans for its proposed cannabis growing facility in Telkwa, British Columbia (the “Telkwa Facility”), the Company has increased its previously announced private placement to an offering of 13,216,070 units of the Company (“Units”) a price of $0.55 per Unit, for aggregate gross proceeds of $7,268,838.50 (the “Offering”). Each Unit will consist of one common share of Maple Leaf (“Common Shares”) and one Common Share purchase warrant (“Warrants”). Each whole Warrant will be exercisable into one Common Share at a price of $0.85 per Common Share for a period of two years from the date of issuance. The Corporation intends to use the net proceeds from the Offering to advance the Telkwa Facility. Remaining proceeds, if any, will be used for general corporate purposes.
The Corporation is also pleased to announce that it has received conditional approval of the Offering from the TSX Venture Exchange (the “TSXV”), subject to meeting the conditions of the TSXV. The Offering is scheduled to close on or about May 4, 2017 and is subject to certain conditions including, but not limited to, the receipt of all necessary approvals including the final approval of the TSXV. The securities to be issued under the Offering will be subject to a four month hold period in accordance with applicable Canadian securities laws.
For further information regarding Maple Leaf Green World Inc., please visit www.mlgreenworld.com.
About Maple Leaf Green World Inc.
Maple Leaf is a public Canadian company that focuses on the cannabis industry in North America. With over 10 years of extensive greenhouse management experience, it applies its eco- agriculture knowledge and cultivation technology to produce contaminant-free organic cannabis products. Maple Leaf’s long-term objective is to produce cannabis oil and export its products to approved countries.
Cautionary Statement
This news release includes certain statements that may be deemed “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Specifically, this news release includes, but is not limited to, forward-looking statements with respect to the net proceeds from the Offering and the use thereof, the completion of the Offering, the receipt of regulatory approvals and the timing thereof and the anticipated closing date of the Offering. Generally, forward-looking statements can be identified by the forward-looking terminology such as “plans”, “expects” or “does not expect”, “is expected”, “budget”, “scheduled”, “estimates”, “projects”, “intends”, “anticipates”, or “does not anticipate”, or “believes”, or “variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results “may”, “can”, “could”, “would”, “might”, or “will” be taken”, “occur” or “be achieved”. Forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, including but not limited to: risks related to the development and operation of the Company’s projects, risks associated with general economic conditions, adverse industry events, marketing costs, loss of markets, future legislative and regulatory developments involving medical cannabis, inability to access sufficient capital from internal and external sources and/or inability to access sufficient capital on favourable terms, the medical cannabis industry in Canada and the jurisdictions where the Company operates generally, income tax and regulatory matters, competition, crop failure, currency and interest rate fluctuations, regulatory approvals including approvals from the TSXV for the Offering, and those factors discussed in the sections relating to risk factors of our business filed in the Company’s required securities filings on SEDAR. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause results to be materially different from those anticipated, described, estimated, assessed or intended. There can be no assurance that any forward-looking statements will prove accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements that are incorporated by reference herein, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
THE SECURITIES OFFERED HAVE NOT BEEN REGISTERED UNDER THE U.S. SECURITIES ACT OF 1933, AS AMENDED, AND MAY NOT BE OFFERED OR SOLD IN THE UNITED STATES ABSENT REGISTRATION OR AN EXEMPTION FROM THE REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS. THIS PRESS RELEASE SHALL NOT CONSTITUTE AN OFFER TO SELL OR THE SOLICITATION OF AN OFFER TO BUY NOR SHALL THERE BE ANY SALE OF THE SECURITIES IN ANY STATE IN WHICH SUCH OFFER, SOLICITATION OR SALE WOULD BE UNLAWFUL.
Contact:
Maple Leaf Green World Inc.
Raymond Lai, Chairman, President & CEO
+1(403) 452-4552
+1(403) 452-6900
[email protected]
www.mlgreenworld.com |
Transcending history, and the world, a tale of souls and swords, eternally retold
I still remember seeing the epic intro movie of SoulEdge (named SoulBlade outside Japan) that started with these words above to continue with one of the probably best music tracks written for a fighting game. The music continued to be great in the game itself, but the more important parts to make a fighting game great are the gameplay, a good roster, a creative setting and last but not least even a good story.
SoulEdge delivered all of that with its fighting engine based on vertical and horizontal weapon based moves instead of the more usual kicks and punches system seen in the most other fighting games before.
SoulEdge had only around 10 playable characters but each of them was as different from each other as the Street Fighter II characters that everyone knows today.
All initially playable SoulEdge characters drawn by Fredrik “fedde” Mattsson
And not only that, they were boosting with charisma, they were scary, evil or good and just likeable.
Instead of another martial arts tournament we saw these characters like Siegfried, Sophitia, Taki and Voldo fighting for an evil Sword named Soul Edge that was in the hands of an undead pirate by the name Cervantes de Leon. Each of the characters tried to either destroy this sword or to use it. Today we want to celebrate this great game that turned into the SoulCalibur series with illustrations of all the characters in their classic designs from 1996.
We are a group of big fans of the game and want to thank all the developers of SoulEdge for the fun we had with it.
Your Legend will never die 😉
Soul Edge
Soul Edge, the main antagonist of the game and the most of its sequels drawn by Steven “CrescentDebris” Barton
The most fighting games in the nineties had main antagonists like M.Bison, Geese Howard or Shao Kahn. Guys that organized martial art tournaments to decide who is the best fighter around. In SoulEdge the main antagonist however is a demonic sword that was bathed in blood and hatred and gained a wicked soul that can possess the person that holds it. In SoulEdge it shapeshifts into a form of pure energy after Cervantes de Leon is defeated.
This form of Soul Edge was later called Inferno in SoulCalibur I-II where it was again the final opponent.
Siegfried Schtauffen
Siegfried Schtauffen, one of the most central characters in the SoulCalibur series drawn by Francjo Gutierrez
Siegfried became a protagonist in the later SoulCalibur games but during the events of SoulEdge he is completely insane. This guy has one of the darkest background stories of a fighting game character I believe. He killed his own father who came back from a war during a night, when he was part of a group of thieves when he held the severed head in the moonlight.
This broke his mind and he started to search for the “real” murderer and believed only the Soul Edge sword could kill him. He obtains the demonic sword eventually and becomes a real Nightmare for the citizens of Ostrheinsburg….
The battle for Soul Edge. The insane Siegfried versus Inferno drawn by Carlos “Nightshide” Roman
Sophitia Alexandra
Sophitia Alexandra in her stage the Eurydice Shrine drawn by Eric “SuperEdco” DeSantis who also created the Logo for this Project
Sophitia Alexandra is one of the main protagonists in SoulEdge and the majority of the later SoulCalibur games. Hephaestus one of the Greek gods appears to her to send her on the mission to destroy the evil sword. She eventually finds Cervantes de Leon and was able to destroy one half of SoulEdge but was wounded in the battle and almost killed by Cervantes when the mysterious Ninja Taki helped her and was able to kill the undead pirate.
Sophitia’s sister Cassandra debuted in SoulCalibur II, in SoulCalibur V her children Patroklos and Pyrrah are the central characters of the story while she became Elysium.
Sophitia and Seung Mina drawn by Karn Kirk Ratanasin aka DigiFlohw
Seung Mina
Seung Mina drawn by Gino ” Dreamgate-Gad” Descalzi
Seung Mina, later renamed to Seong Mi-na is one of the two Korean characters in SoulEdge. She was learning to use the Naginata as a child already and goes on a quest by her own to find SoulEdge for her home country unknown that Hwang was already sent out officially to find the demonic weapon.
Seung Mina returned in all sequels up to SoulCalibur IV as an unlockable character. In SoulCalibur her moveset was very similar to Killik’s (who got a good couple of her moves) but her fighting style changed a lot since SoulCalibur IIII.
Voldo
Voldo drawn by Luis “Chacrawarrior” Miguel
Voldo was the “Yoshimitsu of SoulEdge” before Namco actually added Yoshimitsu from Tekken to SoulCalibur. This oddball character can’t see, he can’t talk, he can’t even hear his opponents you would think. And Voldo fights in some of the weirdest costumes ever designed for a fighting game character and sometimes sounds like Darth Vader.
But just like the Dark Force, Voldo should never be underestimated. This guy fights with big dual Katar weapons, a dagger similar weapon type from India. These are often replaced by even more dangerous looking weapons though. Voldo can somehow feel the presence of his opponents and uses his body for very unusual moves. From all characters in SoulEdge he has the biggest amount of moves nobody could pull off in a real fight.
Voldo was the right man of a powerful Italian merchant known as Vercci, the Merchant of Death. Vercci send him to find the demonic sword for him. How Voldo became the man he is in SoulEdge can only be speculated. In his ending, Vercci is already dead but Voldo still places the sword on Vercci’s tomb, ready to guard it for eternity.
Voldo drawn by Luke The Ripper
Li Long
Li Long drawn by Christopher “Mawnbak” Jones and by Steven “CrescentDebris” Barton
Li Long is the only of the SoulEdge characters that did not become a recurring character, instead he was kinda replaced by Maxi in the later games.
He was the first character ever in a 3D fighting game who used a Nunchaku as his weapon which was a difficult task for the developers. Li Long is a Chinese who was sent on a mission by the emperor himself to find the evil sword. Li Long did not care about the sword however and decided to assassinate the leader of the pirates. He was almost killed by Cervantes de Leon when he found him and SoulEdge.
Li Long also had one of the most amazing stages ever seen in a fighting game when SoulEdge was released. The fight against him takes place on a wooden platform surrounded by the floods of the Yangtze river in China. The stage is completely in 3d and looks like the platform is constantly swimming forward on the river. Reason enough to give this stage a spot in our SoulEdge Art Tribute!
The Li Long Stage ” ‘The Narrow Gorge” drawn by Lara Couzens
Mitsurugi
Mitsurugi drawn by Rubén Gutiérrez M. aka BartonDH
Mitsurugi Heishirō is a Japanese samurai who returned in all sequels of SoulEdge, his look was very different in the later games though.
He was known as a powerful warrior already when he was at the age of 22 during the events of SoulEdge. Mitsurugi was a mercenary who enjoyed being a part of the wars during feudal Japan but saw the devastating effects of the rifle and believed he would need the demonic sword Soul Edge to have a chance against it.
Taki
Taki drawn by Kimlasca
Taki is a female ninja and can be seen as one of the main protagonists of SoulEdge. She is known as a Hunter of the Darkness during the events of the game and tries to destroy the demonic sword that was weakining her own weapon, Rekki-Maru. She confronted the undead pirate Cervantes de Leon just when he was about to give Sophitia the final blow and was able to slow him down and rescue Sophitia.
Taki is the fastest character in SoulEdge and unlike the majority of the other characters in the whole SoulCalibur series she always had a wide array of useful kick combos. Taki returned in all games up to SoulCalibur IV. In SoulCalibur V she was replaced by her student Natsu. Namco confirmed in 2011 that she is not dead. Taki became one of the two playable SoulCalibur characters in Namco X Capcom.
Taki vs. Cervantes de Leon drawn by CloudsDevourer
Rock
Rock aka Nathaniel William “Rock” Adams drawn by Grapiqkad aka Romeo J. Gonzales
Rock looks like a Barbarian who could be straight out of a Conan movie in SoulEdge but has a rather interesting background story that makes him one of the more likeable characters in the game I think.
His father was an English curio dealer who got into the possession of SoulEdge by biding on it at a secret auction for rare weapons. He and his family were on their way home at sea when Cervantes de Leon and his pirates were attacking their ship. Rock’s parents were killed, the ship sunk down and Cervantes became the host for Soul Edge.
Rock himself survived and found himself on the shores of the New World (America) where he had to learn to live off the land just like the Native Americans. Rock was a strong child already and just grew stronger with the time. He tried to join one of the tribes living there but people were afraid of him. Only a young boy named Bangoo befriended him. His parents were killed as well.
He returned in the sequels as an unlockable character and his different animal masks became a staple of the series. Before SoulCalibur V was released a lot people thought that Bangoo could be his successor in the game.
Hwang Seong-gyeong
Hwang drawn by by Steven “CrescentDebris” Barton
Hwang was originally a replacement character for Mitsurugi in the Korean arcade versions of SoulEdge, but the team later decided to make him an additional character in all later versions of the game. In SoulEdge he was trained by the father of Seung Mina, Seong Han-myong and became so good that he even wanted to adopt Hwang as his own son but before this could happen, Hwang was already sent to a mission to find the demonic sword called SoulEdge.
Hwang returned as an unlockable character in the direct sequel SoulCalibur and is also one of the bonus characters in SoulCalibur III.
Cervantes de Leon
Cervantes de Leon drawn by Genesis “IcedEdge” Vandrake
Cervantes de Leon, the Immortal Pirate is the main antagonist in SoulEdge and was not playable in the first version of the arcade game, like Hwang he became an additional character though when Namco updated the game. Cervantes was around 48 years old when he found Soul Edge and became so insane that he slaughtered his own crew under the evil influence of the sword.
Cervantes used Soul Edge and became immortal and the sword used him to become stronger.
Cervantes de Leon was weakened and almost defeated but the fragments of SoulEdge that were still inside his body revived him. Cervantes returned in all SoulCalibur games.
These are the playable characters in SoulEdge and I really hope we might see a new SoulCalibur game with all of them at some point, including Li Long and Hwang and maybe even in their classic designs as unlockable or..well..DLC costumes.
Thanks everyone for remembering this great game that helped to build up one of the best weapon based fighting game series out there. |
The summer has provided St. Louis Blues fans with some extreme highs. It all started with a titillating draft that saw 10 draft picks and a trade to bring in Carl Gunnarsson, a left-handed defenseman who will likely fill in with Kevin Shattenkirk on the second defensive pairing. Then July 1 struck and the Blues made their biggest splash since signing Paul Kariya in 2007; St. Louisan Paul Stastny was inked to a four-year deal to provide the roster with a much-needed top center. The No. 2 center role was filled by KHL star Jori Lehtera, who also happened to play with Vladimir Tarasenko in the past.
Fellow St. Louis native Chris Butler, defenseman Nate Prosser and forward Peter Mueller highlight a slew of minor signings that equip the Blues with more depth than a season ago. New jerseys, a new book from beat writer Jeremy Rutherford… everything seems to be heading in the right direction. With the exception of losing fan-favorite Vladimir Sobotka to the KHL, this summer has been a joyful one for Blues fans.
The breaks were tapped on Wednesday, though. Rutherford tweeted this out to fans to remind them of a very important task that is still unfinished at the moment:
Wade Arnott, agent for #stlblues Jaden Schwartz, tells Post-Dispatch two sides are “significantly apart” on a contract. More soon @stltoday — Jeremy Rutherford (@jprutherford) September 3, 2014
Wait a minute, Schwartz hasn’t been signed yet?! We are only two weeks from camp!
Schwartz, who is coming off of his three-year entry-level deal, is due for quite the raise this season and beyond. Playing in his third NHL season, first if you exempt the seven games he debuted in his first season and the 45 appearances in the lockout-shortened season, Schwartz was as reliable as they come. The 5-foot-10 forward finished the 2013-14 season third on the team in goals (25) and fourth on the team in points (56). His plus-28 was first on the team and tied for 13th in the entire NHL.
The worries of getting Schwartz locked up were not as prevalent in July, after the Saskatchewan native tweeted a picture of his new jersey number, which mirrors his sister Mandi’s No. 17 (changed when it was announced Sobotka was leaving the team). Now, comments from Schwartz’s agent, Wade Arnott, have made the contract discussions pressing news across the league.
“We remain significantly apart on our respective positions at this point,” Arnott said.
Blues general manager Doug Armstrong explained the situation a little further.
“I understand their position, they understand our position,” he said, “and there is a gap in the level of compensation.”
This seems to be a much different situation than what the franchise saw one year ago. With No. 1 defenseman Alex Pietrangelo left unsigned to open Day 1 of camp, both sides were looking at options for a long-term contract. Pietrangelo was expecting Drew Doughty-type money (eight years, $56 million) while the Blues were looking at a shorter term and a slightly lower salary — the usual that you hear from contract discussions.
Fortunately, the Blues and Pietrangelo agreed on a deal during camp, ending the summer-long saga. Pietrangelo was signed to a seven-year, $45.5 million extension that will take him three-years into his unrestricted free agent status. It also includes a no-trade clause for the final three years of the deal.
Arnott and Armstrong agree that Schwartz will likely be receiving a bridge deal, which is a short-term extension that focuses on letting a player prove himself rather than paying him for what he has already accomplished.
“Right now we’re focusing our efforts on a shorter-term contract,” Arnott said on Wednesday. “Traditionally, a lot of these players who have played this limited amount of games have sort of gravitated towards these bridge contracts to get to the next level. We’re not opposed to that concept, we just have to come to a meeting of the minds here on what the value is for that type of concept.”
“He doesn’t have enough of a history in our game right now,” added Armstrong. “He’s had a shortened lockout season and one (full) season in the NHL. I think there’s more data to be given on exactly where he’s going to fit in.”
Bridge contracts have proven to either be an excellent option or something that plays in the favor of the player. Toronto Maple Leafs center Nazem Kadri signed a two-year bridge contract worth $5.80 million last year and it seemed to work out for Toronto. After Kadri’s 18-goal, 44-point season during the 48-game season in 2012-13, he posted similar numbers over 78 games in 2013-14 (20 goals, 50 points).
Inversely, defenseman P.K. Subban and the Montreal Canadiens agreed on a two-year bridge contract in January 2013 worth $5.75 million. He followed that with a Norris Trophy-winning season, recording 38 points in 42 games. In 2013-14, his 53 points tied for fifth among NHL defensemen and his 43 assists led Montreal. He and the Canadiens entered salary arbitration this summer, but finalized a deal while waiting for the arbitrator to return with his decision. It was a hefty eight-year,$72 million extension.
A bridge deal seems imminent when looking at the St. Louis franchise’s books, though. After adding Stastny’s, Lehtera’s and Steve Ott’s $12.35 million combined contracts this summer, the Blues currently have just $2.70 million remaining in order to stay under the NHL’s $69 million salary cap.
Schwartz will have to believe in the Blues’ long-term goals in order to eventually receive the compensation he likely feels he deserves. With a roster that features top forwards Stastny, Tarasenko and David Backes, defensemen Pietrangelo, Jay Bouwmeester and Kevin Shattenkirk and up-and-coming goaltender Jake Allen, the Blues are poised to be a contender for many seasons to come.
The left winger may have to endure a short-term bridge deal, but the payoff in the near future could prove to be handsome. If Schwartz can continue to improve his offensive numbers and remain a vital part to the Blues’ success, he will be rewarded with a substantial contract in the future and the gratification of playing on a perennial Stanley Cup contender. |
Great Britain team for World Rowing U23 Championships announced
Great Britain will take 56 athletes to the World Rowing U23 Championships in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, between 19-23 July, including a number of reigning champions
Fifty six athletes will compete for Great Britain at the 2017 World Rowing U23 Championships in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, between 19-23 July, including four reigning champions.
All four members of the history-making lightweight men’s quadruple scull that won gold in Rotterdam last August return to the team, although in two separate boats.
Gavin Horsburgh, who competed at senior level at the World Cup in Poznan this year, is looking for his third consecutive World Championships title, having also won gold in the quad as a junior in 2015. This year he joins forces with fellow Edinburgh University student Matthew Curtis – another member of the victorious 2016 quad – in the lightweight double.
Ollie Varley and Hugo Coussens remain in the lightweight quad, looking to retain their titles, joined by Leander’s Jonny Jackson – bronze medallist from the 2016 lightweight men’s four – and James Temple of Edinburgh University.
It is all change in the silver medal-winning men’s four, with two members of last year’s second place men’s eight – Rob Hurn and Sholto Carnegie – moving into the bow and stroke seats. They are joined by Tom Digby and Charlie Elwes in the promising boat.
The eight contains four members of the crew who rowed to silver last year, including stroke man Arthur Doyle, Matthew Benstead, David Bewicke-Copley and cox Ian Middleton.
The women’s eight also won silver in Rotterdam, behind the USA, with three returning rowers this year – Charlotte Hodgkins-Byrne, Heidi Long and cox Sasha Adwani.
Chloe Brew moves from the women’s eight into the four – a boat that finished fourth last year. Saskia Budgett, a member of that four, will line up in the quadruple scull alongside Anna Thornton, Kyra Edwards and Lucy Glover.
The quad reached the final of the Princes Grace Challenge Cup at Henley Royal Regatta, losing out to a strong Dutch crew who went on to win silver at the World Cup regatta in Lucerne.
And Flo Pickles moves from the openweight quad to the lightweight quad for the 2017 Championships, where she joins Susannah Duncan, Imogen Mackie and Imogen Grant.
The openweight men’s quad, comprising of Harry Leask, Rowan Law, Harry Glenister and Andy Joel, impressed by finishing fourth at the World Rowing Cup in Belgrade at the start of the season.
The Leander quartet, who finished fifth in Rotterdam last year, took victory in the Prince of Wales Challenge Cup at Henley Royal Regatta – with Glenister becoming the first rower to claim all three men’s quad trophies.
Nineteen-year-old Josh Armstrong, meanwhile, finished 11th at World Cup II in Poznan in the men’s single – the same event that he will race in Plovdiv. Edinburgh University’s Armstrong was alongside Horsburgh in the gold medal junior quad in 2015.
British Rowing Performance Director Sir David Tanner said: “We enter the 2017 World Rowing U23 Championships with high hopes, especially off the back of the fantastic performances we saw in Rotterdam last year. It’s great to welcome back so many medallists, who, with another year of experience under their belts, will hope to be in contention for medals again.
“It has been excellent to welcome a number of the U23s into the senior ranks in the World Cup series this year – an experience that will hold them all in good stead ahead of the World Championships.”
Both Brew and Edwards in the women’s four started in the sport through British Rowing’s World Class Start programme, which develops athletes with little or no rowing experience into potential Olympic athletes. Find out more about World Class Start at goo.gl/zUSXuu.
Team selection
Men’s eight (M8+)
Matt Benstead (Hometown: Twickenham/Club: Molesey BC)
Alastair Douglass (Shepperton/Molesey BC)
Michael Glover (Burnham/Oxford Brookes Univ)
Matt Aldridge (Christchurch/Oxford Brookes Univ)
David Bewicke-Copley (Lutterworth/Sport Imperial BC)
Morgan Bolding (Withiel/Oxford Brookes Univ)
David Ambler (London/Tideway Scullers School)
Arthur Doyle (London/Univ of London BC)
Ian Middleton (Oxford/Cambridge Univ BC)
Coach: Brian Young (Univ of London)
Men’s four (M4-)
Rob Hurn (Glasgow/Leander)
Tom Digby (Henley-on-Thames/Griffen Boat Club)
Charlie Elwes (Andover/Leander)
Sholto Carnegie (Oxford/Leander)
Coach: Pete Sheppard (GB Rowing Team)
Men’s coxed four (M4+)
George Stewart (Esher/Molesey BC)
Oliver Wilkes (Matlock/Edinburgh Univ)
Joshua Kent (Berkhamsted/Univ of London BC)
Patrick Sullivan (Evesham/Univ of London BC)
Charlie Clarke (Liverpool/Oxford Brookes Univ)
Coach: Pete Sheppard (GB Rowing Team)
Men’s pair (M2-)
Will Stewart (Esher/Newcastle Univ)
Freddie Davidson (London/Cambridge Univ)
Coach: Ciro Prisco (Newcastle Univ)
Men’s quadruple scull (M4x)
Harry Leask (Edinburgh/Leander)
Rowan Law (Nottingham/Leander)
Harry Glenister (Princes Risborough/Leander)
Andy Joel (Windsor/Leander)
Coach: Ross Hunter (Leander)
Men’s single scull (M1x)
Josh Armstrong (Glasgow/Edinburgh University)
Coach: Colin Williamson (Edinburgh Univ)
Men’s double scull (M2x)
Seb Devereux (Chalfont St Giles/Leander)
Sam Meijer (London/Elizabethan BC)
Coach: Kieran Clark (Tideway Scullers School)
Women’s eight (W8+)
Charlotte Hodgkins-Byrne (Hereford/Univ of London BC)
Georgia Statham (Haslemere/Univ of London BC)
Eleanor Stewart (London/Univ of London BC)
Isobel Powell (London/Imperial College BC)
Fiona Bell (Kilmacolm, Glasgow/Aberdeen Univ BC)
Thea Zabell (London/Cambridge Univ Women’s BC)
Ally French (Ascot/Univ of London BC)
Heidi Long (Gerrards Cross/Marlow RC)
Sasha Adwani (Oxford/Newcastle Univ)
Coach: Phil Gray (Univ of London)
Women’s four (W4-)
Lauren Irwin (Peterlee/Durham Univ)
Oonagh Cousins (Farnham/Cambridge Univ Women’s BC)
Chloe Brew (Plymouth/Plymouth ARC)
Meg Saunders (London/Tideway Scullers School)
Coach: Hugo Gulliver (Univ of London)
Women’s quadruple scull (W4x)
Anna Thornton (Nottingham/Nottingham RC)
Kyra Edwards (Nottingham/Nottingham RC)
Saskia Budgett (Acton/Tideway Scullers School)
Lucy Glover (Warrington/Warrington RC)
Coach: Lauren Fisher (GB Rowing Team)
Lightweight women’s quadruple scull (LW4x)
Susannah Duncan (Aiguebelette, France/Exeter Univ)
Flo Pickles (Cheltenham/Oxford Univ Women’s BC)
Imogen Mackie (Exeter/Oxford Brookes Univ)
Imogen Grant (Cambridge/Cambridge Univ Women’s BC)
Coach: Allan French (Oxford Brookes Univ)
Lightweight men’s pair (LM2-)
Dominic Jackson (Kingston-upon-Thames/Molesey BC)
Chris Tebb (High Wycombe/Oxford Brookes Univ)
Coach: Ciro Prisco (Newcastle Univ)
Lightweight men’s double scull (LM2x)
Matthew Curtis (Durham/Edinburgh Univ)
Gavin Horsburgh (Lochwinnoh/Edinburgh Univ)
Coach: Colin Williamson (Edinburgh Univ)
Lightweight men’s quadruple scull (LM4x)
Jonny Jackson (Henley-on-Thames/Leander)
James Temple (Kew/Edinburgh Univ)
Ollie Varley (Durham/Newcastle Univ)
Hugo Coussens (Henley-on-Thames/Durham Univ)
Coach: John Higson (Edinburgh Univ) |
Al Jazeera's Teresa Bo spoke to s tudents from Chile's Catholic University taking part in the protests
Chilean riot police fired tear gas and used water cannons to disperse violent protesters on the fringe of an otherwise peaceful student demonstration in the capital Santiago.
Tens of thousands of teachers, students, parents and sympathetic labour activists marched in central Santiago on Tuesday for the fifth time in two months to demand reforms from the conservative government of President Sebastian Pinera.
The peaceful protest came apart when a group of hooded youths hurled sticks and rocks at riot police near the presidential palace of La Moneda. Some of the youths smashed street lights and broke windows, and a car was set ablaze.
Police said about 60,000 people marched. Organisers put the number closer to 100,000.
"The time has come to fight, not to negotiate," some students said in their banners.
Demonstrators walked past the Dario Salas School, where three minors have been on hunger strike for 21 days to support student demands.
Chilean student protests started three months ago and have already led to a change of minister.
Last week, close to 900 people were arrested and 90 police officers were injured in student protests.
In recent months, hundreds of thousands of people have poured onto the streets to support the movement, whose rallies have drawn the biggest crowds for protests in Chile since the end of the military dictatorship in 1990.
The student protest has had a significant impact on Pinera's popularity rating, which sank to 26 per cent according to an opinion poll published last week, the lowest support rating for any Chilean president since 1990.
Students want the state to take over the public school system, where 90 per cent of the country's 3.5 million students are educated. It is currently run by local authorities, which protesters say results in deep inequalities.
Chile has the highest per capita income of any country in Latin America, but the Andean nation also has the most skewed income disparity in the region.
Students also want more affordable higher education: most Chilean college students take out loans to go to private for-profit universities because public colleges are few and underfunded.
"I'm marching because I have two children and I can't make ends meet; they are going to be in debt for years" when they go to college, Graciela Hernandez, one of the protesters, told AFP.
"The government is not listening to us, we want a new education system in Chile and the government proposals do not address what we want," said Manuel Soto, a protester from the University of Santiago.
"The protests will continue ... until the government gives us better education," Soto told AFP.
Police authorised the Tuesday march, unlike a protest last Thursday that resulted in more than 800 arrests.
Protests have been mounting since Pinera, the first right-wing president to govern Chile since the country returned to democracy in 1990, announced wide-ranging education spending cuts earlier in the year.
Protests also occurred in Chile's other main cities, including Arica, Valparaiso and Concepcion.
Unions representing public workers and copper miners announced they would join the students, a sign that the social upheaval against Pinera, in power since March 2010, is broadening. |
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Leaked images for the video game Disney Infinity 3.0 reveal that Star Wars characters may soon be playable in their toys-to-life platform.
They were originally spotted on Disney Kingdom, a website dealing in collectible Disney items. The announcement has since been taken down at the request of Disney Interactive, but fans are told to expect more Star Wars news soon.
The leaked image seen above teases both Anakin Skywalker and Ahsoka Tano from the animated series Star Wars: Clone Wars as the two pack-in characters with the possible latest iteration of Disney Infinity.
Currently, no formal announcement about Disney Infinity 3.0 or playable Star Wars characters has been made. IGN has reached out to Disney for comment.
This isn't the first bit of rumored information about Disney Infinity to surface. Recently, a Chinese retailer allegedly leaked images showing figures for Mulan, Olaf the snowman, and Classic Mickey Mouse.
Exit Theatre Mode
Cassidee is a freelance writer for various outlets around the web. You can chat with her about all things geeky on Twitter. |
I wrote an article that ran May 4, analyzing the Astros as possible surprise sellers on the summer trade market. Eight weeks later, that looks like an awfully silly article, because the Astros are now 41-37. Despite the Rangers leaning way out over their skis and building a 10-game lead in the AL West, Houston is a very legitimate playoff contender.
Let me defend myself, however lamely, by pointing this out: the Astros started this season 17-28. No playoff team last season had any 45-game stretch in which they lost 28 games. Since then, they’ve won 24 of 33, something only one team (the mid-May Twins) managed to do last season without making the playoffs. Highs this high and lows this low usually don’t fit into the same season, let alone the same half of one. Obviously, though, the Astros were always better than their early record showed. They caught some bad waves in the crashing surf of in-season variance, and they simply got aberrant, miserable starts from a few players who are better than that.
Failure to Launch – Early Astros Struggles
They owe much of their resurgence to those players remembering they’re good.
Blastoff – Astros Strugglers Since Their Struggles
Player Period PA AVG OBP SLG Gomez Since 5/31 88 .282 .364 .449 Valbuena Since 5/23 114 .344 .447 .604 Gattis Since 5/19 147 .229 .306 .504
The endpoints here are all chosen arbitrarily; I admit it freely. In the cases of Carlos Gomez and Evan Gattis, the recoveries do coincide with trips to the DL to manage nagging injuries. And in all cases, the forward strides grow not only from better BABIP luck and more balls leaving the park, but from materially better control of the strike zone. All three were genuinely much better players than their poor first months suggested, and all three have proved as much since figuring things out.
That’s far from the whole story. After all, at their very worst, the Astros were good enough at the plate to stay afloat, led by the stunningly consistent and brilliant trio of Jose Altuve, Carlos Correa, and George Springer. It’s also helped that the wobbly early showings of so many Houston pitchers have stabilized. Ken Giles has 22 strikeouts against four walks since mid-May, and has allowed just one home run over that span. Dallas Keuchel is back on track, if not fully restored to his Cy Young self. Colin McHugh weathered his storm. Lance McCullers is back from injury, and pitching pretty well. Will Harris is great, at least right now.
Through May 5, the Astros had a 4.83 team ERA, had fanned 19.6 percent of opposing batters, and had walked 7.3 percent of them. Since then, their ERA is 3.51, they’ve punched out 22.8 percent of opponents, and they’ve walked 6.6 percent. They now rank 14th in both cFIP and DRA- for the season (and second in relief DRA), suggesting that their true talent has come into pretty close accord with their performance.
Though the Mariners and Rangers both have better third-order winning percentages, and though the Rangers are hilariously outdoing their true talent indicators and making dreams of winning the AL West seem like just that, the Astros are firmly on the buyer side of the fence now. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if they had the best rest-of-season record in the American League.
The Astros’ organizational depth is going to become a big deal very soon. As good as this team is, they probably need to get better. If there’s an ace on the market, the Astros should be among the most aggressive bidders for them. There remains a strong chance that they find themselves in the Wild Card Game, and they’re not really built to navigate the path that starts there and goes past Columbus Day. The farm system still has the sort of depth that kind of trade would demand. The trio of upper-minors starters who could get a conversation started (David Paulino, Joe Musgrove, and Francis Martes) are more than almost any other organization would be able to offer.
The way Valbuena has played lately, and with A.J. Reed now promoted to the parent club, there’s a bevy of polished, low-to-medium-ceiling hitters from whom the Astros could allow a trade partner to choose without losing anything at the big-league level (Colin Moran, Tyler White, Preston Tucker, Tony Kemp, Derek Fisher, you get the idea here). That’s without talking about their draft haul from 2015, which includes three extremely talented players (Alex Bregman, Kyle Tucker, Daz Cameron) who could have major trade value for the right suitor, if the right name hits Jeff Luhnow’s ears.
At the end of this year, we might look back at the first six or seven weeks of the Astros' season and shake our heads sadly, because it was a really tough jag on which to start, and it still might cost them dearly. If any team has what it takes to overcome such a rough quarter of a season, though, perhaps it’s this one, led by an elite offensive core, and supported by some of the best depth in baseball. |
A leading city restaurateur has told KentOnline he may contemplate “an exit strategy” if Canterbury descends further into night-time lawlessness.
Sam Deeson says he is sick and tired of thugs and drunks running riot in the early hours.
Burglars targeted one of his businesses again at the weekend – smashing their way in and helping themselves to the takings.
Sam Deeson at Pork and Co in Sun Street. Picture: Chris Davey
His hugely successful Deeson’s restaurant – one of just four city eateries to be listed in the Michelin Guide – has been broken into on three separate occasions.
And on Sunday he discovered the burglary at his neighbouring Pork & Co takeaway. “First I find puke down the front door of Deeson’s,” he said. “Then I head up to Pork & Co and see that the door’s kicked in and the weekend’s takings are gone.
“What gets me is this is the centre of town. People have no fear of being caught.
“Look on a weekend morning. It’s like a bomb site. Smashed windows, glass everywhere. Vomit. Canterbury’s turning into a completely nasty place.”
Mr Deeson, 40, runs three businesses in the Buttermarket area but says he has now ruled out any further projects in the city.
“There’s no law and order. People are running riot,” he said. “I see the same kids come by the Buttermarket every day to pick fights with foreign tourists.
"Nothing’s done. I saw a group of men in their 20s beating up a homeless man in Palace Street. That was around 5pm. This is not a nice place any more. I’m sick and tired.”
Canterbury district commander Ch Insp Mark Arnold
He added: “People like me start to think ‘do I really want to hang around?’ I’m getting fed up paying over £50,000 in business rates for a town that’s looking like crap. It’s got a bad vibe.
“I don’t want to open another business here now. You start feeling like you should look for an exit strategy. If it gets worse, then we’ll look at that.”
Mr Deeson is keen not to point the finger of blame at the police. “They’re stretched and they don’t have the resources to police beyond the high street,” he said.
“Let’s face it, they’re good for nothing except a crime number for the insurance claim. And that’s not their fault.”
Deeson's in Canterbury
District commander Ch Insp Mark Arnold said: “Like any city of its size Canterbury has a vibrant night-time economy, but I refute the claim that people are ‘running riot’. This is just not the case.
“We focus our resources on disrupting the minority who cause the majority of issues, and we concentrate our patrols on the key times when the demand is highest.”
Anyone with information about the offence at Pork & Co is asked to call police on
01843 222289 or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 55511, quoting reference number ZY/031964/15. |
As with so many things, Barack Obama just can’t get it up for doing the right thing at Gitmo. And prisoners have suffered horribly, unnecessarily, because of Obama’s ineptitude. The fact is, Obama gave up on closing Gitmo, when Republicans convinced the American people that the torture den was the right place to keep “the terrorists”. Instead of fighting back agains that stupid, ignorant, view, Obama gave in. He claims now he will once again try to do something. Hopes are not high he will succeed.
Almost six years ago, Barack Obama said the following about his plan for the detainment and torture camps run by the US military at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba:“[W]e’re going to close Guantanamo. And we're going to restore habeas corpus. ... We're going to lead by example—by not just word but by deed. That's our vision for the future.”Maybe Barack Obama should have gotten his eyes checked.Because this week, Obama, who failed to do either of the things he promised in San Antonio back in 2007, has ordered yet another round of torture of more than twenty of the remaining prisoners (euphemistically called “detainees”) at Gitmo.In response to a hunger strike initiated by the majority of the remaining 166 prisoners, Obama ordered that forced feeding of hunger-strikers would be used, because Obama said, “I don’t want these individuals to die.”According to the United Nations, and numerous medical associations, including the AMA, forced feeding of prisoners is a form of torture.In response to the fact that once again, he is being widelyas a feckless leader (Maureen Dowd has alreadyhim and his presidency as "lame duck"), who cannot forge the political coalitions necessary to get things done in Washington D. C., Obama is claiming he will "go back at this", presumably meaning he will again attempt to close Gitmo.As Commander-in-Chief, Obama has always had the power to close the camp and to relocate, or better yet release, the prisoners. The handful for which real evidence exists of terroristic activity should be tried in civilian courts. Instead, Obama wanted to "work with" Congress, the very same Congress that has repeatedly demonstrated its utter impotence to work at all—except when it's time for Congress to go to the airport.The whole Gitmo experiment, the most visible and vile component of the US government’s scheme to employstyle tactics, inside and outside the USA, in the “Global War on Terror”, now hangs around Obama’s neck like the albatross of a horrible idea that it always was.So far, and once again, Barack Obama does not have the courage to do the right thing.Democrats should be ashamed of him.Americans should be outraged at him.And yes, of course, the comicbook-villain Republicans should be despised even more, but that’s like hating the KKK. It’s a baseline. A Democratic Party president should be held to a much higher standard than whether he isn’t quite yet as loathsome as George W. Bush.Instead, Obama recently helped Bushhis legacy, one Obama now all too closely shares with dreadful Dubya. |
Chinese Strategy and Military Modernization in 2016
By Anthony H. Cordesman with the assistance of Joseph Kendall
December 8, 2016
The Burke Chair at CSIS has prepared a final review draft of its annual assessment of China’s emergence as a global economic superpower, and as a major regional military power in Asia and the Pacific. This draft is entitled Chinese Strategy and Military Modernization in 2017, and is available on the CSIS web site at https://csis-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/publication/161208_Chinese_Strategy_Military_Modernization_2016.pdf.
The study addresses the trends in Chinese strategy, tactics, force modernization, and security developments in Northeast Asia, the Eastern Pacific, Taiwan Straits, and South China Sea. It does so as a net assessment that does not chose a single view of developments in China, or the reaction of neighboring states, but compares the data in Chinese official sources with those in official U.S., Japanese, South Korean, and Taiwanese government sources, and include numerous maps, charts, and tables showing Chinese, U.S. and regional force trends.
The analysis is intended to support a dialogue among China, the United States, and other key Asian powers. The People’s Republic of China (PRC), the United States, and China’s neighbors face a critical need to improve their understanding of how each state in the region is developing its military power, and face a critical need to find ways to avoid the kind of military competition that could lead to rising tension or conflict.
Accordingly, the book focuses on the current developments in China’s military strategy, forces, and modernization, but in the context of how they are influencing U.S. strategy and force developments, and the reactions of Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan. The volume also focuses on how Chinese military developments affect rising tensions in areas like the East China Sea, South China Sea, and Taiwan.
The final version will be published as a CSIS book in early 2017. This version is being circulated for comment, and suggested additions and revisions – which will be needed by January 20, 2017. They should be sent to Anthony H. Cordesman, Burke Chair in Strategy, at [email protected].
A related study of the military balance in Northeast Asia and the Koreas is also available. The title is The Military Balance in the Koreas and Northeast Asia, and it is available on the CSIS web site at https://www.csis.org/analysis/military-balance-koreas-and-northeast-asia.
The Table of Contents, and list of Figures, in the China book are shown below:
Photo credit: Getty Images |
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when you are on a two-wheeler, there are only two things that matter: the ultimate road presence and the unadulterated riding pleasure, both are qualities which the new BMW R nineT Roadster Bike can offer. nested within this hand-built feel classic roadster bike is a 1.2-Liter air/oil-cooled twin-cylinder boxer engine, delivering 110 hp (81 kW) and 88 lb-ft (119 Nm) of torque that would put many regular cars to shame. the nineT, as it is affectionately known as, is built around a modular frame concept with removable pillion frame and frame end-piece, which as a side benefit, makes this ride highly suited for further customization.
it has a classic wheel suspension concept, utilizing high-quality inverted telescopic fork up front and paralever at the rear that sees to the handling aspect of the ride, while 17-inch wire-spoke wheels with black anodized alloy and hubs completes the traction department. reassuring stopping power comes from radial 4-pod monoblock brake calipers matched to steel-braided brake lines and floating 320mm brake discs and BMW Motorrad very own ABS. if you love custom bikes, we are sure you will fall in love with the nineT roadster bike. no efforts were spared to achieve the puristic look, including painstakingly hand brushed sides of the 18-liter aluminum tank, aluminum plate with embossed nineT branding (located just above the air intake duct, plus glass bead-blasted and anodized on its many forged aluminum parts, just to name a few.
judging from the official product page, it looks like the BMW R nineT Roadster Bike is “sort of” available now, but we have absolutely no idea what’s the price. though there’s a request for an offer. |
Where's The Oddest Place To Vote? Let's Take a Poll
Hide caption Party room at a bowling alley, Philadelphia, May 19, 2009 Previous Next Courtesy of Ryan Donnell
Hide caption Laundromat, Chicago, March 20, 2012 Previous Next Courtesy of Ryan Donnell
Hide caption Roller skating rink, Philadelphia, Nov. 4, 2008 Previous Next Courtesy of Ryan Donnell
Hide caption Vietnamese restaurant, Philadelphia, Nov. 4, 2008 Previous Next Courtesy of Ryan Donnell
Hide caption Mummers Museum, Philadelphia, May 18, 2010 Previous Next Courtesy of Ryan Donnell
Hide caption Swedish-American Museum, Chicago, March 20, 2012 Previous Next Courtesy of Ryan Donnell
Hide caption Bowling alley, Chicago, March 20, 2012 Previous Next Courtesy of Ryan Donnell
Hide caption Barber shop, Philadelphia, Nov. 4, 2008 Previous Next Courtesy of Ryan Donnell
Hide caption Auto repair shop, Philadelphia, Nov. 4, 2008 Previous Next Courtesy of Ryan Donnell
Hide caption Mexican paleteria, Chicago, March 20, 2012 Previous Next Courtesy of Ryan Donnell
Hide caption Marine supply and repair shop, Chicago, March 20, 2012 Previous Next Courtesy of Ryan Donnell
Hide caption Pool hall and bar, Chicago, March 20, 2012 Previous Next Courtesy of Ryan Donnell 1 of 12 i View slideshow
Typically, when you think of a polling place, you imagine community centers, churches, schools and gymnasiums, right? But imagine casting your ballot in a laundromat or skating rink.
Since 2008, Philadelphia-based photographer and political junkie Ryan Donnell has been documenting unexpected polling places — in his project "Behind the Curtain."
It started when, during the 2008 election, he was sent to vote at an Italian social club in south Philly. He then got in touch with the registrar's office and weeded through location lists looking for other polling-place oddities.
"When I go through the lists of places and see elementary schools, I disregard them," he said on the phone. "Most of America votes at an elementary school, but [at] the Church of Scientology? Now that is something different."
He has also found himself at bakeries, bars, skating rinks, barber shops and funeral homes. The purpose of the project, he says, is to take a look at American democracy — and the way America votes.
"It turned out that the images were a great representation of the diversity in our country," he says.
The series isn't limited to Philadelphia. Donnell has also shot images in Chicago — and during this year's presidential election, he will be photographing polling places in Los Angeles.
"It's personal to me," he said. "I love politics, democracy, and I love this country."
So where will you vote this year? |
Activision's making a vocal show of support for the game industry in the upcoming Supreme Court case surrounding California's violent video game legislation. The publisher joined a growing list of media, research and other groups filing amicus briefs in the case, claiming the 2005 law creates "an unprecedented exception for unprotected speech."According to the company's statement, the California law, which would provide government-mandated legal penalties for the sale of violent video games to minors, is "dangerous, unnecessary, and misguided, and could undermine freedom of speech protections under the First Amendment for the entire nation."The company suggests that should this particular legislation receive the court's approval, it could open a legal route for broader-ranging media censorship. Other media organizations from the world of literature, film and television, and music have already filed their own amicus briefs in the case, as have several attorneys general and over 80 scholars and researchers.Favoring the industry's existing self-regulatory rating and enforcement efforts -- which have been praised by the FTC -- Activision's brief is emphasized by accompanying statements from CEO Bobby Kotick."Our First Amendment has survived intact for 219 years amid far greater technological, historical and social challenges," says Kotick. "The argument that video games present some kind of new ominous threat that requires a wholesale reassessment of one of our nation's most treasured freedoms and to take that freedom away indiscriminately from an entire group of our population based on nothing but age is beyond absurd.""These are the same attacks Americans have witnessed against every previous emerging entertainment medium and genre including books, comics, rock n' roll, movies, TV and the Internet. In each case, freedom prevailed," Kotick continued."We are thrilled to be able to be an important part of this historic effort to protect our Constitution and to ensure that video games remain vibrant form of expression for every gamer in our constituency."Calling California's pursuit of its law "tampering with the nation's Constitution and wasting taxpayers' money," Kotick suggested the state would have been better served investing its resources in parental education and use of the game ratings system and on how to judge appropriate content."Video game industry is a homegrown California economic success story providing thousands of highly paid skilled jobs at the time of economic crisis," Kotick adds.California senator Leland Yee is the bill's original author, and state Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger originally signed it into law in 2005. California's 9th Circuit Court declared it unconstitutional on free speech grounds in February 2009 -- but a state appeal now brings the statute under Supreme Court review. The court will hear the measure on November 2, and has the option of upholding it. |
It is estimated that there are one million Romani people in the United States. Though the Romani population in the United States has assimilated into American society, the largest concentrations are in Southern California, the Pacific Northwest, Texas and the Northeast as well as in cities such as Chicago and St. Louis.[1][2] The Romani, ethnically and genealogically different from other Europeans, began settling in America in the mid-19th century.
The largest wave of Romani immigrants came after the abolition of Romani slavery in Romania in 1864. Romani immigration to the United States has continued at a steady rate ever since, though a large-scale surge of Romani immigration followed the 1989 collapse of Communism in Central and Eastern Europe.[1]
The size of the Romani American population and the absence of a historical and cultural presence, such as the Romani have in Europe, make Americans largely unaware of the existence of the Romani as a people.[1] The term's lack of significance within the United States prevents many Romani from using the term around non-Romani: identifying themselves by nationality rather than heritage.[3] The U.S. Census does not distinguish Romani as a group since it is neither a nationality nor a religion.[1]
History [ edit ]
Origin [ edit ]
The Romani people originate from Northern India,[5][6][7][8][9] presumably from the northwestern Indian states Rajasthan[8][9] and Punjab.[8]
The linguistic evidence has indisputably shown that roots of Romani language lie in India: the language has grammatical characteristics of Indian languages and shares with them a big part of the basic lexicon, for example, body parts or daily routines.[10]
More exactly, Romani shares the basic lexicon with Hindi and Punjabi. It shares many phonetic features with Marwari, while its grammar is closest to Bengali.[11]
Genetic findings in 2012 suggest the Romani originated in northwestern India and migrated as a group.[5][6][12] According to a genetic study in 2012, the ancestors of present scheduled tribes and scheduled caste populations of northern India, traditionally referred to collectively as the Ḍoma, are the likely ancestral populations of modern European Roma.[13]
In February 2016, during the International Roma Conference, the Indian Minister of External Affairs stated that the people of the Roma community were children of India. The conference ended with a recommendation to the Government of India to recognize the Roma community spread across 30 countries as a part of the Indian diaspora.[14]
Migration to the US [ edit ]
An encampment of the Roma people on the outskirts of Portland, Oregon . The photographed group faced eviction from the Portland Police (1905).
Romani slaves were first shipped to the Americas with Columbus in 1492. Spain sent Romani slaves to their Louisiana colony between 1762 and 1800[15]. The Romanichal, the first Romani group to arrive in North America in large numbers, came to America from Britain around 1850. Eastern European Romani, the ancestors of most of the Romani population in the United States today, began immigrating to the United States on a large scale over the latter half of the 19th century, following their liberation from slavery in Romania. That wave of Romani immigration comprised Romani-speaking peoples like the Kalderash, Machvaya, Lovari and Churari, as well as ethnically Romani groups that had integrated more within the Central and Eastern European societies, such as the Boyash (Ludari) of Romania and the Bashalde of Slovakia.[16] Romani immigration, like all Central and Eastern European migration, was severely limited during the Soviet era in Central and Eastern Europe but picked up again in the 1990s after the fall of the Eastern Bloc.
Groups [ edit ]
Ludar: Hailing from North of the Balkans, Hungary, and the Banat, the Ludari, also known as Rudari, Boyash, or Banyash, are a subculture of Romani who arrived during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. [17]
Hungarian-Slovak Romani: The Romani of Northern Hungary largely settled in industrial cities of the Northern United States near the turn of the century. Among Romani from these areas were Olah, Romungre, and Bashalde immigrants. They were noted for their musical traditions and popularized Romani music in the United States by performing in cafes, night clubs and restaurants. Their prevalence in show business made Hungarian-Slovak Romani the most visible of the Romani groups arriving in America at the turn of the century and helped to shape the modern American idea of a Romani.[17]
Notable people [ edit ]
For a more comprehensive list, see List of Romani Americans
See also [ edit ]
References [ edit ]
Sources [ edit ] |
Thus began WLW’s five-year, twenty-four-hour-a-day experiment: a radio station that used more power and transmitted more miles than any station in the United States had or would. The so-called super station—licensed by the new Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on a temporary basis—amped up the debate among broadcasters, government regulators, and listeners about how radio should be delivered to serve the “public interest,” a mandate laid out in the Radio Act of 1927, and influenced legal, programming, and technical decisions that shape the broadcast system we know today.
Photo caption A 1937 poster by Lester Beall for the Rural Electrification Project, the New Deal project that connected rural Americans to the electrical grid. Digital Image © The Museum of Modern Art / Licensed by SCALA / Art Resource, NY
Since radio’s beginnings in the early 1920s, industry and government leaders promoted it as the great homogenizer, a cultural uplift project that could, among other things, help modernize and acculturate rural areas. The challenge was how to reach these areas, many of which received few or no radio signals in the mid-1930s. One solution was high-powered, clear-channel stations that could blanket large swaths of the country with a strong signal. These stations operated on “cleared” frequencies that the government assigned to only one station to prevent interference.
WLW had operated on one of forty designated clear channels since 1928. The station’s creator and owner, an entrepreneur, inventor, and manufacturer named Powel Crosley Jr. frequently increased the station’s wattage as technology and regulation allowed. In 1934, when WLW increased its power from 50 kW to 500 kW, all other clear-channel stations were operating at 50 kW or less. Now, WLW had the ability to reach most of the country, especially at night, when AM radio waves interact differently with the earth’s ionosphere and become “skywaves.” People living near the transmitter site often got better reception than they wanted; some lights would not turn off until WLW engineers helped rewire houses. Gutters rattled loose from buildings. A neon hotel sign near the transmitter never went dark. Farmers reported hearing WLW through their barbed-wire fences.
In the early days of broadcast development and regulation, Crosley and WLW sparked debate about what radio should and could be. Could a few clear-channel stations adequately serve—and acculturate—entire regions of listeners? Or would a national network system with local affiliates better target listener needs and interests?
Of course, for most broadcasters and regulators debating these broad delivery systems, “listeners” meant Americans who were white and middle or working class. Programming reinforced presumed middle class values. While some local stations offered programming targeted to ethnic groups, occupations, and even political beliefs, black Americans and other minority groups were largely left out of national radio, except as caricatures—usually played by white people—in comedy programs.
WLW began in 1921 on a wooden bread board. “One day my son visited a friend, and came home with glowing descriptions of a new ‘wireless’ outfit,” Crosley told a magazine in 1948. He agreed to buy his nine-year-old a radio, but when he discovered that sets ran upward of $100, Crosley said he decided to buy instructions and build his own. Amateurs at the time used bread boards as a platform for wires, tubes, and other components of low-cost crystal radio sets. The more expensive, preassembled radios used vacuum tubes and required battery power and had better reception. With plenty of money in the bank from his manufacturing business, Crosley—a curious, driven man whose employees alternately described him as aloof and “one of the boys”—could have afforded the $100 radio. Instead, he took the chance to learn about the new radio technology, firsthand. As always, he was thinking about how he could make it better.
Disappointed with the few, poor-quality program offerings his radio set pulled in, Crosley ordered a twenty-watt transmitter and started an amateur station in the living room of his Cincinnati mansion. “Before I knew it,” he later recalled, “I had virtually forgotten my regular business in my intense interest in radio.” He had made several failed attempts to produce a new automobile, but his regular business at the time—a mail-order auto accessories business, for which he designed gadgets—grossed more than $1 million annually. Crosley’s company also made furniture, including phonograph cabinets. “He knew manufacturing, and he saw radio as the new hot thing,” says Chuck Howell, head of the University of Maryland’s Special Collections in Mass Media and Culture, which houses recordings, photos, documents, and objects related to WLW.
Crosley’s instincts were right—in 1922, there were 60,000 radio sets in use in the United States; one year later, there were 1.5 million. By 1935, two thirds of all homes in the country had one.
Crosley played a big role in this surge. He was the first person to figure out how raw radio components could look better than a nest of wires, Howell says. His manufacturing facilities included a wood-working plant, so he hired a couple of University of Cincinnati engineering students and incorporated mass production techniques à la Henry Ford to pump out a $20 crystal radio set called the Harko—a small wooden box with dials on the front, affordable for the masses. A little more than a year after he wired his first breadboard, Crosley Manufacturing Corporation—soon to be renamed Crosley Radio Corporation—was the world’s largest maker of radio sets and parts. The company made little money at first, but by 1928 Crosley’s profit was more than $3.6 million.
Photo caption A vintage Crosley “Dynamic” Bakelite Radio, circa 1951. Wikimedia Commons
But radios needed programming. More importantly, Crosley’s cheaper, less sensitive radios needed programming with a strong signal. The Department of Commerce, which regulated radio at the time, awarded him a license in 1922 to operate a commercial radio station with the call letters WLW that was based at his Cincinnati manufacturing plant. This allowed Crosley to increase the station’s power from 20 to 50 watts. In 1923, the government cleared Crosley to broadcast at 500 watts. That’s meager by today’s standards, but it was ten times the power most stations were using at the time.
From there it was full speed ahead for the ambitious industrialist, who kept out of the public eye, but was known to do business deals at family weddings. He sought more and more wattage for WLW, so that market reports, weather, recorded music, and variety shows would reach more people. He moved the transmitter to a remote location—the first time a station and transmitter had not occupied the same space. When the new Federal Radio Commission reorganized the crowded broadcasting spectrum in 1927, WLW was assigned the “cleared” 700 kHz frequency. The next year, the FRC green-lighted WLW to broadcast at 50 kilowatts from Mason, Ohio, about twenty-five miles north of Cincinnati. As one of the first stations to regularly broadcast at this level of power—the same maximum allowed for AM stations today—WLW began calling itself “The Nation’s Station.”
When Crosley applied for a license to experiment with 500 kW in 1932, regulators and the broadcasting industry thought WLW might pave the way for a series of clear-channel mega-stations that could provide better service to more people. Crosley hired RCA, GE, and Westinghouse to build a first-of-its-kind, $500,000 transmitter system that filled several buildings and included a 3,600-square-foot outdoor cooling pond. WLW was initially allowed to test high power between 1 a.m. and 6 a.m., and, in May 1934, the station began broadcasting with 500 kW around the clock.
From the 1930s to the 1950s, the nation’s clear channels dominated the radio world. All were owned by or affiliated with the rapidly expanding national networks. Because they brought in the most advertising revenue, clear-channel stations could produce higher-quality and more original content. The most popular programs and radio stars came from clear-channel stations.
During its super-powerful period, WLW carried programs from the NBC Red and NBC Blue networks, as well as a few from CBS. The station also helped start the Mutual Broadcasting System, through which clear-channel stations shared popular programming—such as WXYZ Detroit’s The Lone Ranger and WGN Chicago’s Lum and Abner—with cooperating stations across the country. In 1935, the Mutual Broadcasting System carried the first nighttime major-league baseball game, with WLW rising star Red Barber announcing. In 1937, after leaving the Mutual Broadcasting System, WLW started its own experimental network called the WLW Line, which gave WLW a direct line to advertising’s epicenter through WHN in New York.
WLW helped launch the careers of many radio stars, including Ma Perkins, Andy Williams, Rosemary and Betty Clooney, Red Skelton, and Fats Waller. The station was known for its hillbilly (later known as country) music and “barn dance” programs such as Midwestern Hayride. In the late 1930s, perhaps to emphasize its reach to rural listeners to the FCC, WLW added more agricultural programming and even started an on-site, station-owned farm. Crosley made it easy for owners of his radios to find this programming—his sets had “WLW” marked on the dial.
Other clear channel stations assumed they would soon get the go-ahead for higher power, and they fought to keep their frequencies from being duplicated elsewhere in the country. In the end, however, WLW’s power—both economic and sonic—would be the downfall of the super-powered experiment.
Photo caption Powel Crosley began broadcasting from the living room of his mansion in Cincinnati, Ohio The Donald V. West Broadcasting and Cable Photo Archive, Special Collections in Mass Media and Culture, University of Maryland Libraries
Stations far from Cincinnati but close to WLW on the frequency dial started complaining that WLW was interfering with their signals. (Although WLW had its own cleared frequency, its signal could still cause problems for closely adjacent channels of stations located hundreds of miles away. At the time of their frequency assignments, these stations would not have been powerful enough to broadcast across the same region.) WLW had to build a directional antenna system to reduce its signal strength toward a Toronto, Canada, station. WOR in Newark, New Jersey, which operated at 710 kHz, worried this would intensify WLW’s signal on the East Coast.
WLW continued to operate at 500 kW on temporary authority, renewable every six months, and, in 1936, the Federal Communications Commission began hearings on whether to allow stations to permanently operate at that wattage. In preparation for the hearings, the FCC conducted a survey of rural residents, the population for whom clear channels were thought to be the most beneficial. Respondents in thirteen states rated WLW as their top preferred station.
After the first round of FCC hearings, fifteen more stations applied to use 500 kW. Some had already started building facilities and new transmitters. However, regulators and non-clear-channel broadcasters were beginning to think this was too much power. In 1938, the Senate passed a resolution recommending that the FCC cap station power at 50 kW and voiced concern that superpower stations could deprive smaller stations of network affiliations and national ad revenue. Local and regional stations, who produced more locally focused programs, complained that WLW was encroaching on their ability to sell on-air spots, which was essential to their survival. The head of a group representing local stations without network affiliation told the FCC that “the local station has been in the position of Lazarus, dependent upon the crumbs from the table of Dives.”
Concern that clear channels and networks would monopolize the airwaves continued to mount. Roosevelt, who at the dedication of WLW’s superpower experiment said he was certain WLW would provide “a service managed and conducted for the greater good of all,” was having second thoughts. “The debate over clear channels was the first significant intra-industry dispute in AM radio,” writes media historian James C. Foust in the book Big Voices of the Air: The Battle over Clear Channel Radio. “Until at least the mid-1940s it was arguably the most important regulatory matter before the FRC and FCC, its inherent importance amplified by the intricate relationship it had to many of the radio industry’s other regulatory debates.”
Several years into the FCC hearings, New Jersey’s WOR sued WLW for allegedly interfering with its broadcasts. To prove that WLW was not interfering with other stations’ ability to operate, Crosley sent a team of engineers to the eastern seaboard to measure signal strength and record broadcasts. In a 2006 interview with a University of Maryland archivist, former WLW engineer Bill Alberts recalled the two trips, which took him from Cincinnati to Maine and south to Florida. “What we’d do was drive fifty to a hundred miles along the route, stop, and stay for one or two or three nights—the measurements were made at night . . . because that was skywave time,” he said.
“That was the time that WOR was claiming interference.” The engineers traveled in a car with an antenna attached to the roof and a WLW decal on the side. Alberts says that over two years, they concluded that WOR’s claims were baseless, and, in some cases, WOR was actually interfering with WLW.
In the end, it didn’t matter. In 1939, despite WLW’s extensive testimony before the FCC and its insistence that cutting its power would cut service to people who otherwise had none, regulators decided not to renew WLW’s authority to broadcast at 500 kW. The station had to roll its power back to 50 kW, which is still the maximum wattage allowed today for AM clear-channel stations. The Crosley Corporation eventually appealed to the Supreme Court but was denied.
WLW continued its programming schedule, but with its power downgraded to ordinary levels, Crosley lost interest. His radios no longer dominated the market, and he’d been manufacturing new inventions, such as the Shelvador, the first refrigerator with shelves inside. His catalog of products would come to include Koolrest, a bed cooler and air conditioner; Go-Bi-Bi, a baby car-tricycle hybrid; and X-er-vac, a scalp massager that claimed to stimulate hair growth. But his true love was always cars, and after World War II—flush with capital from making products for the war effort—Crosley sold WLW and the Crosley Corporation to focus on Crosley Motors. He created a midget, European-sized car with an innovative lightweight engine made of sheet metal. Priced under $900, “The Crosley” got fifty miles per gallon and was no frills— initially, it had no upholstery. But Crosley sold only about fifty-thousand vehicles, and his plant shut down in 1952.
Crosley sold his failing auto company and retired from manufacturing, traveling between his various homes and with his Cincinnati Reds. He died of a heart attack in 1961 at the age of seventy-four. WLW continues to broadcast at 50 kW on the AM band. The station’s once groundbreaking transmitter is long retired but preserved, on-site, beside its modern counterpart. WLW still reaches the airwaves via the giant antenna Crosley installed in the 1930s. |
A couple of days ago, I did something I’ve always wanted to do: I visited the real life Watership Down.
When I was a little kid, I won a copy of this book. I was hooked right away and I re-read it every year. I know many people saw the Watership Down animated movie way too young and were traumatized. It’s too bad, because the book, while dark in places, is a ripping adventure story with fun characters and a lot of natural history and environmentalism woven in. It’s like if Moby Dick starred the whales.
Like a lot of fantasy books, this one begins with an intricate map. But unlike a lot of fantasy books, Watership Down is 100% set in a real place.
I followed this route. Here’s what I saw.
At the base of the down, sheeps abounded!
There’s no official sign for the path up the Down. Someone has helpfully written “Watership Down” on the path sign in sharpie. Note the Hazel-Rah tag on the left.
There was a lot of wildlife. I saw red kites, deer, pheasants, partridges, wood pigeons, and a hare. No rabbits, but apparently they come out in the evening.
The hike up was wet and muddy. But the view from the top was so, so beautiful.
“Come and look! You can see the whole world.”
Though many of the wildflowers had passed, I found all sorts of plants that inspired the names in the book. Just watch out for stinging nettle and hogweed beside some of the paths!
At the top of the Down, there’s a baby hazel tree surrounded by a small wooden fence with a plaque honoring the author, Richard Adams. It’s nothing fancy that might detract from the wide, green, breezy place. Just perfect. Bigwig had even taken a moment to tag it, which was also perfect.
I don’t think I’ve ever geeked out this hard. Watership Down was EXACTLY like I pictured it, and I spotted a lot of the places mentioned in the book. If you loved this story as a kid, and you have a chance to visit, do it. |
All babies are created equal. Their parents are not.
Babies are little humans, slowly developing their own personalities and opinions and interests. As clean slates making their way toward self-realization, they deserve the benefit of the doubt and the unencumbered opportunity to reach their fullest potential.
Parents, however, have had their chance. They are adults (give or take every parent ever featured on MTV or VH1) who’ve they lived their lives and are what they are. At some point they decided (give or take every parent ever featured on MTV or VH1) to have a kid. Or two. Or 19. And now they have to live with that decision. They weren’t born parents, they became parents. They chose their lifestyle, they made their beds – and they deserve no quarter.
And no happiness.
Simply put, if you’re a parent, you are not equal to a non-parent. You are worse and should be treated as such. You chose to dedicate your life to raising a child. You chose punishment instead of reward. You chose responsibility instead of fun. You chose college funds instead of discretionary income. You chose to raise a kid instead of raising hell. So deal with the ramifications of that, and don’t shove your kid in everyone else’s faces.
They should not expect to have the same rights: parents should not interact with or speak to non-parents. Parents should not make eye contact with non-parents and should always yield the right-of-way to non-parents when using pedestrian walkways (even if that means stepping into a gutter). Parents should not raise their voices to non-parents nor attempt to defend their rights (or lack thereof) to a non-parent who confronts them. Parents should neither bring their kids to public places nor act like they have the right to do so.
You want to go to a bar? Sorry, you have a kid. You want to eat a nice meal out? Sorry, you have a kid. You want to take a vacation and travel on an airplane? Sorry, you are not allowed to do those things so long as you insist on lugging your children along. Now get out!
Obviously, I have a kid myself. And I live in a neighborhood where it’s common practice to cart your baby into your favorite bar so you can have a few drinks. It’s common practice to go on Yelp and scream bloody murder when the nice Italian restaurant down the street doesn’t provide high chairs. There’s a pro-baby mob around here, and while it seems logical that a parent like me would sympathize and side with the Stroller Mafia, I don’t. I know what being a parent makes me: less than human. And I’m getting what I deserve.
After all, what gives morons like me the right to attempt to live full lives? Where in the Constitution does it allow for people with children to take advantage of everything life has to offer? Just because this is a free country and parents pay exorbitant rent to live in nice neighborhoods doesn’t mean that they deserve access to all the attending benefits!
It doesn’t mean parents should be able to socialize with other people outside of their homes. It doesn’t mean parents should be allowed to have a beer or a cocktail at an establishment that exists entirely to make money by serving as many people as they can. It doesn’t mean that people who are over-populating the planet can take a break from preparing their own meals and have a steak or some gently-seared scallops served to them by culinary professionals. It doesn’t mean people can bring their babies and small children on an airplane so they can go experience and explore other cultures and countries when – ahem – we all have television sets and computers, hello!
Despite my neighborhood’s borderline-militant pro-baby stance, I abide by the rules of civilized society. I don’t bring my kid to bars or restaurants or on planes. I know the sacrifices the parenting lifestyle requires.
I don’t care if my baby is the best-behaved baby in the world. I don’t care if I’m quietly eating my lunch in a booth with my wife and son. I don’t care if as soon as the baby starts to cry I take him outside and probably go straight home. I don’t care if my baby is quieter and less obtrusive than each of the two dogs you brought. I don’t care that the group of twenty-four-year-olds that can’t hold their liquor and are screaming really loudly about Call of Duty: Black Ops are far more obnoxious and irritating than my 6-month-old. That’s not the point.
The point is that it’s not fair to the other people who don’t have children and want to go get hammered at four in the afternoon and don’t want to be made aware of the gaping void that exists in their lives and don’t want to be reminded that they’ve turned into hateful, damaged individuals by having an innocent, potential-filled baby get all up in their face and/or sleep quietly in its mother’s arms. The point is that it’s wrong of me to expect to have a life once I have a child.
So I put my baby in his cage and I stare at him until he turns 18. When he does, then I can have a life again. Then I can go to a bar and have a beer. Then and ONLY then.
I know what you’re thinking: this isn’t Russia. This isn’t Nazi Germany. This isn’t Vegas. There’s no reason parents can’t exercise common sense and use some restraint in terms of the environments into which they drag their babies. No movies, no dive bars, no strip clubs, no romantic 5-star restaurants. And sure, that approach might seem reasonable to someone who has even the tiniest bit of awareness of a world outside themselves; to someone who understands that parents are people too and could desperately use access to the same outlets as everyone else; to someone who isn’t a remorseless, sociopathic void of empathy with absolutely no grasp on how to live life like a decent human being.
BUT I’M NOT THAT SOMEONE.
Besides, it’s not like parents are starved for ways to enjoy their lives and ease the burden of parenthood. There are plenty of options: 1) don’t have kids; 2) hire a babysitter; 3) open a bar in your garage; 4) hire a personal chef; 5) buy a private jet; 6) enjoy a night out at McDonald’s; 7) don’t have kids!
So take advantage of those options and find a place to stash your kid or else stay sequestered. Because the world is not for parents. It’s for everyone else.
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Donald Trump wants to overturn years of government policy and move the US embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Mr Trump’s advisors say the move is a “priority” for the president-elect after his inauguration later this month. But the billionaire businessman’s plans have been criticised by one of Palestine President Mahmoud Abbas’s aides.
Everything can collapse if the embassy will be moved to Jerusalem Mahmoud al-Habash
Mahmoud al-Habash said the proposal to move the embassy is "a declaration of war on Muslims." He said: "Everything can collapse if the embassy will be moved to Jerusalem. "It can open a wide door to possibilities that no one wants." He warned Palestine would not be able to stand by and watch idly if the move takes place.
AFP GETTY Trump’s plans to move the US embassy in Israel to Jerusalem have been criticised
AFP The US embassy in Israel is currently based in Tel Aviv
President Abbas has warned the move would cause major setbacks to the Israel-Palestine peace process. He said: "We heard a lot of statements relating to moving the US embassy, which we hope are not correct and will not be implemented, but if implemented then the peace process in the Middle East, and even peace in the world, will be in a crisis we will not be able to come out from.” President Barack Obama has stopped the move over “national security concerns”.
AFP Palestine President Mahmoud Abbas warned the embassy move could setback the peace process
GETTY President Barack Obama has stopped the move over “national security concerns”
It comes as three Republican senators introduced legislation to recognises Jerusalem as Israel’s official capital and move the embassy from Tel Aviv. Ted Cruz of Texas, Dean Heller of Nevada and Marco Rubio of Florida unveiled the Jerusalem Embassy and Recognition Act earlier this week. The US embassy in Israel has been based on Tel Aviv’s HaYarkon Street for 50 years with US state department policy saying Jerusalem’s status will be determined in final peace talks.
Trump's Cabinet Picks Tue, December 13, 2016 President-elect Donald J. Trump has began announcing cabinet-level positions, here's the latest list of appointments Play slideshow 1 of 17 |
Editor's note: This website is a parody, and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Playboy Enterprises International, Inc. As should be abundantly clear, the purpose of this website is to critique Playboy's Top Ten Party List and to raise awareness about the importance of consent. More information can be found at upsettingrapeculture.com.
LOS ANGELES, September 17, 2013 – Today, Playboy updated its infamous party school list to reflect a new and important trend in campus life. Playboy’s 2013 Top Ten Party School Commandments is the ultimate guide to a consensual good time.
We sat down with Playboy’s founding editor and the man behind it all to learn more about the list, the issue, and his thoughts.
Why is the magazine doing this now?
The anti-rape and consent movement bubbling up in America is important and I support it. It’s good for women. It’s good for men. It’s good for sex.
What is consent to you?
Consensual sex is simply sex that is pleasurable for everyone involved.
Do you always practice consent?
I’ve had sex with thousands of women and they all still like me. That is because I never use coercion or force. I never fed a woman drinks, I’ve never drugged a woman, I’ve never insulted a woman to make her feel vulnerable, I’ve never manipulated my way into sex. The only sex that is good is when it’s good for everyone. And I’ve only ever had good sex.
But isn’t it awkward to talk during sex?
The awkwardness people feel about talking during sex is the same awkwardness people feel talking about sex in general. It all goes back to our puritanical culture. Anything related to sex is taboo. The great irony is that this taboo remains in the most improbable of situations, namely when two people are having sex with each other. We, in America, feel so uncomfortable talking about sex, we can’t even talk about sex with the people we are having sex with. That’s ridiculous! My comfort in talking about sex and my ability to say what I want has gotten me, well, a lot of what I want.
What do you say to people who still don’t want to practice consent?
If you are a person who simply does not like consent, I would venture to guess that you are a rapist. And to you, I say, stop ruining sex for the rest of us.
You have often been criticized by feminists, yet the consent movement is essentially feminist. Do you now see yourself siding with feminists?
I’ve always supported women’s sexual liberation. In the 1950s and '60s, there were still states that outlawed birth control, so I started funding court cases to challenge that. At the same time, I helped sponsor the lower-court cases that eventually led to Roe v. Wade. We were the amicus curiae in Roe v. Wade. I was a feminist before there was such a thing as feminism. That's a part of history very few people know.
Women have historically paid the highest price for our culture’s negative attitude towards sex. And, like with the sexual liberation movement, women stand to be the main beneficiaries of a radical culture change and a healthier attitude towards sex.
What do you think needs to change in our culture and our attitudes towards sex today?
When I first started publishing the magazine, the biggest threat to sexual pleasure was puritanism. Playboy was the antidote to puritanism. And I think if you look at the past 50 years, history is on my side.
Today, the biggest threat to sexual pleasure is violence. We worship sexual violence in this culture more than we worship sexual pleasure. There is nothing pleasurable about rape. In fact, rape robs people of their pleasure, during the act itself and, for many, for years to come.
I also worry that people aren’t enjoying sex as much as we used to. I’ve noticed in our culture today that people, especially young people, treat sex like a transaction or a conquest. The mentality is the more sex you have, the more you are worth. As a person who has accumulated a lot of wealth, at this point in my life, it doesn’t matter where each individual dollar came from. Each dollar in the bank is the same as the next. As a person who has also had a lot of sex, looking back, it does matter where each encounter came from. The uniqueness of each sexual partner is important. I did not accumulate sex as if I was accumulating money. And, I am richer for it.
Click here to read the full guide. |
Many of you are probably reading this and saying, “Oh lord, is he going to talk about this radio station again?” Yes, I am.
At 1 p.m. Pacific Standard Time on November 16, 2017, 100.3 The Sound, the beloved FM radio station, ceased operations after finishing up the second side of The Beatles eleventh studio album, “Abbey Road.” Uncle Joe Benson, in an interview with CBS, said this album was chosen to close out the station because of its last set of lyrics from “The End.”
“The lyrics are, ‘The love you take is equal to the love you make.’ To me, it’s very heartfelt,” says Benson. “It’s how I view the music and how I view the audience.”
Once “The End” concluded, Andy Chanley came on the air to say, “This has been KSWD Los Angeles. This is The Sound. And this dream will self-destruct in three… two…” And with that, we were greeted with silence, and The Sound was no more.
Indeed, the last line of “The End” featured the perfect lyrics to end 100.3 The Sound’s nearly 10-year-run on as this station gave out a lot of love to its listeners, and it received even more love right back from them. This was especially evident as the station has been deluged with emails and messages left on their voicemail saying how much they love The Sound and how sad they are about it going away. For many, The Sound filled the void left by KMET, “The Mighty Met,” which itself was a pioneering station of the underground progressive rock format. With The Sound, Program Director Dave Beasing and the DJs aimed to bring back the spirit of KMET for a new generation of listeners and, to hear all the comments from The Sound fans, they truly succeeded.
In addition to Chanley and Benson, the other Sound DJs, Rita Wilde, Gina Grad, Cynthia Fox and Mimi Chen were on hand to celebrate the station’s last day and play some of their favorite songs as their way of saying farewell. For Chanley, he chose Neil Young’s “Thrasher,” and Grad played Three Dog Night’s “Shambala” as it never failed in put a smile on her face. Chen played Crosby, Stills and Nash’s cover of The Beatles’ “In My Life,” and then Fox followed with The Who’s “Pure and Easy” which she said “really captures the power of music to heal, transform and inspire the community.” Wilde chose an especially upbeat song by Bruce Springsteen, “Wrecking Ball,” and she described it passionately:
“It’s not a sad song, you get to get up and dance. Just remember, be grateful, be thankful and be good to each other.”
Benson then wrapped things up with Led Zeppelin’s “Rock and Roll,” and he told audiences to “turn this sucker up.” It was great to hear this song played here instead of in a car commercial where it has no place.
The last 90 minutes of The Sound featured songs reflecting the emotions of this final goodbye in its staff and loyal fans. “The Sky is Crying” by Stevie Ray Vaughn & Double Trouble spoke of the inescapable sadness we all have been feeling since this station was sold, and the lyrics “can’t you see the tears running down my nose” were ones its devoted listeners could relate to now more than ever. “Once in a Lifetime” by the Talking Heads features the lyrics, “You may ask yourself, well, how did I get here?” These lyrics have even more meaning for me today than they did when I first listened to the song. But one song I was especially happy to hear in the closing minutes was Bob Seger’s “Old Time Rock and Roll” as its lyrics summed up this station’s mission as well as the feelings we have about present day music:
“Call me a relic, call me what you will.
Say I’m old-fashioned, say I’m over the hill.
Today’s music ain’t got the same soul.
I like that old-time rock and roll.”
While other stations were eager to play the next big thing in music, The Sound was more than happy to revel in rock of the past as the songs of right now can’t even compare. I fell in love with The Sound before I realized it as I never found myself changing the channel even when commercials came on as I was eager to hear what rock and roll classic they would play next. Even if there was a podcast I was desperate to listen to, the DJs always kept me listening as they were cool in ways others tried way too hard to be. During its final weeks, it dug even deeper into its catalog to give us music other stations have long since forgotten, and they handled their last moments with class even when they played William Shatner’s cover of “Rocket Man.” Even as the countdown clock kept winding down, The Sound went out at its best.
It’s been a rough couple of weeks for me, knowing that The Sound was on its way out. As glad as I was to tune into the station every chance I got, I couldn’t help but sigh over the fact my favorite radio station was being killed off thanks to a corporate merger and sale. And now I have to wonder if there will ever be another station like it in the near future. I am left with a heavy heart as the music was great and the DJs were so infinitely cool, and it does feel like the radio I grew up on has finally taken in its last breath.
Well, thank you 100.3 The Sound for ten great years of wonderful music and for making me and many others feel like we were part of a truly loving family. You may be gone, but you will never be forgotten. Now excuse me while I deal in private with my latest case of separation anxiety…
In honor of The Sound, I want to include the late Tom Petty’s song “The Last DJ” as its lyrics encapsulate the kind of DJ this station employed ever so thoughtfully.
I also urge you to give a listen to Andy Chanley’s “The Sound Song,” a somber but thoughtful song about what we have lost and what we should be thankful for.
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Bitfinex, one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges by volume, has announced it will no longer allow U.S. investors to purchase certain tokens on its exchange that may be at risk of running afoul with regulators.
According to the company’s latest announcement, Bitfinex will also be making other changes to its service, no longer accepting verification requests for U.S. individuals effective immediately. Further, in the next 90 days, it will gradually discontinue all services to U.S. customers.
The exchange explained that the decision follows a recent investigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on how tokens issued by way of an initial coin offering (ICO) may be considered securities.
“We anticipate the regulatory landscape to become even more challenging in the future,” the statement reads.
Specifically, Bitfinex expects a tightened regulation will apply to all ERC-20 tokens issued via the ethereum blockchain, citing two tokens (EOS and SAN) as offerings that will no longer be available for U.S. customers to purchase.
The company stated that it will suspending the trading of the two coins beginning 12:00 p.m. UTC on August 16.
The decision is a notable one as it is the first sign that major cryptocurrency exchanges may take action to avoid repercussions of the SEC’s recent guidance, which hinted trading services would need certain registrations to sell blockchain-based securities.
According to Coinmarketcap data, Bitfinex now ranks the third largest exchange by trading volume, with $331 million in activity over the last 24 hours. EOS and SAN account for $5.7 million and $1.9 million in 24-hour trading, respectively.
Image via Shutterstock |
GETTY A Somali refugee who sexually assaulted a child awarded £105,000 damages for unlawful detention
The man, aged 41 and only identified as AXD, is currently serving a 21-month sentence for the attack. AXD, who arrived in the UK in 1997 and has also served a 16-month sentence for unlawful wounding, brought his detention claim against the Home Office.
At London's High Court in May, Mr Justice Jay ruled that AXD, who is probably schizophrenic, was unlawfully detained for 20 months and five days from April 1, 2013 to December 5, 2014. He was detained by immigration officials after completing a custodial sentence and was released on December 5, 2014 before being granted refugee status in 2015.
GETTY The man who has not been named is currently serving a 21-month sentence for the attack
While detained AXD argued that if he was deported he would face persecution on account of his sexual orientation and his conversion from Islam to Christianity. The judge said that AXD had been detained far too long in circumstances where he was not obviously “playing the system” and his deportation to Somalia could best be described as speculative.
GETTY The compensation was set at £80,000 plus £25,000 to reflect the aggravating features of the case |
The Houston Rockets are expected to be one of the best teams in the NBA this season. However, what could be some obstacles to contending for a title?
When discussing the contenders in the NBA that can threaten the status quo, one of the first teams mentioned is the Houston Rockets. The team is coming off a 55-win season and second round playoff loss, but added Chris Paul and a slew of very good defenders to the roster.
The Rockets have two top-10 players sharing the same backcourt, elite shooters, quality defenders, and a very good head coach looking to guide them to postseason success. So naturally, the Rockets come up in the “contender” discussion.
However, as with all teams, there are obstacles in the Rockets’ upcoming season — obstacles that, if they’re not avoided, will make or break Houston’s 2017-18 campaign as they look to challenge the Golden State Warriors.
The Rockets had a significant roster overhaul this summer, and surely return with a better defensive team. But what other effects will their offseason have on their roster? Can they stay healthy for the duration of the season? Will the new teammates get along well enough to succeed? These are just some of the questions they must answer.
Unlike last season, Houston enters the year with a lot of pressure. Paul’s lack of sustained playoff success is at the top of the list, but up and down the roster there are players looking to prove themselves.
Without further ado, let’s take a closer look at five obstacles to the Rockets contending in 2017-18. |
I have experimented with sleeping patterns quite extensively and I have come to the following conclusion:
Sleep is the best cure for any problem you might encounter.
I just can’t recall the countless times I have been in the midst of a creative block or I was facing an emotional rollercoaster and decided to stop whatever I was doing, take a good 7-8 hour sleep and the moment I woke up I was ready to face my challenge from a fresh perspective.
What most people fail to understand is that sleep works as a tool to clear the brain’s short memory storage.
In a study conducted at UC Berkeley in 2007, the researchers found that fact-based memories are temporarily stored in the hippocampus before being sent to the brain’s prefrontal cortex, which may have more storage space.
The brain has a limited amount of energy at its disposal, and it appears that it must choose between two different functional states — awake and aware, or asleep and cleaning up. You can think of it like having a house party. You can either entertain the guests, or clean up the house, but you can’t really do both at the same time.
There is nothing worst for your brain than underestimating its capacity and processing power. The way you would reboot your computer, when you experience lagging, the same way you should reboot your brain when you see that it fails you.
Needless to say that sleep is in my top 5 activities along with reading, writing, speaking and meditation that have had a huge impact in enhancing my cognitive performance.
In this article I will delve into the science of sleep and share some great insight on what affects our sleeping patterns and also offer concrete advice on how to improve your sleeping practices and elevate your energy levels.
Let’s get started.
Understanding the sleep stages
To be honest, one of the reasons I decided to write this article was because I wanted to finally understand properly what all those weird terms related to sleep stages mean. I was reading here and there about Theta brain waves and Beta sensory moto rhythms and I had no idea what was going on.
Highly influenced by my procrastination when it comes to complicated terms I usually closed the source I was reading and continued my day with something more interesting.
Today however I managed to get serious about these terms and I will try and explain to you what they mean in simple words.
So, when it comes to sleep, the first thing we need to understand is that it is strongly associated with our brain and how it works.
Source: www.gregadunn.com
You can think of our brain as a huge network of interconnected cells called neurons. The way neurons communicate with each other is by sending synchronized electrical pulses, which in return produce what we usually refer to as brain waves.
Now, the frequency of each brain wave depends on the activity that is going on inside our brains. We don’t need to get into much detail here, but the following table can give you a good idea of what different frequencies mean for the activity of the brain:
Source: www.sleepdex.org
Simply put, the higher the frequency of the brainwave, the higher the activity in our brains.
Now, when it comes to sleep, sleepers pass through five stages: 1, 2, 3, 4 and REM (rapid eye movement) sleep.
Each stage is associated with different brain waves and when we successfully pass through all the stages we eventually achieve a sleep cycle, which happens usually within 90 minutes but I will come back to this.
Firstly, let’s explain each stage briefly:
Stage 1: This is a light sleep stage where you drift in and out of sleep and can be awakened easily. During this stage we go through Alpha and Theta brain waves, and have periods of dreaminess, almost like daydreaming, except we are beginning to fall asleep.
Stage 2: The second stage of sleep lasts about 20 minutes. Our brain begins to produce very short periods of rapid, rhythmic brain waves. Body temperature begins dropping and heart rate starts slowing down.
Stage 3: The deep, slow brain waves known as Delta Waves, as explained above, begin to emerge during this stage. It is a transitional period between light sleep and a very deep sleep.
Stage 4: In stage 4, the brain produces delta waves almost exclusively. Stage Four is a deep sleep that lasts for about 30 minutes. Sleepwalking and bed-wetting typically happen at the end of Stage 4 sleep.
Stage 5 – REM: This is where most dreaming occurs. During this stage people experience rapid eye movement and increased brain activity. The frequency increases to around 15-30 Hz, hence generating Beta waves, which are brain waves produced when we are focused in a mental activity. This is probably the reason why the dream feels so real.
Here is a table that explains everything clearly:
Source: www.sleepdex.org
According to the research psychcentral has done on the topic:
“Sleep does not progress through all of these stages in sequence, however. Sleep begins in Stage One and progresses into stages 2, 3, and 4. Then, after Stage 4 sleep, Stages 3, then 2 are repeated before going into REM sleep. Once REM is over, we usually return to Stage 2 sleep. Sleep cycles through these stages approximately 4 or 5 times throughout the night.”
Usually 4-5 sleep cycles are enough to get a good night sleep but since each sleep cycle takes around 90 minutes to complete, you need to be careful not to wake up during the deep sleep stage because the wake up will be an awful experience.
I will suggest a great way to prevent that in the hacks below.
The Circadian Rhythm – What dictates our sleep-wake cycle?
If you ask a neuroscientist why do we actually need sleep, most probably you will get a vague answer. Scientists simply don’t know for sure. And that’s because asking this type of question is like asking what is the meaning of life?
Simply put, sleeping is a recovery process essential for our survival.
During the day, brain cells build connections with other parts of the brain as a result of new experiences. During sleep, it seems that important connections are strengthened and unimportant ones are pruned.
Additionally, as I stated at the beginning of the article, sleep is also an opportunity for the brain to be cleared of waste and help you continue your life in a rebooted state.
What is interesting to notice, however, is that our sleep-wake cycle doesn’t really happen on demand, but it is somehow affected by the way we live and our external environment.
This is most commonly referred to as a “circadian rhythm.”
According to Wikipedia:
“A circadian rhythm /sɜrˈkeɪdiən/ is any biological process that displays an endogenous, entrainable oscillation of about 24 hours.”
Explanation of odd words:
Circadian: Comes from the latin circa, which means around or approximately and diēs, which means day = Around the day.
Endogenous: Built-in, self-sustained.
Entrainable: Capable of being entrained, adjusted.
Simply put, circadian rhythms are regular changes in mental and physical processes that occur in the course of a day.
Circadian rhythms are controlled by a specific part of the brain called the suprachiasmatic nucleus or SCN or mostly known as “the biological clock.” This is a very sensitive part of the brain that contains about 20,000 neurons and it also regulates melatonin production, which happens in the brain region called Pineal Gland. It is connected to the optic nerve and when light reaches our eye’s photoreceptors, it creates signals that travel across the optic nerve, directly to SCN. Then SCN sends a signal to the Pineal Gland and melatonin production stops. Therefore, light plays such a huge role in how we sleep.
Here is an image that illustrates how a circadian rhythm affects our body:
A combination of light, temperature and melatonin levels is what actually affects our sleep patterns.
Tip: A power nap doesn’t really affect circadian rhythms (which means that you will sleep fine at night) and are extremely beneficial for your productivity and stress levels.
10 Sleep Hacks to get the most out of your sleep
Recently I stumbled upon this book called “Night School” by Richard Wiseman who is a very famous British psychologist. “Night School” is based on exciting new research, mass-participation experiments and the world’s largest archive of dream reports.
Dr. Wiseman shares some very interesting hacks in his book that can help you sleep easier and get the most out of your sleep. I will share here most of them along with other important pieces of advice I gathered from different sources and publications.
Check them out:
1. Get rid of electronic devices before bed
Dr. Wiseman mentions that:
“Ten minutes of a smartphone in front of your nose is about the equivalent of an hour long walk in bright daylight. Imagine going for an hour long walk in bright daylight and then thinking, “Now I’ll get some sleep.” It ain’t going to happen. In the middle of the night you wake up and think, “Aw, I’ll just check Twitter, email or Facebook,” and, of course, you’re being flooded with that blue light. You’re not going to be getting back to sleep very easily for the next hour or so.”
Bottom-line, avoid laptops, smartphones and tablets 1h before bed.
2. Use the 90-minute rule
“When you sleep, your brain cycles through different stages, each lasting 90 minutes. You will feel most refreshed when you awake at the end of a 90-minute sleep cycle because you will be closest to your normal waking state,” writes Dr. Wiseman in Night School.
So, starting from when you want to wake up, count back in 90-minute intervals to work out when you should fall asleep.
There is this cool web app called sleepyti.me, which can help you with the calculation. For example, if you want to get up at 7am, try falling asleep at either 11.30pm or 10pm.
Additionally, you can use the Sleep Cycle app that monitors the movement of your body while you sleep and can estimate the sleep stage you are in, thus making sure to activate the alarm clock during the time you find yourself at light sleep.
3. Make sure your bed is facing your room door
You will feel most relaxed at night if your bed faces the door of your room and is furthest from it. Why? Because your primitive ancestors were sleeping in caves and could be attacked by wild animals any time. You are evolved to feel safe when you can spot danger early and still have time to run away.
4. Listen to sleep meditation or calming music before bed
Guided meditation can help you enter into sleep and enjoy a deep, restorative sleep. Through guided sleep meditation, your muscles will relax, your breathing will become slow and deep, and your common daily thoughts will be replaced with rich, dreamlike imagery. My favorite app for this purpose is calm.com.
You can also listen to this music, which, according to Dr. Wiseman, is scientifically designed to help you nod off.
5. Sleep in total darkness
As we suggested above, daylight directly inhibits the release of melatonin in your brain. Melatonin is a natural hormone released in your blood when darkness occurs and helps your body feel less alert, thus making sleep more inviting. Therefore, I would strongly recommend reinforcing your room with window blinds or really dark curtains.
Additionally a sleep mask might come handy (here is one I like) and also if you don’t want to wake up to the sounds of the city in the morning, those earplugs can help you eliminate all external noises.
6. Take a bath or shower before bed
According to Wiseman: “Lying in a warm bath artificially raises your body temperature, but when you climb out of the bath this temperature abruptly drops and sends a signal to your body that you are ready for sleep.”
As you can see in the circadian rhythm image above, your body reaches its lowest temperature around 4.30AM. The lowest the body temperature, the easier you sleep.
7. Keep your room in the right temperature
The temperature of your bedroom also affects sleep. Most people sleep best in a slightly cool room (around 65°F or 18°C) with adequate ventilation. A bedroom that is too hot or too cold can interfere with quality sleep.
8. Use sleep-aid supplements
If your natural melatonin levels are low and you experience trouble reaching deep sleep stage, sleep-aid supplements can help you improve your sleep cycles and sleep better. In most cases, they are extremely safe in low doses for short-term and long-term use.
I have experimented with many supplements and my favorite one is RestUp. It has a combination of L-Theanine, Melatonin and Bioperine that do a great job.
9. A good evening routine
It is extremely important to get rid of your worries before you go to bed because unpleasant thoughts and anxieties might interfere with your sleep and in some cases also cause nightmares.
Since I started my “30 Challenges | 30 Days | Zero Excuses” project, the evening routine was paramount for the quality of my sleep.
My usual evening routine looks like this:
Eat dinner.
Celebrate small wins and the completion of my tasks for the day.
Write in my journal (releases stress and allows room for self-reflection).
Perform self-gratitude.
Create a task list for the next day (releases stress and worries).
Read for 45mins to 1hour.
I would strongly recommend trying some of those tasks before going to bed especially if you experience sleep deprivation.
10. For Naps. Drink a coffee before a quick nap.
Caffeine usually takes 20 minutes to kick in, which means that you will wake up extra alert.
In Closing
Sleep deprivation is a menace nowadays and I truly believe that raising awareness in this area and understanding the countless benefits of a good night sleep is a great way to tackle the issue and improve the quality of our lives.
Especially if you experience creative blocks, social anxiety, and productivity issues, managing to take control of your sleep patterns will result to optimizing your performance levels.
And remember; don’t mess around with the hours of your sleep. 7-8 hours is the minimum amount required. If you need to wake up early just go to bed early.
Focus on improving your time management skills and everything will come naturally. “30 Challenges | 30 Days | Zero Excuses” is a great place to start.
Till next time.
Sources:
[1] http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-32606341
[2] http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/brain_basics/understanding_sleep.htm
[3] http://psychcentral.com/lib/stages-of-sleep
[4] http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8788491 |
MLA Don McMorris is returning to the Saskatchewan Party benches.
An official from the premier's office said the Indian Head-Milestone representative wrote a letter to the chair asking for government MLAs to consider his request to rejoin caucus. Caucus voted on it Monday morning.
Former deputy premier returns to Sask. Legislature McMorris resigned from the caucus last year following a drinking-and-driving incident. He's been sitting as an independent MLA since then. Don McMorris pleads guilty to drunk-driving charge, has licence suspended
Sask. Opposition says Don McMorris must resign as MLA McMorris told reporters Monday afternoon that many constituents, business owners and civil servants said they wanted to see him return to the party caucus. "I think I can have some input that will help government moving forward," he said. "It's going to be a challenging year, absolutely. If my experience can help this government through these challenging times, I'm glad to be able to offer that up."
McMorris back behind the wheel
The MLA has been back behind the wheel for three months through the government's vehicle interlock program.
Under the law, eligible people who lose their licence from impaired driving can apply to have an interlock device attached to their vehicle. McMorris's vehicle won't start unless he blows a breath sample with a blood-alcohol level of zero.
He believes the program is successful and should be expanded. He said it offers a proactive approach to tackling the issue.
Move sends wrong message, says NDP and MADD
Speaking shortly after the announcement, NDP interim leader Trent Wotherspoon said he disagreed with the decision.
"We have kids in communities all across Saskatchewan who we believe this sends the wrong message to," he said.
Monday is the first day of the spring sitting of legislature.
Waldron says the provincial government is sending a broken message by re-instating MLA Don McMorris to the Saskatchewan Party. (Kendall Latimer/CBC)
Wotherspoon's sentiment was echoed by Wendell Waldron, Regina community leader for Mothers Against Drunk Drivers.
Waldron said the provincial government had the chance to "do the right thing" by holding McMorris accountable for the full duration of his 12-month suspension and then making a decision after his suspension had expired.
Saskatchewan's fatality rate is three times the national average for fatalities resulting from impaired driving and are outdated by three decades, Waldron said.
Waldron admitted the position is a difficult position to be in but the government has to back up their talk.
"You speak with your actions, not your words," Waldron said.
"So we can say that we're tough on impaired driving, but if we don't actually follow through with real action — real, cohesive action — that is going to reduce our fatalities and injuries then in essence you're sending a broken message." |
Another Java exploit; disable immediately
A serious new vulnerability notice about Java exploits has been issued by the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity Division. Java 7 Update 10 and earlier contain a vulnerability that can allow a remote attacker to execute malware on vulnerable systems.
A French researcher called Kafeine discovered that a number of websites using the exploit are able to download files directly to the victim's computer, and execute actions such as installing ransomware. “Hundreds of thousands of hits daily where i found it,” he wrote on his blog. “This could be a mayhem.”
Disable Java in web browsers
Some webpages may include content or apps that use the Java plug-in. There is no fix for this yet, so it is recommended that you protect yourself by disabling Java in your particular browser. Please see our previous blog How do I disable Java in my browser for instructions.
For a higher level of security, it is possible to entirely prevent any Java apps from running in a browser by de-selecting Enable Java content in the browser in the Java Control Panel under the Security tab. Disabling Java through the Java Control Panel will disable Java in all browsers. |
The respective futures of the Oakland Athletics and Oakland Raiders continue to be hot-button issues in the Bay Area.
On Tuesday, Oakland mayor Libby Schaaf spoke with the folks at CSN Bay Area regarding the conversations she’s having lately with the teams. The A’s, she told Ray Ratto and Tim Kawakami on SportsTalk Live: But Seriously, are saying intriguing things about their desires to stay in town: "The exciting thing for me is that the A’s, for the first time, have very publicly stated that they are focused on staying in Oakland, and that their energies are focused on an Oakland ballpark. That is really good news for Oakland fans…We’ve seen privately financed stadiums work, particularly here in the Bay Area. We are having some really productive talks with the Raiders and the A’s.”
On the topic of where the A’s might play should a new facility materialize, Schaaf stressed the viability of their current location: “(The Coliseum) is a great site for a ballpark because of the great access to BART, and the land is entitled. That is a winner for either the A’s or Raiders, whoever decides to stay on that land. If the A’s want to stay at the Coliseum site, they have an entitlement there. I don’t think we’re going to force them to do something they don’t want to do, because we want to keep them and we want them to pay for the new ballpark.”
Article continues below ...
Here’s her full chat on the CSN Bay Area program:
Whether Schaaf’s words are substantive moves in the ‘right direction’ remain to be seen, but she’s definitely enthusiastic about what she’s been hearing – so this will be an issue worth monitoring as the conversation rolls along.
(h/t CSN Bay Area) |
Costa Rica News. News on Costa Rica continually updated.
Restaurant Kicks Out Lesbian Couple
� Couple demand an apology, restaurant says it unlikely
� Couple plan kissing protest for today
Bar Chelles, a classic restaurant in the heart of San Jos�, is being asked for an apolofgy by a lesbian couple after being thrown out for sharing a kiss.
Photo courtesy: Costaricaphotos.com The downtown restaurant and bar makes up for its lack of ambience with plenty of tradition and a diverse and colorful clientele. With its bright lights and Formica-topped card tables and mirrors adorn most of the walls, it has been a San Jos� trademark for a century.
Paulina Torres told Radio ADN 90.7 FM that she and nine other female friends, including her girlfriend, arrived last Saturday night.
Torres said they were told they could not kiss in the restaurant. The women complained, saying the restaurant was being discriminatory. A waitress responded by saying that it was company policy.
Torres is a coordinator for the Beso Diverso (Diverse Kiss), an event where gay and straight couples kiss in public in support of gay rights.
Today, Saturday at 5:30PM members of Beso Diverso will march from the Plaza de La Cultura to Bar Chelles to protest the restaurant's policy.
Marjorie Blanco of Bar Chelles told the press that the women should not expect an apology.
�What they did is extremely forbidden, this is a decent place,� she said. �Apologies for nothing, if I see a pair of women kissing each other, then I'm telling them to go elsewhere. The Lord rebukes the devil.�
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ANKARA (Reuters) - After years of tough sanctions over Iran’s nuclear program, many in the country now say they want the government to make compromises that could satisfy world powers and allow a semblance of prosperity to return.
Iranian workers stand in front of the Bushehr nuclear power plant, about 1,200 km (746 miles) south of Tehran October 26, 2010. REUTERS/Mehr News Agency/Majid Asgaripour/Files
Although many Iranians still fervently believe in their country’s right to all aspects of a civilian nuclear program, including those regarded with suspicion in the West, they are increasingly tired of the high economic price.
That weariness will form the backdrop on June 16 when Iran’s political leaders send negotiators to Geneva for talks with six world powers aimed at hammering out an agreement that swaps concessions on uranium enrichment for sanctions relief.
“I love my country but I love my family more, and for years I have worked hard to cope with the rising prices,” said Ali Mirzai, a father of three in the northern city of Rasht.
“I am tired. My only hope now is (President Hassan) Rouhani. He is trying to improve the economy by resolving the nuclear issue. I believe in him and his policies.”
Mirzai, like millions of Iranians who bore the brunt of the sanctions, voted last year for pragmatist Rouhani after he promised to improve the flagging economy in part by striking a deal with the outside world.
Although there are no reliable opinion polls in Iran, Rouhani’s large margin of victory on a platform of compromise, and anecdotal evidence gleaned from recent telephone interviews across the country suggest strong public appetite for a deal.
“Rouhani and his team will solve this issue. I am sure his moderate and compromising policy will work. We don’t need hostility,” said Arvin Sadri, 31, who runs his father’s furniture factory in the northern holy city of Mashhad.
After several rounds of talks last year, a preliminary deal was penned in Geneva in November, including a limited easing of sanctions in exchange for Iran halting some nuclear activities.
The agreement took effect on Jan. 20, and was designed to buy time for a final deal within six months. As the deadline fast approaches, the lifting of some sanctions has given Iranians a taste of how things might improve.
Maryam Simai, 41, a schoolteacher in the central city of Yazd said she supports the atomic program and believes sanctions are unfair. But she still favors compromise.
“I want to live in peace. I don’t want to fear for the future of my children. The tension with the international community and sanctions have ruined our economy and has isolated us,” she said.
LAME DUCK
If a lifting of sanctions is important to many Iranians, it is vital for the political hopes of Rouhani, a self-proclaimed moderate who has pledged to boost the economy.
“A deal with the world powers will bring political and economic stability to Iran. Rouhani’s political future depends on this deal. He will become a lame duck president if he fails to reach a deal,” said political analyst Hasan Feghhi.
Analysts and economists say he has only partially succeeded in repairing economic damage that Iran suffered during years of confrontation with the West, particularly under his hardline predecessor Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
The official inflation rate has halved to around 20 percent since Rouhani’s election, but unemployment remains around 30 percent and the gap between rich and poor is widening. Meanwhile, Iran’s rial has dropped against the U.S. dollar.
“I support my country’s nuclear achievements but at the same time I don’t think it is logical to pay a heavy price for it,” said Jinus Dadgostar, 18, who lives in the affluent neighborhood of Zaferaniyeh in northern Tehran.
Years of official rhetoric denying that sanctions were hurting and glorifying the country’s supposed self-reliance resonated with some Iranians, who said they were happy to suffer to defend a program that came to symbolize national pride.
However, Iran’s traditionally cautious clerical rulers, loath to incite any Arab Spring-style domestic unrest or provoke harsher international action, have adopted more emollient language in recent months, diplomats said.”Iran’s clerical rulers need this deal to guarantee their power. That is why they have changed their tone,” said a Tehran-based western diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity.
But because a failure of talks would rebound even harder on pragmatist Rouhani and his allies, they can still afford to take a harder position than the president, the diplomat added.
“No deal or a bad deal will strengthen hardliners in Iran.”
SUPREME LEADER
Rouhani’s position is made more complicated because although his status as president gives him a big say, it is lower in Iran’s political hierarchy than that of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the last word on the nuclear file.
Backing away from atomic defiance could be politically tricky for Khamanei, who has supported hardline positions on the nuclear file in the past.
But, for now, he appears to fear the economic problems caused by sanctions could weaken his position and he has cautiously backed the talks, calling for “heroic flexibility” but still expressing pessimism about the outcome.
“The members of the team work under direct guidance of the leader (Khamenei). Everything is being reported to him and he sets the tone for the Iranian negotiators,” said a senior Iranian official, who asked to be unnamed.
One sign of Khamanei’s current support for some form of compromise can be deciphered in the hardline media, which has started publishing articles that justify a more conciliatory approach, often citing economic hardship.
Oil exports account for around 60 percent of Iran’s economy, much of its food and animal feed come from abroad, and many of its factories assemble goods from imported parts.
“I am tired of this nuclear dispute. For years we feared further economic pressure and possible military action. A nuclear deal is our only chance to live in peace,” said interior designer Mastaneh Alavi in the northwestern city of Tabriz.
But many Iranians contacted by Reuters still argued for a “balanced” nuclear deal, saying it would be unfair to deny their country a technology possessed by Pakistan, India and Israel.
“As our leader said, we will not accept closure of our nuclear facilities,” said Asghar Seydani, 38, who is a member of the hardline Basij militia in the western city of Kermanshah.
“No sir, I will not accept it. If necessary, I am ready to sacrifice my blood for continuation of our nuclear activities.”
From businessmen in Tehran to housewives in Shiraz, many Iranians dread possible consequences of failure of the talks including further sanctions and even military attack.
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Yukiya Amano addresses a news conference after a board of governors meeting at the IAEA headquarters in Vienna June 2, 2014. REUTERS/Heinz-Peter Bader
The United States and Iran’s arch foe Israel have not ruled out military action if diplomacy fails to resolve Iran’s nuclear dispute. However, analysts say such an attack could well consolidate the clerical establishment’s power.
Khamenei, for his part, said on Wednesday he did not consider a military strike was an option for the United states.
“America has now understood that a military attack is not a priority. They know that such attacks are even more dangerous for the attacker than for the country attacked.” |
Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age Developers Talk About Their Return To Familiar Grounds
By Joel Couture . April 5, 2017 . 1:00pm
Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age has come a long way from its roots, and marks the welcome appearance of many of the game’s changes from Japan-only Final Fantasy XII: International Zodiac Job System. With updated visuals to add to it, it marks a proud return of the decade-old game.
Siliconera reached out to director Takashi Katano and producer Hiroaki Kato, speaking to them about their work on the original game, what it felt like to return to game they both worked on years before, and what new aspects players will be able to look forward to.
When last Siliconera spoke with you, you mentioned that Hiryoko Ito was working on balancing the game. What sort of challenges did Ito-san make? Did he suggest anything that surprised you?
Kato – First off, FFXII: The Zodiac Age (Zodiac Age) is based upon a 2007 PS2 game that was only released in Japan, Final Fantasy XII International Zodiac Job System (FFXII – IZJS). The major difference between the original version and 2016 is that, in the original FFXII, Ito-san was the director, so he let the younger staff work on the battle design. Ito-san, of course, oversaw it, but he left them to do it themselves.
When we created FFXII – IZJS a year later, he went in and reconstructed every single element of the battle design. When I replayed FFXII – IZJS when we initially started working on Zodiac Age, I noticed that all of the elements that really resemble what he does – his methods when he creates a battle design – are in there. It’s still very fun to play that game, even now.
When we started working on Zodiac Age, I went along with Katano to speak with Ito to talk about what Ito wanted to do, or wanted us to do, that was different, or how he wanted us to change the game. He said he wanted it to be much easier to explore – much easier to play. So, we introduced the High Speed Mode, the faster loading times, and now that it’s become far easier to play, I’ve noticed the greatness of Ito’s design as well.
Also, it helped me to explore around the world even more when I’m testing Zodiac Age – that I find things in the world that I didn’t notice before. It’s really made me think that he’s a really good friend and a really good game creator.
What was it like to return to FFXII after all these years?
Katano – Before I started working on Zodiac Age, I actually worked on remastering Final Fantasy X. When we released the remaster for Final Fantasy X, that was also after ten years from the release of the original version. What I felt with that game was that it was still very fun to play – even years later, it’s still a very fun game that we have.
Now that I’m working on Zodiac Age, I still felt that same way – that it’s still fun to play. Also, not only that it’s still fun, but I could play it like it was a brand new game. As Kato mentioned making new findings, I’ve felt the same way, and I, of course, made the game ten years ago (laughs). But there’s so many things that I forgot because there’s so many things you can do in the original game that I just didn’t remember all of it.
There were these moments like “Oh yeah, I forgot that was in there!” or “I forgot we had that kind of gimmick in there!”. It’s just been a very fun experience.
What sort of emotions do you go through when you explore something you created a long time ago – that discovery of something that surprises you in your own work in the future?
Katano – Like I mentioned, it was just purely fun to play, but, at the same time, I was just really surprised that we made that. That type of feeling.
I was actually the lead programmer for the original FFXII, so, of course, I would go in to fix the bugs when we were testing the original game. And just playing it again brings back those memories of the type of bug that happened there, and what way I fixed it. Those kinds of memories just came back to life.
Is it enjoyable to come back to those memories?
I don’t think there are many people who can have that same kind of experience – to go back to a game that they created a while ago. So, I have mixed feelings – I do enjoy it, but it’s very interesting as well.
When I was creating it ten years ago, I didn’t think that I would remaster it ten years in the future. Just, that kind of feeling is very unique. Fun doesn’t really fully encompass it, but it was just an interesting experience.
As a developer, I do have that strong nostalgia feeling, but I think, for players, there may be some nostalgia too. They will likely play in a different way because of all the new things that are included in there, so I think they will get that same kind of fun feeling, that same kind of experience they felt when they first played the original.
Especially for Zodiac Age, we included the Trial Mode, which was not in the original version but was in the Japanese FFXII – IZJS. Especially for users and players in the West, this would be their first time getting their hands on it. I’m sure that will create a new challenge and new experience for those players to enjoy.
Kato – I just want to note that I’m pretty sure that, for players of the original version, they have this glorified memory of the previous version, but I do feel that this title does provide even more than that. Even if you have that kind of memory, because the game is so much easier to play, and the graphics are so much nicer, it will just give you more than what you had expected from your memories of the game.
For those players who’ve never played FFXII, because the game is really easy to play, and it does have a revamped battle system and character development system, and the field exploration is just so much fun now – everything you would expect to have in an RPG is all in there, with a really great balance – that I’m sure they will be able to enjoy that as well.
Did you decide to add in any new or different gambits to this new version?
Kato – When we created FFXII – IZJS, we did change a bit about the Gambits that were included with the game. In the original version of FFXII, it was a little bit different – you had to play through the game quite a while to get useful, handy gambits. We changed that in FFXII – IZJS to be able to use those gambits a bit earlier on in the game. Now, because we based Zodiac Age on FFXII – IZJS, we also have that kind of system where you can get those gambits earlier on in the game.
For example, this gambit where it tells a character to use fire attacks on enemies who are weak to fire – that gambit was only attainable towards the end of the game in the original FFXII – but you could actually get it pretty early on in FFXII – IZJS. That would really help everyone to strategize what kind of gambits to use, and enjoy that kind of strategizing from the very beginning of the game.
What kind of challenges do you meet in making the game new for a new audience while balancing it with how the old players remember it? How do you keep new and old players happy at the same time?
Kato – Instead of thinking about the balance, what we thought about was “What would make this game be fun to play.” So, we would think “I wish this could have been better”, instead of catering to those users. It’s more like thinking about how we would create the game if we were creating it now.
Do you feel that some of your changes might alienate original players who were looking for the challenge of the original?
I do think that some parts of the game, people will say “I do remember this being much more difficult.”, or they might think that it’s too easy, but we do have the Trial Mode, where it does push the player and present new challenges. In the Trial Mode, there will definitely be moments where you have to go in and think about what gambits to use and think about your strategy, which will give you a thrilling enjoyment.
So, even for those players who have that kind of memory – that it was a difficult game – we do have, maybe not in the way they expected it to be, but the challenge will be in there. I’m pretty sure they will be satisfied as well. We do have challenges available for people who want it, but for people who just want to go through the story, they can do that as well.
We saw that you added trophies to the game. What thoughts went into what in-game actions deserved to be rewarded? Events that were so special that they deserved a trophy?
Kato – In the original title, there was a hidden place called Pirate’s Hideout. That kind of had that same feeling, like a trophy feeling – that kind of reward for player’s who’ve really played through the game. That’s where it started off, and that’s the kind of idea that we had for the trophies.
Kato-san, you worked on FFXII and Dissidia. How do you feel about the way that Vaan fights in Dissidia?
Kato – I was just really happy that he was chosen to be included in Dissidia. Just having a character that you create appear, or to be asked for them to appear, in a different title or a spin-off title, is a big honor. I just want to think them for selecting the character to be included.
Do you hope any more of your characters will be used in Dissidia in the future?
Kato – Every one of them (Laughs)!
Katano-san, you’ve worked on the remaster for FFX, and now FFXII. Are there any other Square Enix titles you’d like to remaster?
Katano – When it becomes a remaster, not a remake, there is a limit to how far back we can go. I do think that PS2 software was probably the limit. When it becomes a PS1 title, then we would probably have to do a remake instead of a remaster, just because the quality will not be satisfactory for the players if we do a remaster of a PS1 title. So, I fell like I’ve pretty much done everything I can do as a remaster.
But, if there is an opportunity, there are a lot of other titles as well, and I will do what I can do.
As a developer, what’s different about remastering a game as opposed to making your own new title?
Katano – When it comes to creating a new title, that’s a completely creative work. So there, you really think about how to make something fun. When it’s a remaster, I think about how the players of the previous title will be able to enjoy this title now.
So, I would discuss how to improve the game – what else you should include in the original title to make it fun and enjoyable for a current customer.I think that remastering is more like how to arrange a game when you develop, so it’s a difference between a creative work and arrangement work. I do have to switch the way I think between the two types of development.
Kato – When we were creating the original FFXII, what we really had a lot of pain and difficulty thinking through, was the creative part – creating something new and creating something different. Having a seamlessly connected field battle, maps, the whole new gambit system – trying to figure all of that out was difficult. Now, for Zodiac Age, the challenge is how to surpass people’s memories – to do something more than what people remember.
So, just comparing difficulty level, it’s probably the same between developing a new game or a remaster.
Do you feel it just uses a different kind of creativity to rework something that’s already built to improve it?
Katano – When we do a remaster, to reconstruct it, we have to think about what makes this title unique. What are the fundamentals of this game? How do we create something different, but fun, within that same title. I definitely have to use a different part of the brain to do that, but the fundamental thinking is “How do I make a game that’s very enjoyable for everyone?”. The basis of what we think about is the same, but we still use different parts of the brain when it comes to a new game and a remaster.
We’ve seen variants of the ATB system in many Final Fantasy games, but we’ve only ever seen the ADB system in FFXII. Would you like to see it in a future title?
Kato – If we do have an opportunity, we would love to do so.
We know what happens to Vaan and his friends thanks to Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings. Do you have any thoughts on what might happen to the characters after Revenant Wings?
Kato – We actually do speculate on what happens next within the dev team, but it always changes depending on the environment, the time, the generation, and what’s going on in the world. So, I do think that if we do ever create a game that follows, the storyline and what the characters are like would depend on what the world is like at that time. Whether it be Vaan or Basch or Ashe, it would probably reflect what’s happening in our world.
When we were working on Zodiac Age, we actually talked about what Vaan would be like after ten years. We all say that he is probably very cool now. In FFXII, he’s kind of a little weak boy, and he’s not very reliable. Half-jokingly, we said he has to have grown up to be a lot cooler than Balthier.
If we do have an opportunity in the future, I would love to create a new storyline using that same gambit system – creating a new title like that.
What were the thoughts behind creating the High Speed Mode?
Katano – We actually had that mode in the game as a debug function. It was a very nice mechanic to have in there when we were Q&A-ing. When we released FFXII, we received a lot of feedback saying that the world was really vast, and it’s really hard to get from place to place. So, when we released FFXII – IZJS, we had incorporated that double speed mode as per Ito’s suggestion.
When Ito first suggested that to me, I asked ‘Is it even ok to have that in a game? Is that even accepted? (laughs). He said “Yeah, it’s fine.”
Kato – Ito is the type of person who doesn’t want to make users or players work to play the game.
When we were developing the original FFXII, we already knew we were going to take off that function because it was a debug tool – we weren’t going to have it in the master build. When we released the game, he said “That’s such a great function. I love using that. Why can’t we have it in?” He kept on complaining, so when we had it in FFXII – IZJS, he was very happy.
By putting in a High Speed Mode, do you feel that players might miss something they would have seen while playing at regular speed? Do you think it encourages players to rush rather than savor the world you created?
Kato – I don’t think so, really. In testing the game out ourselves, we didn’t get that kind of problem or concern. This time, we actually do have the translucent map – an overlay of a map – that appears with a tap of the L3 button. So, that actually allows you to really see where you’re going, and you can go to more places that maybe you wouldn’t have before because it’s a lot easier to go to these places. It’s easier to have new findings.
With Zodiac Age releasing soon, will we be seeing any collaborations with FFXIV or any of Square Enix’s mobile titles?
Kato – I can’t really reveal anything much right now, but I am thinking of having some kind of element or mechanic that would make people really happy. Please look forward to that.
With two different PS4 models being available now, will it play the same on both systems?
Katano – Yes. Players who have the Pro will be able to experience the same improvements.
How does it feel to be moving on from this game for a second time?
Katano – It was the same when I was developing FFXII, but when I finished creating it, I felt a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction as a developer. While we’re still working on Zodiac Age, I do still fell that I’ll probably feel that way when I finish. At least for now, I do feel that we have accomplished creating a nice, refreshing, and fun game for everyone to play.
To wrap up, where you mentioned that you’d been working on debugging the game years ago, we know that bugs can work in funny ways sometimes. Was there a funny bug you every encountered that you remember?
Katano – There was one that I still remember (laughs). You know how character models do break often, especially early in development. There was this one moment when Balthier and Vaan are fighting an enemy, and there’s this moment when Vaan just runs up first, and Balthier says “Are you ok?”. Because Vaan’s face was so broken in that moment, he definitely wasn’t ok (laughs). I thought that was very funny.
It’s not a fun moment when you see that on-screen, but it is a funny thing that I still remember, and it still sticks out in my memory. You, of course, can’t see that in the released version (laughs).
Kato – At first, when you’re starting to develop a game, those moments are fun and you actually laugh at them. Once you get closer to mastering, you’re like “Oh my gosh! Another bug!”. And you’re just very mad the entire time (laughs). |
WASHINGTON-- Former Obama administration officials are undertaking a private campaign to encourage people to sign up for coverage next year under the Affordable Care Act.
With the start of open enrollment on Nov. 1, the Trump administration has slashed the Obama health law's ad budget, as well as grants to outside organizations that are supposed to help people sign up. Although Republican attempts to repeal the law have proven futile so far, President Donald Trump hasn't changed his view that the program is a "disaster."
The former Obama officials said their campaign, set to begin Wednesday, will focus on young adults and try to encourage people to sign up for government-backed private health insurance because of subsidies available to cushion the impact of rising premiums.
The effort is headed by Lori Lodes and Joshua Peck, who directed outreach and sign-up efforts during much of former President Barack Obama's second term. Joining them are Andy Slavitt, who ran federal health insurance programs for Obama, activist-actors Alyssa Milano and Bradley Whitford, social commentator Van Jones and insurance industry veteran Mario Molina.
Lodes said the campaign has a modest budget for now, meaning that targeted internet advertising is probably all it can manage, at least initially.
About 10 million people are signed up for subsidized private insurance plans through HealthCare.gov and state-run insurance markets. That figure is well below projections when the law was passed in 2010. An additional 11 million or so have signed up for Medicaid in states that took advantage of the law's expansion of the program to serve more low-income adults.
Under Trump, the open enrollment period for 2018 has been shortened by about half. It now runs through Dec. 15. That's the last day when people can sign up to get coverage that will be effective on Jan. 1.
Some Democrats say that's another indication that Trump is trying to "sabotage" insurance markets. But health insurers, with a vested interest in enrolling people, say a shorter, focused sign-up season period may actually be more manageable.
Returning customers will be automatically re-enrolled unless they shop around and pick another plan.
Health care consultant Dan Mendelson, president of data-tracker Avalere Health, said in an interview that he expects enrollment will remain relatively stable.
"If you think about it, most of the people who are enrolled need the insurance," he said. "They are heavily subsidized and they are going to show up because they need insurance for themselves and their families. I think there will be a base stability to enrollment, but I wouldn't be looking for any major expansion."
Sens. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., and Patty Murray, D-Wash., are trying to negotiate a limited bipartisan deal to stabilize state-level markets for individual health insurance policies. People covered under the health law represent about half of those who purchase individual policies. |
Leading mental health expert Patrick McGorry warns young people with early psychosis could become at greater risk of suicide, as the Turnbull government prepares to scrap funding for the specialist treatment program he helped establish.
The Early Psychosis Youth Services (EPYS) program is administered through six centres across the country, where teams work with young people aged between 12 and 25 who are at high risk of, or have experienced, a psychotic episode for the first time. The psychosis can involve hearing voices or believing delusions.
The program, introduced by the Gillard government and supported by Tony Abbott in opposition, involves specialist teams that treat patients, while also helping them secure accommodation, return to school or find work. They also support families to improve patients' chances of recovery.
The Department of Health told the centres this month that it had "decided to discontinue implementation of the EPYS model of care" in a letter obtained by Fairfax Media. The department will cut centres' $156 million funding to 75 per cent this year, and down to 30 per cent next year. |
The economy is sluggish and unemployment is on the rise, but Republicans and their allies say they want nothing to do with President Obama’s agenda for job creation because it’ll be just another “failed stimulus." Here's John Boehner making that argument on his official blog. Here's Karl Rove doing the same on Fox News. And here's Richard Posner offering his version at TNR -- although, to be fair, he merely calls the stimulus "botched" and I'm not sure he qualifies as a Republican ally.
Of course, the argument isn't new. The phrase "failed stimulus" has been a staple of Republican rhetoric since the fall of 2009. But it was wrong then and it’s wrong now, at least according to the the people most qualified to judge it. As David Leonhardt wrote in the New York Times:
Perhaps the best-known economic research firms are IHS Global Insight, Macroeconomic Advisers and Moody’s Economy.com. They all estimate that the bill has added 1.6 million to 1.8 million jobs so far and that its ultimate impact will be roughly 2.5 million jobs.
That was in February of 2010. Fifteen months later, in May of this year, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated that, as of the most recent quarter, the Recovery Act had
increased the number of people employed by between 1.2 million and 3.3 million and increased the number of full-time equivalent jobs by 1.6 million to 4.6 million compared with what would have occurred otherwise.
And just a month ago, the president's Council of Economic Advisers came up with similar estimates (2.4 to 3.6 million jobs) using its own forecasting models. You'll find a few critics on the right who dispute the reliability of these models, but they are a distinct minority and it's not as if they have a compelling alternative theory. Keep in mind, by the way, that the administration had predicted the Recovery Act would create 3.5 million jobs, which is on the high end but in the same ballpark as most other estimates. |
An unstable country on the brink of civil war is not all former Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi left behind after his death last year. A vast collection of weapons remains in an abandoned desert warehouse in southern Libya, The Times reported on Tuesday.
The arsenal reportedly includes 4,000 surface-to-air missiles, each capable of downing a passenger jet, and thousands of barrels of uranium yellowcake. An inventory collected by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) accounted for 6,400 yellowcake barrels.
Bharuddin Midhoun Arifi, a former human trafficker and now commander of 2,000 fighters in the city of Sabha, was one of the main inheritors of the regime’s abandoned weapon reserves.
“Sometimes I’m afraid that al-Qaeda will get me. Other times I fear that the Americans or French or British will fire missiles from the sea to destroy all I control.” Arifi told the Times. He claims that al-Qaeda had most recently offered 1 million dollars for some of the weapons, an offer which Arifi says he turned down. “I told them…this belonged to my government.”
Rows of the mortars and rockets stacked in crates, however, suggest some of the weapons have been shipped to Syria, along with hundreds of Libyan’s who have joined the rebel forces fighting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime.
No actions were taken to remove the uranium, which after intensive processing could become weapons grade, despite the U.N. mission in Libya suggesting its removal. Libyan Foreign Minister Mohammad Abdul Aziz echoed similar sentiments but with no avail.
The most pressing matter to Western officials, however, is the surface-to-air missile getting into the hands of al-Qaeda, an unchecked power in the region enjoying its new freedom in a post-Qaddafi Libya.
“Al-Qaeda was terrified of Qaddafi,” says Colonel Faraj Adem, a senior army officer. “None would dare try to enter Libya’s borders. But now Qaddafi has gone, and with him our border security, al-Qaeda is free to come and go as they please. They are choosing this area to rebuild their weapon stocks and become strong once more. There is no control of weapons stocks here. You want to buy a MANPADS? It’s easy.”
The weapon cache sits in an unguarded complex. Checkpoints between Sabha and northern cities are scarce and poorly manned by informal groups of youth.
Last Update: Tuesday, 22 October 2013 KSA 15:31 - GMT 12:31 |
Uber users in India can now order rides even if they don't have the app installed on their smartphone, thanks to a new feature that the company announced today. Uber also announced the launch of another service in India that lets users book rides for their friends or family.
With the "dial an Uber" service, customers can order a ride by navigating to a dial.uber.com on their mobile browser and registering or logging in with their phone number. They'll see pricing information and can request a driver with a tap, though they'll have to pay for the ride in cash. The idea, according to Uber, is to make it easier for people to order rides in areas with poor internet connectivity. Dial an Uber is currently available in the cities of Nagpur, Kochi, Guwahati, and Jodhpur.
The "request a ride for others" in-app feature allows people to order taxis for friends or family members who don't have smartphones or are incapable of using them. After setting the pickup location, users will be prompted to say whether the ride is for themselves or someone else. If it's for someone else, they'll have to enter their phone number, and the rider will receive a text message with information about their driver and car. The rider can pay in cash, or the person who ordered the car can pay for it with their credit card.
The new features are the latest India-specific services from Uber, which is currently available in 28 Indian cities. Last year, the company added an "SOS" button following the rape of a female passenger in Delhi, and it began testing cash payments in the city of Hyderabad. In July 2015, Uber announced a $1 billion investment in India, adding that it aims to create 50,000 new jobs for Indian women by 2020. |
PTI's Jahangir Tareen had challenged LHC division's order to allow crushing of sugar in the current season
ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Thursday suspended the operation of three of Sharif family’s sugar mills, setting aside an order of Lahore High Court (LHC) in this regard.
A three-judge bench temporarily suspended the operation of the mills and remanded the case to LHC for an early decision in the matter.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) General Secretary Jahangir Tareen had challenged the LHC division’s interim order to allow the crushing of sugar to Sharif family in the current season. Aitzaz Ahsan represented Tareen in the case.
In its observation, the bench headed by Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar said that the high court’s order is not sustainable as it was not given with reasons and therefore it is being set aside.
LHC maintains status quo on Sharifs’ mills
The apex court asked LHC to hear the case on February 16, with the division bench to be headed by the Chief Justice. It also directed Sharif family’s counsels that the order to suspend operation of the mills should not be violated.
On October 28, a division bench of LHC maintained the status quo in the matter of shifting five sugar mills owned by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif and their relatives.
On October 10, a single bench headed by Justice Ayesha A Malik declared illegal the relocation of Chaudhry Sugar Mills, Ittefaq Sugar Mills in Sahiwal, Haseeb Waqas Sugar Mills in Nankana Sahib, Abdullah (Yousaf) Sugar Mills in Sargodha and Abdullah Sugar Mills in Depalpur to other districts.
Read full story |
Investigators say a Springtown woman accused of shooting a dog in the head and abandoning her and her nursing puppies on a roadside killed the dog because she had attacked another dog while protecting her babies.
“I did what I did and would do it again — if need be,” Tammy Douglas said in a text message, according to police. “She killed Ginger.”
Douglas was booked into the Parker County Jail on Sunday, four days after the dead dog and puppies were found beside Raley Road. The puppies were taken to a shelter, though one has died.
Police records say a tipster came to police with the text message and said Douglas was angry that the shepherd mix had bitten a Yorkie named Ginger on the face because the dog got too close to her litter. The tipster said Douglas admitted loading up the dog and its puppies but said she dropped them off in a neighborhood and “they were fine,” the records say.
But then the tipster saw news of the abandoned dog on Facebook and, recognizing the kennel, contacted authorities.
Authorities tracked down Douglas, and she admitted killing the dog and abandoning her and her litter in a bloody cage in the middle of the night, according to her arrest warrant affidavit. |
“SHE is no more,” said my daughter over the phone, giving us the tragic news of Benazir Bhutto’s assassination. We were at a recording at Dawn studios. The news was shattering. My worst fears that she may not survive this time had come true. By that time, she had matured into a confident leader. She was clear that Taliban-style terrorism must be eliminated for Pakistan to survive, and was determined to take up the challenge.
BB expressed her resolve to take on the establishment and their militant friends some weeks before she was killed. She shared these thoughts with journalists and rights activists she met on her last visit to me. She expressed her mistrust of deposed chief justice Iftikhar Chaudhry. I pleaded his case, but BB gave several examples, casting doubts on his integrity. What transpired between that day and the moment she decided to acknowledge him as CJ remains a mystery for me.
Not perfect, BB was still one of Pakistan’s most, if not the most, outstanding leaders. She enjoyed a luxurious life, first as daughter of a foreign minister and later as prime minister. After her father’s hanging, she suffered a long period in jail. Yet she hardly ever reminded anyone of those agonising years she spent as a young woman.
Her suffering did not harden her but turned her into a more humane person. As a leader, she introduced the politics of tolerance. She understood human failings, was never judgemental and quick to forgive. This encouraged unscrupulous persons. Often her friends would point out that her party members were exploiting her position. She would simply say they were ‘booray waqt kay saathi’.
####Benazir was one of our most outstanding leaders.
Politics changed as BB brought back the PPP style of taking politics to the streets and villages. Her rallies were the face of the excluded, the working classes, religious minorities, badgered writers and poets and ordinary women. In her first tenure, BB banned public whipping practised by the Zia regime. She granted amnesty to jailed women and children and lifted media censorship.
Many women were placed in the cabinet and seen around Prime Minister House, previously a male domain. In her second term, BB elevated the first set of women to the high courts. These advances weren’t enough. Many expected her to perform miracles by overturning Zia’s legacy within a few years. On my impatience, BB would teasingly remind me she was running a complex country, not a rights organisation.
I remember receiving a complaint that a PPP stalwart was engaged in bonded labour. As HRCP chairperson, I protested to the prime minister. Her principal secretary who was with her in Japan called to say she saw my fax and had instructed him to assure me that the government would not tolerate such practices. On my suggestion, she sent messages to all Sindh’s deputy commissioners to cooperate with civil society in freeing bonded labour. Thousands were set at liberty with government support.
When journalist Zafaryab was arrested on trumped-up treason charges, some journalists asked me to speak to BB as her interior minister refused to relent. When I met BB, her foreign secretary, his wife and Shahnaz Wazir Ali were also present. After hearing me, she confirmed from Shahnaz that Zafaryab was only an idealistic communist. She ordered that the government not oppose his bail and apologised for his suffering.
BB had a sense of humour, and could laugh at herself. But she could also grieve. I met BB in London after her brother Murtaza’s death. I joined the crowd she was addressing. She called for me and we hugged. She was very stressed. On her return, her government fell. I met her in Islamabad, where I was participating in a seminar. When I mentioned how charming Murtaza was she wept bitterly. A TV interview with her had to be put off. At the seminar, I mentioned BB’s distress to Malik Saeed Hassan, our senior lawyer in Lahore. He immediately invited himself, Farooq Naek and other lawyers to accompany me to see BB. She was pleased but for the first time looked unsure.
BB loved this country. You could see it in her eyes — the TV footage of her landing in Karachi shows this. Yet she was accused of being a security risk and seen by our establishment and its lackeys as a traitor. She was not capable of torture or killing but was accused of conspiring to murder her own brother. Her private life was a matter of gossip.
The ‘chattering class’ as she called them, were suspicious of her, but ordinary people loved her. They knew her worth and admired the dignified manner in which she challenged her rivals. She lives in the hearts and minds of millions of us who pray for her each day we enjoy freedom in Pakistan.
The writer is a lawyer and a human rights activist.
Published in Dawn, December 27th, 2015 |
With cross-country skiing, however, “if you really want to propel yourself down the track, you kind of have to know a little bit about what you’re doing,” he said. Cross-country skiing “is trying to see how fast you can go with just the power of your own arms and legs — and seeing how fast you can go down the hills, too.” While Mr. Newell is at the peak of his sport, he does have plenty of suggestions for recreational athletes, of whom there are many; according to a survey by the National Sporting Goods Association, about 1.6 million Americans participated in cross-country skiing in 2008, the most recent year available.
Here, he offers tips for amateurs, and a glimpse of his own regimen.
ADVICE FOR ROOKIES Cross-country skiers race in two styles — classic, in which the skis move parallel along the track, and freestyle, a technique that resembles speed skating. Which one is easier to learn is likely to depend on a skier’s background: runners and cyclists might feel more comfortable trying classic skiing, while in-line skaters might prefer freestyle, Mr. Newell said.
For someone learning classic skiing, Mr. Newell recommends starting slowly. Walk the trail with a pair of poles but without skis. This is the easiest way to get acclimated to the opposite-arm, opposite-leg movement required in cross-country skiing, he said. Then, once the movement feels comfortable, incorporate the skis. Finally, try adding power by kicking down into the snow with one ski, then gliding on the other.
Because the sport is physically demanding, beginners sometimes get discouraged. “Maybe the biggest mistake is that people get out there and they try to take it seriously,” Mr. Newell said. “Sometimes they forget that it’s supposed to be fun.”
UP AND DOWN HILLS Many people believe that cross-country skiers compete on flat terrain, but actually most trails incorporate sizable hills. To climb, make sure your body is centered above your feet and that your shoulders, hips and feet are aligned. Think about taking little steps up the hill, he said, and try not to bend too far forward at the waist. “You’re not going to feel super comfortable on your skis,” he said.
To climb hills, ski racers use a technique known as the V1 — the “V” refers to the position of the skis and the “1” to the side of the body being used. For this move, you pole on one side of your body at a time and glide on the other leg.
The V1 uses shorter leg and arm motions than the V2 technique, which requires poling simultaneously on both sides of the body and a longer follow-through with the arms and legs. The V2 is used when a racer is moving fast — across flat terrain or on gradual downhills, or to build momentum going into an uphill.
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Top cross-country racers descend hills at speeds that reach 50 miles an hour on skis that are two inches wide, and without the pads or helmets that alpine racers wear. “But that’s what makes it fun,” Mr. Newell said.
To ski downhill, keep your body aligned above your feet. If you’re skilled enough on skis, tuck into the position that Alpine racers use. And remember, Mr. Newell said, “you can always snowplow.”
Photo
TRAINING AND EXERCISE Like most elite skiers, Mr. Newell spends much of his time on the road, traveling to races around the world. In the United States, he divides his time between Vermont and Park City, Utah, where the ski team is based. In the off-season, April through November, Mr. Newell says, his fitness routine includes road cycling, mountain biking and running, as well as occasional surfing trips to Costa Rica.
But once the season gets under way, he sticks with skiing. He and other members of the American team spend hour upon hour refining their technique. The team mixes up its workouts by focusing on specific muscle groups, doing interval training or training on roller skis, which mimic the motion of cross-country skis on wheels.
One popular method is to train on an oversized treadmill designed for use with roller skis. “Our coaches hook us up to the treadmill and they ski us until we drop — literally until we can’t ski anymore,” Mr. Newell said. “Just to see how tough we are.”
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During ski season, Mr. Newell alternates between difficult and easier training weeks. An “easy” week consists of about 15 hours of aerobic training, he said, while a more difficult week will be about 25 hours. During the summer, Mr. Newell said, he will often train for two weeks in a row and then take two days off.
SPRINTING An intense regimen of interval training helps Mr. Newell get his body into optimal shape for sprinting, his specialty. Proper technique is also important, he said.
In sprint events, which vary in distance from 1.2 to 1.8 kilometers, competitors use a double-pole technique during both starts and finishes, which maximizes arm power.
Proper position for double-poling means putting your hips in a high position by coming up on your toes. With your hands high in front of you, force the poles into the ground with as much power as you can. To practice, Mr. Newell said, mark off an area long enough for a 10-second sprint, then do the double-pole technique “really hard” along that stretch before skiing at an easier pace for 10 minutes. Continue alternating between the double-pole sprint and easy skiing.
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GEAR A devoted cross-country skier can easily invest hundreds of dollars on unnecessary but top-of-the-line equipment. Beginners, he said, should stick with basic no-wax touring skis, which start at just over $100 a pair.
Racing skis cost more; they start about $300 and go up from there. Serious skiers also invest in two kinds of poles — classic poles, which come up to the armpit, and longer freestyle poles. Cross-country ski boots and bindings come in a wide variety, Mr. Newell said, but the top priority should be comfort. “You’re going to be spending a lot of time in them,” he said. “You want one that fits like a running shoe or sneaker would.”
Advanced skiers will eventually want to invest in a Spandex-style racing suit, which generally start about $150, and a heart rate monitor. Although beginners can use boots that work with freestyle and classic skiing, racers need specialized boots for each style. A pair of sports sunglasses will protect your eyes from errant poles as well as windy downhills, Mr. Newell said.
NUTRITION Competitive cross-country skiing is an endurance sport that burns lots of calories. While athletes must eat a lot, Mr. Newell said, cross-country skiers focus on building lean muscle mass without gaining too much weight. “Our nutrition is pretty similar to that of a runner or cyclist because we have to carry our own weight,” he said.
Cross-country skiers need to be light enough to climb up hills easily, but they want to be heavy enough to maintain speed downhill. Mr. Newell said he eats a lot of whole-grain carbohydrates as well as plenty of protein, usually poultry or nuts. For endurance, athletes choose foods that increase their red blood cells —red meat and vegetables that are high in iron. In all, he consumes 4,000 to 5,000 calories a day during the racing season, Mr. Newell said. “I spend all winter kind of force-feeding myself.”
Elite cross-country racers spend between 800 and 900 hours a year in high-intensity training on skis. Last season, Mr. Newell said he trained for 780 hours, and this year, an Olympic year, he expects to top 800.
That endurance takes years to develop, which is why cross-country skiers tend to reach their peak in their late 20s and early 30s. “You can’t just take anyone off the street and try that,” he said. “You’d end up getting really sick.”
That long-term commitment — and the reward that it brings — is why he loves the sport, Mr. Newell said.
“It takes so much training to become a really great cross-country skier,” he said. “I’m 26, and I feel like I’m just getting started.” |
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Wired -- "Jorno, hailed as the world’s smallest keyboard, serves as an on-the-go solution for typing on a variety of mobile devices."
TUAW - "Jorno looks like just the answer"
TechCrunch - "Cloud-connected smartphones and tablets have become vast repositories of our information. Still, there’s more to be done to facilitate getting data into and out of them."
CNET - "What makes it unique is the way it folds into itself Transformer-style to fit in the palm of your hand."
Mashable - "For those who think haptic feedback is no replacement for the real deal: Jorno"
iPhone Life - "Add to my list of highly useful gadgets: The Jorno. The world's smallest, folding Bluetooth keyboard."
Android Rundown - "power users and businessmen will find Jorno a godsend"
MSN Now - "The gizmo folds into a tidy box that fits in your pocket"
Discovery News - "this touch typing tool folds five ways, down to a 3 1/2-inch square just over an inch thick, more compact than all of them"
Cult of Mac - "this thing really is tiny. It works with any phone or tablet with a Bluetooth connection"
Mind of the Geek - "nothing beats a good ol’ fashioned QWERTY keyboard for some serious writing"
Before It's News - "this little guy features a unique 5-way fold giving you an easy on-the-go way to comfortably type longer emails or even blogs while sitting at your favorite hipster coffee shop"
Life Tech Music - "Scott Starrett and his team have come up with a more practical approach to this issue."
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ABOUT THIS PROJECT
Jorno is the folding Bluetooth keyboard that fits in your pocket and allows you to type with ease anytime, anywhere. It works with iPhone, iPad and Android devices. Write email in a cafe. Take notes in a meeting or class. Blog wherever you are.
Go mobile and get productive with Jorno.
PRODUCT FEATURES
Pocket Size & Durable: Jorno provides the ultimate level of mobility, with a unique 5-way fold. Its compact size allows you to put it in your pocket and go. It also stays rigid when unfolded for use in your lap. Jorno is made of metals and premium plastic resins designed to withstand the mobile lifestyle.
Bluetooth Connectivity: Bluetooth connectivity allows you to connect Jorno wirelessly to your mobile device so that you can place the keyboard anywhere you like. This connectivity even works with your desktop, tablet, or mini-tablet.
Detachable Cradle: The compact and detachable cradle that comes with Jorno securely holds your phone/tablet in either portrait or landscape orientation and enabling the set-up that is most convenient for you. It also features a stowable kickstand and a rubberized surface to hold your device securely.
Standard Keyboard Layout: Jorno replicates the same touch-typing experience as your laptop, with a standardized key layout. The key mechanism is a proprietary design, optimized for a comfortable and ergonomic experience.
JORNO ON-THE-GO
Jorno is the perfect companion to your phone or tablet. It enables you to type quickly, accurately, and voluminously wherever you may be.
JORNO IMAGE GALLERY
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
Dimensions: Folded: 3.5 x 3.5 x 1.2 in (88.9 x 88.9 x 30.5 mm)
Unfolded: 8.5 x 3.5 x 0.3 in (215.9 x 88.9 x 7.6 mm)
Folded: 3.5 x 3.5 x 1.2 in (88.9 x 88.9 x 30.5 mm) Unfolded: 8.5 x 3.5 x 0.3 in (215.9 x 88.9 x 7.6 mm) Weight: 8.8 oz (240.5g)
8.8 oz (240.5g) Battery: Rechargeable lithium ion; up to 1 month of wireless productivity per charge (based on normal usage)
Rechargeable lithium ion; up to 1 month of wireless productivity per charge (based on normal usage) Connections: Micro USB charging cable (included); Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR
Micro USB charging cable (included); Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR Indicators: On/Off LED; low battery LED
On/Off LED; low battery LED Compatibility: iPhone / iPad / iPod Touch / Mac OS X; Windows 7 & 8 / Vista / XP; Android OS / Symbian / WebOS.
PRODUCT AWARDS
Jorno has received a number of prestigious awards for our prototype design.
ABOUT THE TEAM
Scott Starrett, CEO & Founder
Scott has a diverse professional background including 12 years of management consulting in strategy and supply chain operations in a variety of sectors, including the high tech industry. A Fulbright Scholar, Scott holds a B.S. in Industrial engineering from Stanford University and a Master's degree from The Julliard School.
RKS Design, Engineering Partner
RKS is a strategic design consultancy that delivers people-focused solutions with domestic and global impact and is world-renowned for its work. From Fortune 500s to start-ups, they believe in empowering consumers with compelling designs and memorable experiences
DS International, Manufacturing Partner
DSI is a custom manufacturing expert, specializing in keyboards and input devices, with over 20 years of experience. DSI has a commitment to high quality, zero-defect work and collaborates with the engineering team to ensure and maintain the best possible production.
CURRENT STATUS
Our group of engineering and consumer electronics professionals has worked tirelessly for 2 years to create Jorno, with painstaking attention to detail at every step of the way. We have created 5 versions of the prototype, each improving on the previous, in order to finalize the design for a truly durable and elegant keyboard. The team will continue to work together as we enter into the manufacturing stage of our launch.
Thank You, Thank You!
When we attended the Consumer Electronics Show, numerous industry leaders visited our booth to see the prototype and called Jorno an "iconic design." We're very proud of the work we've done to-date, and now we are very close to launching this unique product.
We are extremely grateful for the incredible support from journalists, bloggers, and early Jorno evangalists. Please join this growing group of supporters by making a donation and choosing a reward. And please pass on the link to your friends, family, co-workers, and even aquaintances, we wholeheartedly appreciate the support.
3 NEW COLOR SWATCH CHOICES |
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None of these regular call-to-actions (CTAs) will give you your desired result because your target audience is more intelligent, smarter, and more experienced than ever before.
As a marketer, I bet you already know that visitors who don’t click, won’t convert.
Your website visitors cannot pass through the checkout process or registration form without hitting at least one button. And that single button can be improved upon just like all of your other buttons.
If you want to boost the conversion of your calls-to-action, the first thing is to stop neglecting the so-called “small things”. Most times, the conversions you’re looking for will completely depend upon something very small.
For instance, having a weak call-to-action with no sense of urgency is one of the primary reasons why most sales pages and landing pages fail to convert leads into customers.
You must understand, however, that not all CTA messages are built equally. Lots of B2B marketers are not using effective calls-to-action to engage their target customers. And worse, some are not using them at all.
A study from Small Biz Trends found that about 70% of small business B2B websites have no calls-to-action:
Now, stop making baseless excuses for your lack of an efficient CTA. Instead, implement some of the following click-boosting strategies in this post, which have already proven to boost conversions between 20% to 95%.
1. Create A Benefit-Oriented CTA
Your CTA has to really provide some sort of benefit to the user to make him/her click.
Just imagine the last time you bought something on the internet… what prompted you to take action? I’m sure you took action not because you were looking for what to buy, but because you saw a good benefit attached to the ‘Buy’ button.
In the same vein, a user cannot take action if your CTA is not convincing enough – they want to know exactly what they’re getting, and what they’ll achieve with it to avoid wasting money.
Therefore, your call to action has to provide a solid benefit to your customers. If people are not so sure about the value they’ll get from your CTA button, they won’t click. It’s as simple as that.
The two marketers I can mention here that are doing well with a benefit-oriented CTA are Bryan Harris and Noah Kagan. At the VideoFruit blog, Bryan promises to show his users how to get their first 100 email subscribers. Then, on the call-to-action button, he asks them to “START YOUR EMAIL LIST”:
Noah Kagan from OkDork did something similar:
Furthermore, apart from the text in your CTA button, the button color and placement are equally as important as the message.
For example, lots of marketers have discovered that placing a subscription box on the bottom of the landing page performs best, while other people saw an increase in conversions when they placed the button on the left side of the page.
It’s your duty to find out which placement works best for you. You don’t have to do what others are doing, just test, test, and test some more before choosing a winner.
Also, figure out which button color works well for you. Green buttons may imply money and prosperity, but the best choice is to always test.
Test every element of your CTA (including button color).
2. Make CTA Buttons Appear Like Buttons
The subject of “signifiers” is critical when it comes to conversions and user-experience (UX).
When we mention “signifiers” in the web design space, we’re mostly talking about making every element on a web page to look exactly like what it’s supposed to be used for.
It means that a button should look like a button… and nothing else.
This will make it easy for users to immediately identify it as an element that they should click on to initiate an action.
So let me ask you… when a first-time visitor lands on your landing page, will he/she absolutely identify which elements are clickable? Or will he/she get confused and start guessing what to do? If you agreed with the second question, then you have to change something immediately.
In a nutshell, buttons are generally easier to click when we’re sure they’re clickable.
It’s no wonder why gray buttons often convert poorly — they look deactivated, so lots of visitors won’t even know they’re expected to click them.
For example, when you visit Create Debate’s homepage, you’ll see a brief introduction about what the site is about which also contains a “Join Now” link alongside an FAQ link.
However, the problem is that they’ll be missing on some leads here because many of their visitors won’t know that they’re meant to click those links. But if they can make the “Join Now” stand out and look like a button, it’ll be able to trigger their desired action when a user sees it.
Can your visitors easily identify the CTA on your site and landing pages? Is the call-to-action visible enough? Does it have signs implying clickability?
Finally, another good idea to make your call-to-action stand out is to have lots of space around it, like that of PayPal:
When a user sees this level of openness, they know exactly what they’re supposed to do.
3. Provoke Curiosity
Use curiosity effectively, and you’ll see a massive boost in conversions.
According to Andrew Sobel, one of the 6 rules for evoking curiosity is:
“Tell people what you do and the results you get, not every detail about how you do it. The former is interesting; the latter can become tedious.”
Curiosity brings out the burning desire to know something you didn’t know before. If you design your call-to-action message in a way that could create a burning desire for your prospects to find out what’s on the other side of the CTA, they’ll be more willing and eager to click, thereby giving you the lead generations you want.
And, remember:
The higher your click-through rate, the more sales you’ll generate.
Similarly, a recent study from the University of California-Davis stated that:
“When our curiosity is piqued, changes in the brain ready us to learn not only about the subject at hand, but incidental information, too.” (Mentioned on the Scientific American blog.)
In other words, emotional triggers like surprise, trust, fun, delight, and, most importantly, satisfaction arouse curiosity in your users:
For example, when people trust you, they’ll be more willing to click. In the same way, when people are delighted with your PPC ads or landing page copy, they’ll immediately click, because they envision a benefit.
Curiosity will make you want to grab an offer because you can perceive the reward and how it can benefit your own life. It’s an emotional hunt to know more, learn more, be more, and have more.
You should always remember that your target audiences are human beings who continually make emotional and rational choices depending on the information presented before them.
However, one important thing when arousing curiosity is to be very honest with your customers. Don’t deceive them with action buttons and power words only to give them something contrary to what you promised. When you promise to give customers free training videos, do just that. Always stand to your promise and watch your conversion rate go higher.
4. Offer A Freebie
We all love free stuff, especially when it’s useful free stuff.
Although, there may be no such thing as a free lunch, even in free town, but as humans, we can’t resist the attraction of a bonus, including a free eBook that sounds interesting.
Offering your customers a helpful freebie is one super-effective way to attracting and retaining more of them. Therefore, you have to start offering a bonus in your CTA message, too.
For example, when a company offers you a great opportunity to save a little money while making a purchase, that’s a reward because they’ll bear all the risk and you’ll gain more.
The cell service company, Sprint leveraged this strategy to grow its customer base. Currently, Sprint provides savings of $200 or more on the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge+ smartphone.
Similarly, Verizon also uses this tactic, giving customers the opportunity to save $300 when they trade in an old phone for a new one.
In fact, the majority of telecommunications service providers out there offer some kind of “bonus”, such as free shipping, extra savings, rebates, and “buy-one-get-one-free” offers.
Make Your CTAs More Attractive
Your sales copy and PPC ad campaigns, promotional banners, and landing pages can only drive quality leads and customers to your business when they click on your call-to-action button.
To a significant extent, a high click-through rate (CTR) equals a higher conversion rate.
If all the other important elements like your sales funnel and offer are properly optimized for your target users, and you’re not seeing conversions, the problem is likely with your CTA.
Pay attention to it, and make it convert!
What other tips do you have for making an attractive call-to-action? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
Here are a few more conversion posts to check out:
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In his Tuesday New York Times column, David Brooks argued that "the reactions of smug elites to the Brexit vote demonstrate" that there's truth to the nativist idea that "cosmopolitan cultural elites" have destroyed the "sort of intense personal patriotism" that once defined American pride.
He based his argument on J.D. Vance's new book, "Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis," in which he documents the struggles of the white working class. The specific erosion of "loyalty culture," as Brooks characterized Vance's thesis, has led to a general disintegration in patriotism and the rise of an unhealthy nationalism.
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"We need a better form of nationalism," Brooks argued, because the one that subtends current debates about building walls and banning Muslims is predicated not on honor, but on fear -- and a fearful people are "easy prey for fact-free magical thinking and demagogues who blame immigrants":
[T]he honor code has also been decimated by the culture of the modern meritocracy, which awards status to the individual who works with his mind, and devalues the class of people who work with their hands. Most of all, it has been undermined by rampant consumerism, by celebrity culture, by reality-TV fantasies that tell people success comes in a quick flash of publicity, not through steady work. The sociologist Daniel Bell once argued that capitalism would undermine itself because it encouraged hedonistic short-term values for consumers while requiring self-disciplined long-term values in its workers. At least in one segment of society, Bell was absolutely correct. There’s now a rift within the working class between mostly older people who are self disciplined, respectable and, often, bigoted, and parts of a younger cohort that are more disordered, less industrious, more celebrity-obsessed, but also more tolerant and open to the world...
Read the rest at The New York Times... |
Critics are calling on Health Canada to immediately overhaul the country's food guide to help improve the health of Canadians and address the growing obesity crisis.
The federal agency told CBC News it is reviewing the almost decade-old document to ensure it remains scientifically sound and useful. Review results will be announced later this year.
But the news doesn't appease critics who doubt much will change about the Canada Food Guide — a guide they charge is too deferential to the food industry and fails in its mission to promote healthy eating.
"I'm not really full of hope," says obesity expert Dr. Yoni Freedhoff. The Ottawa physician has been campaigning for years for a revamped guide, claiming the current one is "fully broken."
Senate demands overhaul
Canada's Food Guide is taught in schools, used to create eating plans in institutions and influences how we view healthy eating. Health Canada last revised it in 2007.
A Senate report just this month charged that the guide is dated, ineffective and needs urgent change to combat the rising rates of obesity in the country.
"Fruit juice, for instance, is presented as a healthy item when it is little more than a soft drink without the bubbles," declared the report.
It also said the explosion of ultra-processed products on the market has led to Canadians gorging on food that is "calorie-rich and nutrient-poor."
The study charges the guide, which includes an emphasis on low-fat foods and a number of servings of carbohydrates, doesn't do enough to help Canadians kick their bad eating habits.
"We think Health Canada's got to revise its examples of what healthy foods really are," says Conservative Senator Kelvin Ogilvie, chair of the Senate committee that devised the report.
A guide to unhealthy eating?
Obesity expert Freedhoff says it would take him an hour to even begin to cover all the problems he has with the current guide.
He points to the grains food group. The guide advises that adults eat six to eight servings daily, depending on gender and age. Recommended items include cereal, pasta and bagels.
The document also advises Canadians make at least half their choices whole grain.
"That is a very poor piece of guidance," says Freedhoff. He believes people should aim to choose virtually all whole grains to fight off diseases such as diabetes.
He also notes that many cereals on the market are highly processed.
"Ultimately, this is a guide that is very friendly to wheat and the refining of wheat," he says.
Freedhoff also takes issue with the milk and alternatives category. He says he's not anti-dairy, but questions the recommendation to drink two glasses of milk daily.
The physician says advising people to drink their calories can contribute to weight gain because people don't have the same feeling of fullness.
Freedhoff adds that for an adult male like himself, he finds the guide a little "odd."
It recommends that he drink two glasses of milk every day. But he is also advised to consume just two servings of dairy a day. If he followed both rules, concludes Freedhoff, his dairy intake would be limited to drinking milk and he couldn't have any other products like cheese or yogurt.
Freedhoff also finds himself alarmed by the guide's suggestion that Canadians should "limit" trans fat in their diet
"It doesn't say you should avoid them, which is a remarkable thing," he says.
Trans fats have been linked to an increased risk of heart disease. The U.S. is already taking steps to phase out artificial trans fats in that country.
So what do we eat now?
Freedhoff and the Senate committee want to see a new guide that moves away from a food group-based approach. They recommend instead a format that emphasizes eating fresh, whole foods and makes strong statements about limiting highly processed products.
Both the Senate report and Freedhoff uphold as a shining example Brazil's new food guide.
It advises making natural and minimally processed foods, mainly plant-based, the basis of one's diet.
It also recommends that people avoid ultra-processed products and to be wary of food advertising and marketing.
"Health Canada has got to be aware that there's a trend in enlightened countries to make their food guides much more meaningful to consumers," says Senator Ogilvie.
Health Canada didn't respond to a request for comment on the Senate report except to say the agency is examining the study and its recommendations.
But critics are already predicting the agency's upcoming review results won't include needed sweeping changes.
"I'll believe it when I see it," says Freedhoff.
Ogilvie is also skeptical but says he's holding out hope.
When asked how he'll feel if the review doesn't lead to a major overhaul, the senator responded, "Then I would say that Health Canada has failed Canadians." |
Roy Wood Jr., a standup comic who’s appeared on the Daily Show and had a Comedy Central special, is a devout Cubs fan. He noticed a trend that began when former adult film actress Mia Khalifa blew up Willson Contreras’s DMs, as she tends to do, and politely requested she work her magic again:
Hello @MiaKhalifa I come to you on the behalf of all Chicago @cubs fans w/ an odd request. On Sept 5 you outed Cubs catcher Wilson Contreas for blowing up ya DMs…. pic.twitter.com/ulLMhA4cb2 — Roy Wood Jr- Ex Jedi (@roywoodjr) October 6, 2017
Since that day the Cubs have had the best record of all NL playoff teams. Reg Season Record after Sept 5 CUBS 17-6
NATIONALS 13-10
ROCKIES 13-10
DODGERS 11-12
DIAMONDBACKS 11-11 — Roy Wood Jr- Ex Jedi (@roywoodjr) October 6, 2017
As a fellow sports fan I'm sure you understand the importance of superstition that is why I am asking you to post more DMs you may have received from anyone else on the Cubs. Even Joe Maddon…. — Roy Wood Jr- Ex Jedi (@roywoodjr) October 6, 2017
No other Cubs? Derivatives also suffice:
If you do not have any DMs from other Cub players then DM's from anybody from Chicago will suffice. @KanyeWest, @Common @DeRayDavis, @LilRel4, even Bill Murray… — Roy Wood Jr- Ex Jedi (@roywoodjr) October 6, 2017
Your DM's are the good luck charm that gave the Cubs playoff momentum. we need you to do this one more time. I know this request essentially make you root against your @Nationals but none the less, #CubsNation thank you and advance for your considerations.
God bless #FlyTheW — Roy Wood Jr- Ex Jedi (@roywoodjr) October 6, 2017
Finally, a call for Cub fan solidarity.
I'm calling on all Chicago celebs to slide in @MiaKhalifa DMs. So you can be outed and in turn help the Cubs win. Please step up and do what's right. #FlyTheW — Roy Wood Jr- Ex Jedi (@roywoodjr) October 6, 2017
This is a developing story and we will update it if more information becomes available. |
Anti-Trump protesters believe they are fighting the good fight to stop a racist, homophobic, sexist monster. But about half of the country – the half that I’m in – is in a different movie. In our movie, we selected a new president and half of the country is in cognitive dissonance over it. Assuming the protesters are the ones experiencing the illusion, and not us, how can we release them from their zombie-like existence so they will stop blocking traffic?
I’ll tell you the general approach.
The main thing you have to do is violate the frame. Clinton framed Trump as a monster, and now protesters are locked into that illusion. If Trump does things that can be construed as monster-like, the illusion is strengthened. But every time he violates that framing, the illusion gets a crack. If it cracks enough, it breaks.
For example, half the country thought Trump was going to eliminate every good thing about Obamacare. But recently the public learned that Trump wants to keep the most popular provisions and just “fix” the rest of it. That violates the monster frame. But it isn’t enough by itself. You need more violations.
Picking Reince Priebus for Chief of Staff was a good step because it makes Trump seem presidential and flexible. That’s another violation of the monster frame. But a small one.
Unfortunately, picking Steve Bannon as chief strategist adds confirmation bias to the monster illusion because Clinton’s team polluted Bannon’s brand during the election. Bannon adds confirmation bias to the monster illusion. I assume Bannon is a great strategist or else Trump wouldn’t risk keeping him.
Yesterday on Sixty Minutes Trump said gay marriage was already settled by the Supreme Court, and Trump is okay with that. That’s a crack in the illusion that Trump is anti-LGBTQ. But not enough. And Trump’s selection of Pence to run the transition team supports the monster theory because Pence has some anti-gay history that needs fixing.
The obvious next move for the Master Persuader involves asking Pence to “evolve” to Trump’s positions on all LGBTQ matters. Everyone expects a VP to pretend to be a full supporter of the President’s policies. That gives cover for Pence to update his LGBTQ views because…
– Religious conservatives will dismiss it as mere politics, believing Pence privately holds views that match their own.
– Anti-Trumpers will see a major violation of the monster frame.
– I will explain it all later as Trump doing “pacing and leading” to bring the Republican Party toward the center where it is strongest. Because that’s what is happening.
Trump has lots of other ways to crack the monster framing in the coming months. He can say more about his “New Deal” ideas for helping African-Americans. He could flip a foreign leader from a critic to a friend. He could come up with some ideas on lowering college costs. He could say more about his plan NOT to deport undocumented citizens who have obeyed the law since coming to this country.
He has lots of levers. Expect him to push one lever after another until the monster framing cracks. By summer the story will be that he’s the most flexible and centrist president in our history.
It is worth noting that Trump and Clinton had very different unframing challenges. If Clinton had won, her job would have been to convince the public she isn’t crooked. But you can’t do that simply by doing some honest things in public. We expect that even crooked people do honest things when watched. Clinton literally had no path to remove her “crooked” label.
But Trump has a more solvable framing problem. Clinton’s team labelled him a racist, homophobic, sexist. Trump can violate that frame enough times to break it over time. But it will take a lot of cracks. You’ve already seen several. Expect more to come.
If I were in Trump’s place I would look for a bigly frame violation and soon. The public is already primed for him to “moderate” away from his campaign promises. This is the time to do it.
In summary, you can’t prove you are honest by NOT stealing something in public. But you can prove you are not a monster by saving a kitten from a tree in public. Monsters never do that sort of thing. This idea is so true that it became the title of the best book ever written about movie script writing: Save the Cat.
Watch for Trump to save some kittens – as many as necessary – until you can’t hold in your mind the frame that he’s a monster. Enjoy the show. The Master Persuader is just getting started.
—
You might like reading my book because kittens are so cute.
And you might love my startup’s new app for geostreaming your location to a friend as you approach your meeting spot. Here are links:
WhenHub app for Apple: http://apple.co/2eLL3Oh
WhenHub app for Android: http://bit.ly/2fIb6L7 |
Labor says it could use parliamentary tactics to bring about a vote on same-sex marriage, days after it secured the first loss by a majority government in the lower house in more than 50 years.
Opposition infrastructure spokesman Anthony Albanese said Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull's government had lost control of the Parliament and there was an opportunity to secure a vote for a private members' bill on same-sex marriage.
Labor succeeded in exploiting the government's slim majority in the House of Representatives on Thursday night when it used the absence of several senior ministers to win three procedural votes and almost secure a majority for its call for a royal commission into the banking industry.
The victory rattled the government, with Mr Turnbull saying ministers Michael Keenan, Christian Porter and Peter Dutton had been embarrassed and humiliated by leaving early. |
Much like the awakening of Darth Vader in Star Wars, the already sinister Pentagon Jr. added another layer of evil when he transformed into Pentagon Dark in the world of Lucha Underground.
Even though the performer doesn’t speak English, the star has been able to connect with fans through his persona, actions and hand gestures (Cero Miedo).
“Pentagon Jr. comes from Mexico,” he said, describing what makes Pentagon Dark different. “The black and white signifies the good and the bad. That’s I how I feel right now. That’s the reason for the colors of the mask. AAA in Mexico is different. Lucha Underground is my house. It’s where I can make my own rules. The Temple is governed by me.”
The dark side of Pentagon Jr. was essentially brought out by Vampiro. The Lucha Underground commentator and Mexican wrestling legend has been a mentor to Pentagon in many ways. He has also been an opponent who helped take violence to another level.
“That angle with Vampiro changed my career,” Pentagon Dark said. “It’s the reason why I’m at the top right now at where I am now in the world of wrestling.”
Lucha Underground
Pentagon Dark also respects another titan of lucha, Rey Mysterio Jr.
“Rey Mysterio is one of the guys that every Mexican kid loved,” he said. “Now I have the privilege and opportunity to destroy him. I can finish him off so the world can know who I am. He can be a stepping stone.”
Channeling the character, Pentagon Dark feels the same about former Lucha Underground champion and tag partner in Sexy Star. The promotion is known for pitting men against women, which has caused some controversy. Pentagon Dark recently faced members of the all-female Black Lotus Triad faction in separate matches on the same episode. This particular show left him with two broken arms. One came courtesy of Black Lotus herself.
“I think it’s marvelous to see men and women working against one another,” he said. “The fact lucha libre can be done whether it’s male or female. So the working between them, it’s a great opportunity.”
Pentagon Dark’s appeal in the United States has helped him secure opportunities to work for promotions across the country. The 31-year-old feels extra motivation and challenged to impress the American fans or believers inside and outside The Temple.
“The fans want and desire good wrestling,” he said.
“The wrestling fans in America desire more. They request more out of you. That’s what I like because it pushes me to be a better performer. The companies in the United States have the best to offer in professional wrestling. There are a lot of guys I liked working with. I don’t have a favorite. I think all are great including Chris Hero, Sami Callihan, Tommaso Ciampa and Rob Van Dam.”
Pentagon Dark likes to think Lucha Underground is in a category all its own. Comparing it to WWE, he believes each has its own distinct style. Established as one of the most popular fixtures on the show each week, the standout isn’t content with past successes. He wants to have the gold around his waist.
“You can expect a lot of violence,” Pentagon said. “The destruction of idols, and I will be the idol of Lucha Underground and professional wrestling. Winning the Lucha Underground championship would mean the supremacy of The Temple. It would be a warning to tell people that I am the one who governs everything.” |
LENEXA, KS — Following the end of the 2015 summer anime season, local resident and anime fan Carlos Monroe is reportedly still waiting for the internet to tell him how he should feel about the anime he watched this season. Monroe, 24, reported that members of the local anime club asked him what his favorite shows from last season were, but to his horror he could not answer as he has not yet had a chance to gauge the opinion of the online community.
“I really can’t say whether I liked it or not. I’m hoping the community can form my opinion for me and create my arguments for why I feel that way about the anime. It’s just the waiting right now that’s killing me. I mean I feel like I almost watched it for nothing,” Monroe told Anime Maru.
“I don’t wanna take any chances on this by trying to form my own opinion; I tried that once with Evangelion. I watched it and thought it was alright but not that great of an anime. Boy was I wrong. Luckily the brilliant people of Reddit and 4chan saw my terrible opinion and corrected me.”
The Monroe explained that he was excited for the new winter season, and was hopeful the anime internet community will tell him what he should be excited for and what he wants to watch, as he said he has no real idea what any of his tastes are.
As of press time, Monroe was furiously refreshing the Anime News Network forums, looking for new anime threads to read. |
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Martha Coakley thanked supporters and cited governor-elect Charlie Baker’s “graciousness’’ in a concession speech Wednesday morning at her Somerville headquarters.
“I feel like we both won,’’ Coakley said. “We both raised issues important to Massachusetts.’’
Baker, meanwhile, spoke in a low-key press conference with reporters just after noon about the election and about plans for his transition team.
“We’re really looking forward to rolling up our sleeves and getting to work,’’ Baker said. “We certainly plan to lead as representatives of 100 percent of the state.’’
Baker will also meet with Patrick for a transitional meeting Wednesday afternoon. Baker said Jim Peyser, a former Chairman of the Massachusetts Board of Education, will lead his transition team.
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Coakley, flanked by Gov. Deval Patrick, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, and attorney general-elect Maura Healey, encouraged supporters to work with Baker’s administration even after what she called a “hotly contested race.’’
“We were up, we were down. We were in, we were out. It was a little bit like a Dr. Seuss tale,’’ she said.
The outgoing attorney general choked up when telling women in her audience to never give up. “It’s important that you lean in,’’ she said, pointing to Warren and Healey as examples.
With 99 percent of precincts reporting, Baker held a 48.4–46.6 percentage point lead on Coakley, with Baker ahead by about 40,000 more votes.
Coakley had refused to concede the race early Wednesday morning, even as the Associated Press, ABC News, CBS News, NBC News, and Fox News all called the race for Baker after midnight.
Baker, a health-care CEO, came back from big early polling deficits to take the victory, cresting in the polls in the final weeks of the election. He picked up key endorsements, including one from The Boston Globe. Several Democratic mayors also crossed party lines to support Baker.
With the win, Baker resurrects the Bay State’s tradition of electing Republican executives to lead one of the most liberal states in the country. Baker follows in the footsteps of Mitt Romney, Paul Cellucci, and Bill Weld as red individuals floating in the state’s sea of blue legislators.
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That streak of Republican governor reaches back before Weld’s 1990 election. Since 1913, Republicans have controlled the Massachusetts governor’s office for 55 years. By contrast, Republicans have controlled the White House for 48 years in the same span.
The three independent candidates for governor left little impression with the voters, though one helped establish a new political party in the state. Both Jeff McCormick and Scott Lively both garnered less than one percent of the vote.
Evan Falchuk, however, managed to collect more than three percent of the vote. Falchuk is the standard-bearer for the nascent United Independent Party, which needed him to hit that magic 3 percent number in Tuesday’s election. That’s the state’s threshold for official party recognition, which would allow the United Independents to hold primaries and field legislative candidates.
Click here for more election results. |
Mindfulness meditation has been practiced by Buddhists for thousands of years. But today, in our electronic, distraction-filled world, the ancient practice seems to be having an unlikely moment of trendiness — so much so that it's the focus of a new app that recently garnered a New Yorker profile.
The app, called Headspace, claims that by emphasizing attention on the present moment, "regular mindfulness practice, through meditation, is an effective treatment for stress, worry, lack of focus, relationship problems, addictions and more."
"Meditation has been shown to cause distinct changes in brain structure"
It's tempting to dismiss all this as a pseudoscientific sales pitch. But we actually have scientific evidence that some of these claims are quite real.
"Mindfulness meditation has been shown to cause distinct changes in brain structure and brain function," says Yi-Yuan Tang, a Texas Tech neuroscientist who studies meditation and recently reviewed the state of the research for the journal Nature. In experiments, he and others have found that regular meditation seems to improve people's focus and emotional control, in particular.
There are plenty of caveats to this research. It's early on, and some of the studies include relatively few people. Many are controlled trials(which track how a period of regular meditation affects people, compared with a comparison group that doesn't meditate), but others involve people who've been meditating for years — so they don't prove that meditation caused the effects, but simply show an association. Moreover, they vary person to person.
"Some people may overstate what meditation can do," Tang says. "But it does have some real benefits."
What is mindfulness meditation?
Mindfulness meditation originated in Buddhist traditions and was first popularized in the West in the 1970s and '80s. In essence, it's any exercise that encourages you to focus on your sensations and thoughts in the present moment. As Henepola Gunaratana puts it in Mindfulness in Simple English, "One’s attention is carefully directed to an intense examination of certain aspects of one’s own existence."
In practice, this can take a huge number of different forms. Most often, people begin meditating by sitting upright for 10 minutes or so and focusing entirely on their breathing. The idea is to concentrate your attention on the many physical sensations that accompany each breath: the flow of air through your nostrils, the expansion of your chest cavity, the movement of your diaphragm.
It's okay if your thoughts wander — at first, they almost certainly will — but it's good to be aware of their wandering. For most people, daily practice makes this sort of meditation come more naturally over time.
Meditation improves your ability to focus even when you're not meditating
Researchers have used a number of different tests to assess how regular meditation affects people's ability to control their attention. One review of 23 different studies found that in general, people who've been meditating for just a few months perform better on tasks that test their ability to shut out distractions, while longer-term meditators show a markedly improved ability to maintain focus for especially long periods of time. Fifteen of these studies were randomized controlled trials, which compared the changes non-meditators underwent after a period of meditation with those of people who never meditated.
Many of these sorts of experiments test meditators' ability to ignore one set of stimuli and focus in on another. The Stroop test, for instance, requires you to report the color a word is written in but ignore the actual word. After a period of regular meditation, people are better at rattling off many colors correctly — and doing other tasks that require shutting out distractions.
Interestingly, meditators also show an improved ability to intentionally split their attention among multiple things. One experiment, for instance, showed participants two photos in extremely rapid succession. After a three-month training period of intense meditation, people showed an improved ability to pick out details from the second photo. A comparison group of non-meditators were much more likely to only notice details from the first. There's also evidence that meditation can improve people's working memory — the ability to retain and recall new information.
All this is especially interesting because typically attention control and working memory decline significantly as we age. But research suggests that long-term meditation can slow down this decline.
Meditation also helps you better control your emotions
Apart from focusing your attention on the present moment, mindfulness meditation preaches accepting and letting go of negative emotions. Practicing this sort of behavior, scientists say, seems to improve meditators' ability to control their emotions even when they're not meditating. It seems to give meditators more emotional ballast, making them less easily swept up in the ups and downs of the present.
In experiments, for instance, meditators are less thrown off by emotionally unpleasant photos (say, showing a car crash or a violent scene) while completing an unrelated task. FMRI-based studies show that after two months of meditation, these sorts of images trigger less activity in the amygdala, the brain region involved in sadness and anxiety. In survey-based studies, people report being less afraid of their emotions and experiencing less anger and stress in their daily lives after a multiweek meditation course, compared with people who didn't take the course.
Consequently, there's some hope that meditation might be a useful tool in treating things like anxiety disorders and addictions. It's very early on, but a few small studies have suggested that it can reduce cravings in long-term smokers and improve the symptoms of people with general anxiety disorder, compared with non-meditators. Still, we need longitudinal studies that track and compare meditators versus non-meditators over time to have a better idea of whether it really works.
Meditators' brains look different from non-meditators'
To learn more about the brain mechanisms underlying these changes, about a decade ago, neuroscientists began using fMRI machines and other brain scanners to look inside the minds of people who'd been regular practitioners of mindfulness meditation for years. When they did, they found that their brains looked noticeably different from non-meditators'.
More than 20 of these sorts of studies have been conducted since. Some of their conclusions have varied, but a recent meta-analysis led by Kieran Fox of the University of British Columbia found that on average, practiced meditators tend to have distinct differences in eight brain areas compared with non-meditators.
The most dramatic difference is an increase in tissue in the anterior cingulate cortex — an area of the brain known to be involved in maintaining attention and controlling impulses. Other studies have found that meditators have thicker tissue in several other regions of the cortex implicated in attention control and body awareness. Extremely long-term meditators (in one study, Buddhist monks), meanwhile, appear to have stronger connections between various brain areas, which could further contribute to focus.
Interestingly, regular meditation has been associated with a reduction in the size of the right amygdala, a region of the brain linked to the processing of negative emotions, especially sadness and anxiety.
These changes reflect a broader fact about the brain: neuroplasticity
Some studies suggest that meditators have reduced activity in the insula — a brain region responsible for the perception of pain — which could explain why they report feeling lower levels of pain when exposed to the same painful stimuli (say, putting their hands in a bucket of ice-cold water) than non-meditators. Results in this area, though, are somewhat mixed.
Although the fine details of how these changes occur are still a mystery, they reflect a broader fact about the brain: a phenomenon called neuroplasticity. In general, the neural circuits that you use most are reinforced and strengthened over time, and those you don't use gradually atrophy.
Still, these brain scanner studies largely compare people who happen to have been already meditating long-term with those who haven't, unlike the experimental studies. That means these studies can't prove that meditation caused these changes: It's possible that people with larger anterior cingulate cortices, for instance, flock to meditation in the first place.
Scientists still have lots of questions about meditation
Despite all these findings, we're still in the very early stages of research into meditation as a whole — and in many areas, scientists still have more questions than answers.
One big question is how much these effects vary person to person, and why. "People respond to mindfulness meditation differently," Tang says. "These differences may derive from experiential, temperamental, personality, or genetic differences." Still, he and others aren't exactly sure.
Can meditation really be a treatment for depression, anxiety, and drug addiction?
The amount of meditation necessary to trigger these sorts of behavioral and neurological changes is also a big question. Some studies look at meditators who've only had a few hours of practice, while others involve lifelong meditators, and we don't have a great sense of when these benefits really start to occur.
Finally, there's the pressing question of how useful mindfulness meditation might be for medicine. Can it really be a treatment for depression, anxiety, and drug addiction — or is this a totally unrealistic dream? And if it works, how exactly should it be prescribed to patients?
"We've found that mindfulness meditation could help with deficits in self-regulation, which is associated with things like addiction and mood disorders," Tang says. "But we need to replicate and expand upon these findings to figure out how it'd work best in treating people." |
Aiming to make Flash more nimble and less power-consuming, Adobe on Wednesday introduced Stage Video as part of an overall larger update to the multimedia platform. The technology takes advantage of hardware acceleration which in turn uses less processing power and thus less battery power.
With an increasing amount of Flash content being played back on mobile devices, it has become necessary for Adobe to deal with the power-intensive playback of content. The company said 1080p video playback was now possible with only 1-15% CPU usage, up to 34 times more efficient than earlier versions.
Power consumption has increasingly become a thorn in Flash's side: in fact, Apple CEO Steve Jobs used the issue as a reason why Apple's iOS would not support the technology.
"To achieve long battery life when playing video, mobile devices must decode the video in hardware; decoding it in software uses too much power," he opined in an open letter published to Apple's website in April of last year.
The benefits of Stage Video will not be apparent immediately however. Content providers would first need to update their own players, typically as simple as changing the SWF file on the server side. Nothing would need to be altered as far as the videos themselves, Adobe said.
Vimeo, Brightcove, Epix, and YouTube have already begun to enable Stage Video functionality. Vimeo called the decision to switch a "no-brainer" in a statement published by Adobe, as a majority of its users view videos in HD-quality.
In addition to the video playback enhancements, Adobe enabled "one-click" full screen video, and the ability for video providers to create custom cursors for interactivity within their Flash applications. Adobe has also made text rendering changes, which would enhance readability of text, and GPU rendering technologies to come in the next version of Internet Explorer.
Flash Player 10.2 can be downloaded from Fileforum. |
Medical schools across Canada are training far too many doctors for some pediatric specialities — but failing to produce enough in other key areas of child health care, concludes a new study that starkly illustrates the surprising disconnect between physician education and real-world demands.
The findings are symptomatic of an “astonishing” problem that has left many freshly minted doctors unemployed, even as patients continue to face long wait lists in some areas, says an official with the national body that oversees specialty accreditation.
The authors of the new study, including heads of university pediatric departments, compared the number of medical graduates training in various pediatric sub-specialties with the projected demand in those areas. There was a close match in just one of 16 sub-specialites.
Twice the number of pediatric neurologists were being taught as needed, for instance, yet half as many neonatologists — the doctors who treat premature and sick newborns — are being trained as hospitals are expected to require.
While cautioning that the results were based on projections of demand and are not definitive, the researchers call it the first attempt to gauge how well pediatric training programs respond to what the system needs.
The findings raise the question of whether medical graduates should be encouraged to choose specialties based on projected needs, rather than “personal passion for a particular area,” they say.
University administrators “have a social and moral responsibility to guide the future deployment of pediatricians based on the precise health care needs of this vulnerable population,” the paper, just published in the journal Pediatrics and Child Health. “It is neither ethically or fiscally responsible to train individuals without knowledge of workforce requirements.”
Their conclusions emerge as many newly graduated Canadian physicians continue to face what would have seemed like an unheard-of problem just a few years ago — the prospect of not being able to find a job.
Surveys by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons indicate that one in six doctors just finished their residencies — training periods of two to five years following medical school — cannot find a position, said Danielle Fréchette, head of the college’s health policy department. While some physicians — like family doctors and psychiatrists — can simply hang out a shingle and start billing medicare, surgeons and others who work with expensive equipment and support staff usually must find a position with a hospital or health region.
Research by the college — which certifies specialists in Canada — indicates there is unemployment or underemployment in 13 specialties, including cardiac surgery, neurosurgery, plastic surgery, orthopedic surgery, otolaryngology, urology, gastroenterology, adult neurology, dermatology, general surgery, ophthalmology, pediatric infectious diseases and radiation oncology.
The reasons are complex, but in at least two specialties — cardiac surgery and neurosurgery — the number of trainees has not been reduced in tandem with the shrinking demand for the specialists, said Ms. Fréchette. Yet she notes that waiting lists continue to be a problem; although there is reputed to be a glut of orthopedic surgeons, she has been forced to “waddle about” for a year waiting to get a hip replacement.
“I just find it absolutely astonishing that, with the information technology potential, we can’t do a better job,” said Ms. Fréchette. “That’s because we don’t have a commitment, a concerted commitment to try to get this done right.”
The Royal college is planning a summit meeting next year to address the problems and find ways to better match residency positions with projected demand, said Ms. Fréchette. The key is to have a national program to monitor health human resources, and cooperation between those who train and those who employ physicians, she said.
The pediatric training study looked at the number of students in various pediatric sub-specialities as of 2009-10, then projected the need for their services based in part on the number of doctors retiring over the ensuing five years at 16 academic hospitals across Canada.
The researchers, including pediatrics professors at the Laval, Queen’s and Western Ontario medical schools, admitted the study had a number of limitations, including the fact it did not adjust for changes in population, or pediatricians being trained in other countries.
National Post
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WASHINGTON — Shaken and angry, Republican members of Congress seized on the brazen daytime shooting of their colleagues on Wednesday to demand that existing restrictions on gun access be loosened so that people facing similar attacks are able to defend themselves.
Past shootings have brought calls for more gun control, especially for restrictions on the kind of rifle used in Wednesday’s attack. But the ardent supporters of gun rights who came under fire this time were not about to change their views.
As Representative Steve Scalise, the third-ranking House Republican, had surgery for a gunshot wound to the hip, his colleagues complained that Washington’s restrictive gun laws had barred him and other lawmakers who live in the capital from bringing weapons to the baseball practice in Alexandria, Va.
“Had there not been a member of House leadership present, there would have been no police present, and it would have become the largest act of political terrorism in years, if not ever,” Representative Tom Garrett of Virginia said, pointing to legislation he has introduced to make it easier for people to carry a gun in Washington. That bill “would allow the most law-abiding among us to defend themselves,” he said. |
I have read with interest the article ‘Retailers blow off Steam', as the topic is one I have been focussed on for some time now.
Three years ago, I requested of that the 1C management team negotiate and retain the digital rights to all our titles, even when we sell on the boxed rights to other publishing houses. They agreed and for the last two years this decision has born major dividends for 1C.
The reasons behind the decision were numerous, but one of the large driving factors was the fact that in the English speaking territories – especially in the UK and USA – we saw a massive decline in the way the PC market was being supported by the bricks and mortar retailers.
Shelf space was being reduced on an almost monthly basis in favour of the latest twitch kids console title and it was becoming more and more difficult to get titles listed in any depth – even when those titles were securing review scores of over 80 per cent.
It's not surprising that PC gamers turned to different methods of distribution, and Steam filled that need perfectly. Not just providing a well stocked distribution platform, but a whole social network for enthusiast gamers who were not getting supported elsewhere as their hobby went mainstream.
HIGH STREET OUTRAGE
What is more surprising is the reaction of retail now. I have read it described as the reaction of a small child who threw his toy away because he no longer wanted it, but started screaming as soon as another child picked it up to play with. The metaphor works perfectly, especially in the light of the excuse I heard on numerous occasions.
‘There is no demand' went the mantra. But is this really true? Not in our experience.
I remember fondly the meeting in my office with a red-faced publisher who was explaining why their initial order from a major retailer for one of our new releases was just 30 units. At the time I had my browser open on the Steam product data page, which updates sales numbers every few minutes.
They have taken one unit for each of their top 30 stores” he told me. There is just no demand from their customers”.
I glanced at my screen, hit refresh and advised him: In the time it's taken you to tell me that there is no demand, Steam has sold 45 units”.
Steam is selling decent numbers of our titles. They are really cool to work with, have a refreshing, knowledgeable developer mentality, and never bully or threaten their suppliers.
And for a company such as ours, there is much more to it than that. There is the financial model, which is so often overlooked.
Since 1997, when 1C's gaming division was founded, the company worked on a model whereby a title developed and sold by 1C in Russia was then sub-licensed to our great publishing partners.
As a generalisation, retail would pay these guys a maximum of 40 per cent of what they made. So on a 29.99 game the publisher would receive about 12 (and on a sub-licensed deal, we would then only get about 4.25 of that) – minus return, write down and consignment costs.
When would we get that money? Well, payment would be by the end of the quarter.
So, let's say 10 per unit sale goes to the publisher, 3 to the developer/sub-licensor, and it's in your bank five months after the customer has paid out 30.
Compare that to the digital model. On a 29.99 sale, the digital partner will pay the publisher – or in many cases direct to the developer – between 60 and 70 per cent, by the end of the month following the sale.
Wow. To recap: on a sale over the counter today, we can have our 3 by the end of March, or on a digital sale, we can have 20 by Christmas.
Remind me why we should choose to go with retail and decline to let Steam sell the game?
DIGITAL DIVERSITY
Whilst the specific MCV story referred to Steam, there are a large number of other digital partners. 1C deals with 26 of them, who report and pay monthly sales varying between hundred and tens of thousands.
Steam may be very dominant, but I do believe there is room for innovative and creative partners like GamersGate, Impulse/Stardock, Direct2Drive, GreenMan Gaming and GetGamesGo/Eurogamer to find a customer base who prefer their particular offerings.
Unlike at retail, the dominant players in the digital market do not get, nor do they ever ask for, better terms than the other players.
So what else, apart from better support, better sales, no inventory, no returns and much better payment terms, have the Romans ever done for us?
Another advantage is the ability to boost sales with promotional prices – and you'll often see an additional sales upturn after returning to the full price.
For example, if you run a game of the week promotion, you can sell maybe 20,000 units of your title in that period.
You now have 20,000 new users enthusing about your game, which even when the title returns to full price, causes a very obvious knock on effect that can happily double your sales.
This creative working of pricing, promotions and catalogue is something I am convinced retail can learn and benefit from. It frustrates me greatly that once a game is six weeks old, it is written off and consigned to the bargain bins, never to rise again. We have a 10-year-old simulator title that still sells regularly on digital platforms.
This brings me to a quick recommendation. The Long Tail by Chris Anderson is an essential read for anyone who wants to understand the differentials and opportunities offered by the digital platform.
In the book, Anderson talks about one outlet that turn 90 per cent of their titles only once a month – but as they stock two million titles that once a month equates to 1.8m sales.
Retail has just delivered $360m sales on first day for Black Ops. Those are impressive numbers. Will they really not stock Black Ops 2 next Christmas if it has Steam features included on the PC SKU?
Add those numbers to the sales, longevity and depth that digital can offer, and surely we have a decent market model that can work alongside each other without the need for threat and recrimination?
Steam is here to stay. Retailers needs to communicate and work with publishers, rather than dictate and pontificate to ensure the same can be said for them. |
by
The following article appeared last August in the CounterPunch print edition, Volume 21, Number 7.
“Whiskey is for drinking, water is for fighting over.”
– Mark Twain
It doesn’t take long once you’ve left the greater Los Angeles area, away from all the lush lawns, water features, green parkways and manicured foliage to see that California is in the midsts of a real, and potentially deadly water crisis. Acres and acres of abandoned farms, dry lake beds, empty reservoirs—the water is simply no longer there and likely won’t ever be back.
What’s happening here in California is far more than a ‘severe drought’ as the media has dubbed the situation. The word ‘drought’ gives the impression that this is all short-lived, an inconvenience we have to deal with for a little while. But the lack of water isn’t temporary, it’s the new norm. California’s ecology as some 38 million residents know it is forever changing—and climate change is the culprit. At least that’s the prognosis a few well-respected climatologists have been saying for the last two decades, and their predictions have not only been accurate, they’ve been conservative in their estimates.
UC Santa Cruz Professor Lisa Sloan co-authored a 2004 report in which she and her colleague Jacob Sewall predicted the melting of the Arctic ice shelf would cause a decrease in precipitation in California and hence a severe drought. The Arctic melting, they claimed, would warp the offshore jet stream in the Pacific Ocean. Not only have their models proved correct, Prof. Sloan recently told Joe Romm of ThinkProgress she believes “the actual situation in the next few decades could be even more dire” than their study suggested.
As they anticipated ten years ago, the jet stream has indeed shifted, essentially pushing winter storms up north and out of California. As a result, snowpack in the Sierra Nevadas, which feeds water to most of Southern California and the agricultural operators of the Central Valley, have all but disappeared. Winters are drier and springs are no longer wet, which means when the warm summer months roll around there’s no water to be cultivated.
The Los Angeles basin is a region that has long relied on snowmelt from mountains hundreds of miles away to feed its insatiable appetite for development, but that resource is rapidly evaporating. It is, perhaps, a just irony for the water thieves of Southern California that their wells are finally running dry. Prudence and restraint in water usage will soon be forced upon those who value the extravagant over the practical. It’s the new way of the West as climate change’s many impacts come to fruition.
Not that you’d notice much of this new reality as you travel L.A.’s bustling streets. Pools in the San Fernando Valley remain full, while tanned Californians wash their prized vehicles in the streets and soak their green lawns in the evenings. A $500 fine can be handed out to residents who don’t abide by the outdoor watering restrictions now in place, but I’ve yet to see any water cops patrolling neighborhoods for water wasters. In fact, in Long Beach, where I live, water managers have actually admitted they aren’t planning to write any tickets. “We don’t really intend to issue any fines, at least right now,” said Matthew Veeh of the Long Beach Water Department.
Meanwhile up in Sacramento, Gov. Jerry Brown has called on all those living in the state to reduce their water use by 20 percent. That’s almost one percentage point for every California community that is at risk of running out of water by the end of the year. Gov. Brown’s efforts to conserve water have fallen on deaf ears. A report issued in July by state regulators shows a one percent increase in water consumption across the state over the past 12 months, with the biggest increase occurring in Southern California’s coastal communities.
“Not everybody in California understands how bad this drought is…and how bad it could be,” said State Water Resources Water Control Board Chairwoman Felicia Marcus when the report was first released. “There are communities in danger of running out of water all over the state.”
Perhaps there is a reason why people don’t understand how bad the water crisis really is—they’re daily lives have yet to be impacted. Unless the winter and spring of 2015 bring drenching rains, California only has 12-18 months of reserves left. Even the most optimistic of forecasts show a rapid decline in water reserves in the state in the decades to come. To put it in perspective, California hasn’t seen this drastic of a decline in rainfall since the mid-1500s. “This is a real emergency that requires a real emergency response,” argues Jay Famiglietti, a senior water scientist at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory. “If Southern California does not step up and conserve its water, and if the drought continues on its epic course, there is nothing more that our water managers can do for us. Water availability in Southern California would be drastically reduced. With those reductions, we should expect skyrocketing water, food and energy prices, as well as the demise of agriculture.” While it’s clear that the decline in the state’s water reserves will have a very real economic and day-to-day impact on Californians in the near future, it’s also having an inexorable and devastating effect on the environment.
***
The distinctive, twisted trees of Joshua Tree National Park are dying. The high desert is becoming even hotter and drier than normal, dropping nearly 2 inches from its average of just over 4.5 inches of annual rainfall. The result: younger Joshua trees, which grow at a snail’s pace of around 3 inches per year, are perishing before they reach a foot in height. Their vanishing is a strong indicator that the peculiar trees of the park will not be replenished once they grow old and die. After analyzing national climate data The Desert Sun reported, “[In] places from Palm Springs to Tucson, [we] found that average monthly temperatures were 1.7 degrees Fahrenheit hotter during the past 20 years as compared to the average before 1960.”
This increase in temperatures and the decrease in yearly rainfall are transforming the landscape and vegetation of California. Sadly Joshua trees aren’t the only native plants having a rough time surviving the changing climate. Pinyon pines, junipers and other species are being killed by beetle infestations as winters become more mild. Writes Ian James in The Desert Sun, “Researchers have confirmed that many species of trees and shrubs are gradually moving uphill in the Santa Rosa Mountains, and in Death Valley, photographs taken decades apart have captured a stunning shift as the endangered dune grass has been vanishing, leaving bare wind rippled sand dunes.” Plants aren’t the only living organisms being dealt a losing hand. “[California’s] Native fishes and the ecosystems that support them are incredibly vulnerable to drought,” Peter Moyle, a professor at the UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences, noted at a drought summit in Sacramento last fall. “There are currently 37 species of fish on the endangered species list in California—and there is every sign that that number will increase.” Of those species, some eighty percent won’t survive if the trend continues. Scientists have also attributed the decline in tricolored blackbirds to the drought, which are also imperiled by development and pesticide use. Salmon runs, however, may be taking the brunt of the drought. According to to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, coho salmon may go extinct south of the Golden Gate straight in San Francisco if the rains don’t come quick. As environmental group Defenders of Wildlife notes, “All of the creeks between the Golden Gate and Monterey Bay are blocked by sandbars because of lack of rain, making it impossible for salmon to get to their native streams and breed. If critically endangered salmon do not get to their range to spawn this year, they could go extinct. This possible collapse of the salmon fishery is bad news for salmon fishermen and North Coast communities. California’s salmon industry is valued at $1.4 billion in economic activity annually and about half that much in economic activity and jobs in Oregon. The industry employs tens of thousands of people from Santa Barbara to northern Oregon.” And it’s not just the salmon fisheries that may dry up, so too may the real economic backbone of California: agriculture.
***
If you purchased a bundle of fresh fruits or vegetables in the U.S. recently, there’s nearly a 50 percent chance they were grown in California. And while we’ve become accustomed to paying very little for such goods compared to other Western countries, that may soon change.
A study released in July by the Center for Watershed Sciences at the University of California reported the ag industry in California in the first six months of 2014 has lost $2.2 billion and nearly 4% of all farm jobs—some 17,000 workers. As we’re only three years into what many believe is just the beginning of the crisis, those numbers are sure to increase.
“California’s agricultural economy overall is doing remark- ably well, thanks mostly to groundwater reserves,” said Jay Lund, who co-authored the study and directs the Center for Watershed Sciences. “But we expect substantial local and regional economic and employment impacts. We need to treat that groundwater well so it will be there for future droughts.”
The pumping of groundwater, which is being treated as an endless and bountiful resource, may be making up for recent water loss, but for how long remains to be seen. California is the only state in the country that does not have a framework for groundwater management.
“We have to do a better job of managing groundwater basins to secure the future of agriculture in California,” said Karen Ross, secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture. “That’s why we’ve developed the California Water Action Plan and a proposal for local, sustainable groundwater management.” Currently Gov. Brown’s administration has allocated $618.7 million to fund the Water Action Plan for 2014-2015.
Nonetheless, without significant rainfall, groundwater will not be replenished, and the state’s agribusiness and the nation’s consumers will most certainly be hit with the consequences.
Rigid conservation and appropriate resource management may act as a bandaid for California’s water crisis, but if climate models remain accurate, the melting of Arctic ice will continue to have a severe impact on the Pacific jet stream, weakening winter storm activity in the state.
It’s a precarious situation, not only for millions of people and the nation’s largest state economy—but it could be the death knell for much of California’s remaining wildlife and iconic beauty as well.
JOSHUA FRANK is managing editor of CounterPunch. He is author of Left Out! How Liberals Helped Reelect George W. Bush (Common Courage Press, 2005), and along with Jeffrey St. Clair, the editor of Red State Rebels: Tales of Grassroots Resistance in the Heartland and Hopeless: Barack Obama and the Politics of Illusion, both published by AK Press. He can be reached at [email protected]. You can follow him on Twitter@brickburner. |
There’s typically two touchscreen devices consumers use in 2014: a smartphone and a tablet. The smartphone fills all your communication and entertainment needs as well as being pocket-friendly, where as a tablet offers a larger screen to surf on, but is much less portable. However, that could all change with the introduction of folding touchscreen displays.
Proof of that comes from Semiconductor Energy Laboratory (SEL), which used the Display Innovation 2014 event in Japan last week to demonstrate a three-fold OLED touchscreen display.
The OLED touchscreen SEL has developed is 8.7-inches and has a resolution of 1920 x 1080 (254ppi). As well as including all the benefits of OLED (very low power use, excellent colors, thinness), SEL managed to make the screen fold in three. As you can see from the images, that allows what looks like a typical 8.7-inch tablet to fold down to be a device that’s closer in size to a smartphone.
The display itself weighs 6 grams and is clearly only a prototype for now, but it does give us a glimpse of one possible future for tablets and smartphones. Not only would this allow for a tablet that folds up to be pocket-friendly like a smartphone is, it means a smartphone could fold down to be something the size of a card case, for example. It could also mean the tablet and smartphone eventually merge into a single device.
This three-fold display should work without the need to develop electronic components that are capable of bending. The prototype folds down into a solid frame, which can be used to house the required components that allow a smartphone or tablet to function.
Of course, whether or not this folding display comes to market depends on just how resilient and reliable it is. Would it cope with being folded and unfolded multiple times a day? We may find out next year if a smartphone or tablet vendor takes an interest in SEL’s tech. |
For once we have riots that are not by anti-white black protesters — to whose violence Ferguson, among others, has accustomed us — but by indigenous Europeans defending their land against invaders.
In Rome, on the night of 10–11 November, a group of residents of the Tor Sapienza suburb living in public housing attempted to assault the local centre for refugees and asylum seekers incongruously named “Il sorriso” (The Smile), throwing stones and bottles and setting dumpsters on fire, amidst broken glass and screams of “We want to burn you”.
The reception centre houses over 40 youths — Gambians, Congolese, Ethiopians and other Africans, plus Afghans and Syrians — rescued from their boats crossing the Mediterranean.
The local residents have long been concerned about health and crime issues associated with Il sorriso and, after their complaints to the authorities went unheeded, they took matters into their own hands.
“The tension” said Tommaso Ippoliti, president of the Tor Sapienza Committee, “is skyrocketing. For years this neighbourhood has been abandoned, you cannot go out at night, and lately assaults and thefts have increased. A few days ago a girl walking her dog was molested in the park in mid-afternoon. As a committee we distance ourselves from the violence of last night, but people are rightly exasperated. We demand more security.”
“Police are scarce and the city has not responded to requests for more security and better controls of the migrant centres,” he added.
Burglaries, thefts from cars, physical attacks are of concern, but so is the deterioration of the area, including the poor lighting in the local park.
That’s why on 10 November about 150 people took to the streets for a spontaneous demonstration for “greater security in a neighbourhood overrun by immigrants,” and then the protest degenerated into incidents of urban warfare.
Subsequently, a rally of over 400 people representing more than a thousand local families was held on 11 November, leading to another protest outside the shelter. In the evening, 50 people launched cherry bombs, firecrackers and other objects — according to some witnesses even tear gas — against both the refugee centre and the police in riot gear permanently guarding the reception centre from the night before. Some cars were torched to stem the charge of the police aimed at dispersing the protesters. Two people, including a policeman, were taken to hospital with minor injuries.
Guests of the immigrant centre responded by throwing objects from their windows.
“It was a spontaneous action of some exasperated residents. It is not a question of racism, we’re just tired, we can’t take it anymore. In recent days there have been muggings, attempted rape and burgled apartments”, Ippoliti explains. “We are not extremists.”
There are at least three reception centres in the area, and a great number of immigrant squats and Roma camps.
The squalid public housing estate where the Italian protesters live, right in front of the modern reception centre for the immigrants, tells a lot of the whole story. Native residents rightly feel that a lot of taxpayers’ money is diverted into financing the business of “accoglienza” — welcoming and pampering foreigners — and not into addressing the pressing needs of Italians, at a time when Italy is undergoing its greatest economic crisis since the end of World War II.
The size of the crisis has led to cuts to local authority and welfare budgets, and buses are always too few and too crowded.
Tor Sapienza, on the eastern outskirts of Rome, is one of the worst suburbs of the capital, and often called a “dumping ground”.
It’s on this kind of peripheral neighbourhoods — the most affected by the crisis — that the burden of accoglienza is always shifted throughout Italy. In the central parts of town there are no refugee centres. The worse the area, the more negatively and seriously immigration is going to affect it.
Once again, as throughout the West, the costs of immigration fall disproportionately, if not exclusively, on the working and middle classes of the countries being inundated by non-European immigration, while elites can safely ignore the problems.
People of Tor Sapienza interviewed by Italian TV networks say that they are forced to go out in the morning carrying a knife for fear of assaults, and that in the area every 100 metres there is an apartment building of squatters while “our own people have no home.”
They say that men and women are unemployed. A girl says that she’s about to lose her job and her mother and brother are jobless, so she’s going to ask for the hospitality of the immigrant centre: 30 euros a day, accommodation, food, and cigarette voucher— not a bad deal.
Romanians have taken over the estate’s underground garages to live in. Why not? Police, says a man, never come to this area. Dozens of shop and market-stall owners have stopped business for fear of crime. Immigrants have even illegally built small houses.
Italians who don’t get the public housing they applied for are furious that immigrants get immediate accommodation.
They accuse the shelter’s guests of having taken over the children’s playground, which is full of broken bottles. A woman says that they defecate and urinate in public.
Still another reminds everyone of the complete lack of reciprocity when she says: “If I went to one of their countries they would kill me.”
“It’s not enough that immigrants walk around the estate on Viale Giorgio Morandi naked and throw things off balconies. Nobody can sleep because of the loud music,” complains resident Antonella Simoni.
“We feel like strangers in our own homes, surrounded by immigrants, nomads, transsexuals, pickpockets, and drunks,” adds Tullio.
No wonder the far-Right anti-immigration party Northern League reached 13% of preferences in the last opinion poll, for the first time becoming Italy’s third party, ahead of the 12.5% of Forza Italia, a party that was in government for many years, with its leader Silvio Berlusconi being Prime Minister four times.
In October the Northern League organised a demonstration in Milan attended by 100,000 people against illegal immigration, Islamisation and the European Union.
The protest of Tor Sapienza inhabitants is not the first in Rome in recent months. In September another suburb, Corcolle, protested against a refugee shelter after a string of assaults on bus drivers.
In the end the reception centre’s guests in Tor Sapienza were transferred for their own protection to another suburb, possibly even worse, the aptly-named Infernetto , which has already declared it doesn’t want them.
The urban warfare surrounding Il Sorriso centre has attracted lots of media coverage in Italy, where the mob has been accused of racism.
The various suburbs of Rome have united in a city-wide Coordinamento di Ribellione comprising 45 neighbourhood committees, which organised a massive demonstration against the mayor Ignazio Marino in which the protesters were wearing Pinocchio masks of his face. “The people will take this country back!” was the slogan.
The unrest has spread not only to other districts of Rome but also to other Italian cities.
There is talk of a new Italian civil war. The media are now saying that this was just the tip of the iceberg, and that the difficult cohabitation between Italians and immigrants has led to the explosion of social tensions accumulated over the years.
The rage is also directed, among others, at nomads, gypsies, squatters and immigrant occupants of public housing. Italy, like Britain, has a serious housing shortage. Also, since it is part of the Eurozone, Italy — unlike Britain — is in an economic straitjacket, and many people can’t pay their rent.
To date, Italy has rescued 160,000 people from the Mediterranean.
I asked my friend, journalist Alessandra Nucci, who lives in Italy, to give me her opinion on the Tor Sapienza incidents. This is her answer:
I think that the writing was on the wall, it was inevitable. You fill us with paupers, this year thousands at a time have entered the country, you keep them in style and you shower them with compassion. For years they’ve been given all: subsidised credit, public housing, professional courses, and on top of that praise and esteem. How can you expect Italians, who have had everything taken away from them, including their good name and recognition for having shared their own country with others, not to get furious?
Enza Ferreri is an Italian-born, London-based Philosophy graduate, writer and journalist. She has been a London correspondent for several Italian magazines and newspapers, including Panorama, L’Espresso, La Repubblica.
She blogs at www.enzaferreri.blogspot.co.uk. |
Republican lawmakers in the House and Senate rolled out legislation this week to repeal the "Johnson Amendment" that prevents religious institutions from endorsing political candidates.
The legislation was introduced in the House by Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) and Rep. Jody Hice (R-Ga.), and in the Senate by Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.).
The legislation comes after President Trump vowed to repeal the Johnson Amendment during his presidential campaign and reiterated that pledge during the National Prayer Breakfast Thursday.
"I am ... heartened that President Trump reaffirmed his commitment to repealing Johnson at this morning’s National Prayer Breakfast and look forward to working with him to make repeal a reality," Hice said in a news release.
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The bill would allow churches and other nonprofits that have tax-exempt status under section 501(c)(3) of the tax code to speak out about candidates as long as the political activity is made during the course of the organizations' regular activities and does not have a large cost.
"For too long, the IRS has used the Johnson Amendment to silence and threaten religious institutions and charitable entities," Hice said. "As a minister who has experienced intimidation from the IRS firsthand, I know just how important it is to ensure that our churches and nonprofit organizations are allowed the same fundamental rights as every citizen of this great Nation."
Meanwhile, the Secular Coalition for America on Thursday argued that the Johnson Amendment should stay in place.
"The repeal of the Johnson Amendment would unleash a new wave of dark money into the political system, effectively transforming houses of worship into the equivalent of religious Super PACS," said Larry T. Decker, the coalition's president. |
1997: Hong Kong handed over to Chinese control
Hong Kong has been handed back to the Chinese authorities - ending more than 150 years of British control.
The British flag was lowered over Government House - home to the last Governor Chris Patten for the past five years - at midnight last night.
The flag was presented to Mr Patten who was then driven off in his official Rolls Royce, before the car was handed over to Tung Chee-hwa, the territory's Chief Executive.
In his farewell speech, Mr Patten said: "The story of this great city is about the years before this night and the years of success that will surely follow it."
Britain has controlled Hong Kong island since 1842 - apart from a brief period during World War II when the Japanese took over.
A huge fireworks display lit up Victoria Harbour at 2000 local time. One hour later, 4,000 guests sat down to a banquet in the Convention Centre on the harbour front, while 509 Chinese troops crossed the land border into Hong Kong.
Among the guests for the final handover ceremony at the Convention Centre were Prince Charles, Prime Minister Tony Blair, Foreign Secretary Robin Cook and Chris Patten. Chinese dignitaries included President Jiang Zemin, Premier Li Peng, Foreign Minister Qian Qichen and military leader General Zhang Wannian.
Final farewell
In Beijing the ceremony was watched on giant screens erected in Tiananmen Square.
At the stroke of midnight, the red digits of the countdown clock turned to zero and the handpicked crowd roared its approval.
Shortly afterwards, Prince Charles and Mr Patten boarded the Royal Yacht Britannia and waved a final farewell to the strains of Rule Britannia and Land of Hope and Glory.
Just half an hour after the handover, there was a demonstration by the Hong Kong Democratic Party outside the Legislative Council building - but it did not delay the inauguration of the new Special Administrative Region government.
Tung Chee-hwa was sworn in as Hong Kong's new leader.
"This is a momentous and historic day ... Hong Kong and China are whole again," said Mr Tung.
But he promised, "We value this empowerment and we will exercise our powers prudently and responsibly." |
It looks like Moto E (2nd Gen) 4G LTE owners are in for a treat today, as Motorola appears to be pushing out an update to Android 5.1. The update is arriving on phones as build 23.11.15, which is the same version we first outed a week ago when we pointed out the fact that Motorola was on the verge of unleashing a wave of 5.1 updates to a variety of devices.
At least one of our readers, along with a number of Moto E 4G LTE owners over at XDA with version XT1527 of the phone are seeing the update pop up. Keep in mind that as far as we can tell, these are not soak testers, they are receiving the update as if it were live and rolling out in stages.
We haven’t seen the update yet on our Moto E 4G LTE, but will continue to check over the next few days.
Cheers Matthew! |
Willie Taggart is one step closer to completing his coaching staff for a second time in less than two months.
On Tuesday Taggart and the Oregon Ducks officially announced the hiring of Marcus Arroyo.
Arroyo will serve as Co-Offensive Coordinator, as well as coach the team's quarterbacks and tight ends. Arroyo spent the last two seasons at Oklahoma State coaching running backs.
Arroyo's work with OSU's running backs in 2016 saw the Cowboys increase their rushing average from 3.6 yards per carry and 126.8 yards per game to 4.52 yards per carry and 170.9 yards per game. Freshman Justice Hill set an OSU freshman rushing record in 2016 with 1,142 yards.
Prior to coaching at Oklahoma State, Arroyo had stops with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFL coaching quarterbacks and as an offensive coordinator. He also spent time coaching at Southern Mississippi State, California, Wyoming, San Jose State, and Prairie View A&M.
Arroyo played college football at San Jose State from 1998-2002.
The Oregon Ducks and Willie Taggart have one spot left on the coaching staff, and it's expected to be filled by Michael Johnson. |
The world bourgeoisie, in their evaluations of the Russian Revolution, say it “failed,” and this proves socialism can never be achieved — certainly not through a revolution of the workers and the oppressed.
Maybe a little bit of “socialism” is OK in the eyes of some of them. By that they mean giving in to mass pressure for the capitalist state to play a larger role in mitigating the suffering of the people. But it usually takes a near rebellion for a capitalist government to institute socialized medicine, for example, or even Social Security pensions, which became law in this country in 1935, during the tumult of the Depression.
But allow the masses to have their own state power? Never, say the bosses.
In this series, we have gone over some of the deep material reasons for the weakening of the revolution, which eventually led to the dissolution of the USSR and the return of capitalist wage slavery to that vast region. But we reject the idea that the revolution itself failed. It was overcome eventually, but it left a profound impact around the world.
Even while it was struggling to build up its economy after severe underdevelopment and wartime destruction, the USSR was giving aid to countries fighting imperialism.
Soviet support for other revolutions
During the 1950-53 imperialist war against the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the Soviet Union provided MiG fighter planes, and eventually pilots, to defend both the Chinese and Korean forces under attack from the U.S.
It supported liberation movements in Angola, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Namibia and South Africa. It helped the Ethiopian Revolution. It supported Vietnam in its struggles against French colonial rule and then U.S. imperialist intervention. And it intervened militarily in support of the revolutionary government in Afghanistan that was under attack from a CIA-armed and -trained reactionary army of warlords.
Yes, Afghanistan had a revolution in 1978 that set up a very progressive government which freed the peasants from debt and fought for women’s rights, sending young teachers — women and men — to the countryside. The U.S. armed and trained the counterrevolution — yet claims that its bombing of villagers in Afghanistan today is meant to promote democracy.
In supporting the Cuban Revolution, the USSR went to the brink of a military confrontation with the U.S. — the so-called “missile crisis” — in October 1962. The crisis ended when the Kennedy administration pledged not to invade Cuba again. (The CIA had organized the failed Bay of Pigs invasion in April 1961.)
For the first 31 years of its existence, the Soviet Union had stood virtually alone as the only country in the world attempting to build socialism. The one exception was the Mongolian Revolution of 1921. Aided by the Soviet Red Army, the Mongolians drove out Russian White Guards who had invaded their country. In 1924, they proclaimed the People’s Republic of Mongolia. But Mongolia was very isolated, with a small population.
In 1948, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea was founded, followed a year later by the triumph of People’s China. The common thread in all these revolutions was that they were carried out by parties based in the working class whose ultimate aim was to create a socialist society.
From day one, the main objective of the imperialists has been to break up the solidarity among these countries — just as it is doing today regarding China and the DPRK. It uses the carrot, but mostly the stick — the very big stick of threatening nuclear war.
Can nukes stave off social advance?
Take away the nuclear weapons of the imperialist powers and what do we see? A dying system, choking on its own productivity.
If capitalism continues to be the dominant system, the youth of today will inhabit a world in which the gap between the haves and have-nots will have reached even more monstrous proportions. It is in the nature of capitalism to concentrate ownership of the means of production in fewer and fewer hands. While this may be concealed in the illusion that everyone with stocks owns a part of a company, even if it’s just through a pension plan or other market-based savings accounts, the truth comes out in the wealth figures.
An amazing chart, based on recent analysis of incomes, shows that since 1982, almost the entire growth in income in the U.S. has gone to the richest 1 percent of the population. (New York Times, Aug. 7) And in the last few years, the very, very, very rich — the top 0.001 percent — have seen the largest economic growth.
And this is BEFORE the changes in taxes and government regulation proposed by the Trump administration have been enacted.
If capitalism remains the dominant system, the racism, sexism, homophobia and scapegoating of immigrants — all of which serve the interests of capital by dividing the working class and thus lowering wages — will persist despite all the struggles against them.
Changing consciousness has begun
Clearly, a day of reckoning is long overdue. Consciousness often lags behind reality, but when it comes, it comes with a bang.
Today’s generation is already reflecting the future. Capitalism is a dirty word. In a YouGov poll taken in January 2016, 43 percent of those in the 18-29 age bracket said they favored socialism; only 26 percent said it was unfavorable.
By March 18 of this year, the right-wing National Review was writing: “Socialism’s Rising Popularity Threatens America’s Future.”
If this is true in the United States, the bastion of world capitalism, it is doubly or triply true in the rest of the world. The capitalists have nothing to offer the vast majority, and instead seem intent on wrecking the planet rather than reining in their pursuit of more obscene profits.
Who is this young generation who have made what the National Review calls “a tectonic shift” in their views, compared to their elders? They are overwhelmingly young workers, whether they’ve been able to nail down a steady job or not. A large proportion are doubly or triply oppressed — because of their national origin, their color, gender and/or sexual orientation. And if they’ve tried to get a higher education in order to break into the job market, they are already debtors, tied to the financial system just as securely as those in debtors’ prisons in Charles Dickens’ times.
Speaking in Marxist terms, they represent a shift in consciousness of the workers, based on the new reality of capitalism having reached a dead end, unable to resolve its inner contradictions.
Every huge corporation now in existence wants to cut labor costs and expand its market. That’s what keeps the owners and investors happy.
They do it in several ways: eliminating jobs through automation and computerization, cutting wages and benefits, speeding up production and/or moving their operations to regions like the U.S. South or other countries where wages are lower.
While Trump blames Mexico for job losses in the U.S., the real culprits are Trump’s capitalist cronies who specialize in pitting workers against one another so they can pay the lowest wages. This was true as far back as the 1880s, when immigrant workers were being blamed (by the bosses’ politicians) for low wages (that the bosses forced on them).
Thus, the prospects for the future under capitalism are bleak indeed.
But take the same high level of technological development now achieved and put it to use raising living standards, reducing back-breaking labor, providing education and health care for all, harmonizing production with environmental protection, and liberating culture from the corrosive effects of racism, sexism, homophobia, class oppression and corporate consumerism. Then there is definitely a bright light at the end of the tunnel.
All this is sinking in as we write. Consciousness does eventually catch up to reality. And the reality is that there is no future for the workers — or the planet itself — under capitalism.
The Soviet Union showed that life for the workers could be improved enormously under a workers’ state and a planned economy. It never reached the level of full socialism, having to battle the world bourgeoisie for its entire existence, but it raised up tens of millions of workers and peasants from abject poverty and oppression. Its fall opened the floodgates of reaction and let capitalism be capitalism — unvarnished. And that opened the eyes of the new generation.
Now the ball is in our court. It will be up to the workers and politically conscious youth and oppressed peoples in the more developed, more utterly irrational bastions of rotting capitalism, to carry forward the world revolutionary struggle to break the billionaires’ grip on our planet.
That’s what the ruling class fears the most. And it should.
100th anniversary of Bolshevik Revolution |
Roger Page purchased his home in East Bilney, a Norfolk farming community, about 25 years ago. For the better part of those 25 years, he bore no ill will toward the moles. He was fond of wildlife, or at least what little of it remained in the country. A family of deer foraged in the backyard. Foxes lolled in the road at dusk. Moles were a rarity.
Page worked as a commercial pilot and when the occasional molehill erupted on his lawn, he would pat it down before departing again to New York or Hong Kong. They seemed to have an understanding, he and the moles. They mostly kept to the woods, while Page mostly kept to the garden.
But after he retired five years ago, Page expanded his back lawn and the moles became more persistent. As more and more molehills sprung up, Page came to feel as if their labours were engineered to produce in him the maximum anguish. He purchased traps at the garden centre, but they would often remain unsprung or – worse – sprung and empty.
He decided to escalate his counter-assault. During a stopover in Amsterdam, he bought a pungent bag of flower bulbs advertised as a natural mole deterrent. (The moles didn’t mind.) Next, he installed a solar-powered mole repeller, a torpedo-shaped device that emits vibrations that are supposed to keep the moles away. (The moles carried on.) He tried flooding them out with a water hose. (Moles are strong swimmers.) Finally, he tried suffocating them with the exhaust of his lawnmower. (Moles can survive in low‑oxygen environments.)
Page knew it wasn’t healthy to go on like this. Last September, he found the phone number of a woman named Louise Chapman, also known as the Lady Mole Catcher of Norwich. Traditional mole catching in Britain has experienced a resurgence following a 2006 European Union ban on strychnine, and Chapman is one of many trying to profit from the boom. A former drama teacher, she has been profiled in national newspapers and travelled to Australia in 2016 to be featured in the first season of a reality television show called Deadliest Pests Down Under, where she applied pink lipstick before hunting a funnel web spider. With the help of a business coach, she has also tried marketing Country Mole Catcher™ franchises across the country, offering newcomers to the business everything they need to get started for £7,500, plus a cut of their proceeds.
Chapman is a compact blonde woman, and – when she’s on the job – clad in Wellington boots. When we arrived at Page’s home, she popped open the back of her white Audi estate car and retrieved a bucket containing plastic flags, a garden spade and a long metal rod with a bulb on the end – a mole probe.
We followed Page to the side of his house. There, a ragged strip of lawn about the size of a tennis court lay dotted with patches of overturned earth, each patch spaced every two feet or so. The lawn looked as though it had been strafed by artillery. Chapman walked the length of it, taking note of small details: a crack in the soil, a dead patch of grass, a pile of fresh dirt. She saw herself as an archaeologist who could reconstruct the workings of an underground metropolis based on the scantest traces on the surface.
“I reckon there are three,” Chapman said at last. She gave Page a quote for the work: £80 for the first mole with the price dropping to £60 a mole for two or more. She couldn’t promise to dispatch them on the first visit or even the second one. It could take weeks, but he didn’t have to pay a penny if she wasn’t successful. “No mole, no fee,” they call it in the business. “You’ve already tried to catch them, and they might have got wily,” she warned.
Clients are sometimes taken aback by Chapman’s prices, which she makes a point of delivering in person. Page, however, readily agreed that it was worth it for his sanity, and Chapman got to work. She began by cutting a cube of turf from the roof of the mole run and carefully set it on the ground. Then, she inserted a trap shaped like a fizzy drink can into the hole and covered it with a few clumps of grass. This trap, known as the Duffus half-barrel and first patented in 1920, is based on traditional designs made of a clay or wooden barrel and a horsehair snare powered by a bent stick. In the modern metal trap, a spring-loaded wire loop functions as the snare. When the mole enters the device, it makes it halfway through this loop before brushing against the trigger. The wire loop then accelerates upward, crushing the mole against the trap’s curved roof.
Page was clearly torn between his desire to have an attractive lawn and the violent death he was about to sanction. “I don’t like killing animals,” he said. Chapman, on her hands and knees, looked up from her work. “You were driven to it,” she told him. When she had finished setting traps, she said that either she or her colleague Carole would return “in a few days”.
Page was clearly torn between his desire to have an attractive lawn and the violent death he was about to sanction
Chapman tossed off those last words casually, but they represented one of the most divisive issues in mole catching today. Unlike mousetraps, mole traps do not kill instantly and do not always kill cleanly. The world of mole catching is bitterly divided between those who believe that traps should be checked every 24 hours – to ensure that any injured moles are dispatched quickly, rather than being left to die a slow and agonising death – and those who don’t.
Because of the expense of driving out to check an empty trap day after day, opponents of such regulations argue that it would hasten the extinction of mole catching as it has been practised for centuries. “It will criminalise all the mole-catchers,” Chapman says. Britain would be overrun by molehills, which are not only unsightly, but can also potentially spread disease to livestock, trip up horses on race-courses, and ruin golf courses and football pitches. To professionals such as Chapman, such threats appear to outweigh the possibility that a maimed mole or an unfortunate weasel could be squirming in pain beneath someone’s lawn for days.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest A mole hill in front of the Langdale Pikes, in the Lake District. Photograph: Alamy
The idea of a professional who specialises in mole control can seem like a quaint relic from the past. In the 18th century mole-catchers were employed by every parish in England to keep the mole population under control. Catching these creatures required such skill that practitioners were remunerated more generously than surgeons. Mole-catchers zealously guarded their methods, divulging them only to their own children.
The earliest English descriptions of mole catching practically take the form of spells. Roger Sharrock, in 1660, advised his readers to cut up red herrings, burn them, and place the pieces in the mouths of molehills. In a pinch, garlic or leeks might also work. “I have not tryed these ways,” Sharrock added, “and therefore refer the Reader to his own tryal, belief or doubt.”
For a mole-catcher to be successful today, he or she must engage the client with the most romantic notions of his profession. This, at least, is the theory of Duncan Emmett, a mole-catcher in his 60s who has the long beard of a wizard. “If you take that magic away, if you take that showmanship away, then all you are left with is the killing,” Emmett told me at a dimly lit pub near his home in Biggleswade, Bedfordshire. “Because you have to kill the mole, haven’t you? That isn’t an easy thing for a lot of people to bear.”
Even in agricultural settings, mole catching still takes the form of an annual rite. Outside the town of Ludlow, near the Welsh border, I visited a sheep paddock where 40 or 50 dead moles had hung from a barbed-wire fence for so many years that their desiccated bodies had turned greenish from lichen. It looked like a ceremonial sacrifice. Although the practice is fading, mole-catchers employ such gibbets to prove that the promised work is completed, and farmers use them to niggle their neighbours into clearing their own fields.
The word “mole” is thought to derive from the middle English word mouldwarp, which literally means earth-thrower. The animals’ forelimbs are cartoonishly large, pink and practically hairless, and, apart from an extra digit, have the appearance of a doll’s hands. So prized were moles’ hands that farmers once kept them in silk bags as talismans for good luck and to ward off toothache, epilepsy and scrofula.
Moles dig their tunnel systems to catch earthworms, shoving the excavated earth out of vertical passageways to produce molehills. In a 1976 study, researchers counted 7,380 molehills on a single hectare of English pasture, estimating their total weight to be 64,500kg. Sheep that eat dirt from molehills can die from listeriosis, while winter feed for dairy cattle can become foul-tasting or toxic if contaminated by soil bacteria.
Moles can be detrimental in other ways as well. Nearly every British mole-catcher can tell you the story of King William III. On 21 February 1702, he was riding his horse at Hampton Court when it tripped on a molehill and threw him to the ground. He broke his collarbone and developed pneumonia, which killed him two weeks later. (His enemies in Scotland are said to have raised toasts to “the little gentleman in the black velvet waistcoat”.)
Mole control became a national policy in 1566, when a bitter cold period known as the Little Ice Age threatened England’s food supply. Queen Elizabeth passed “An Acte for the Preservation of Grayne”, which would remain in force for the next three centuries. The law prescribed bounties to be paid for the destruction of a long and dubious list of agricultural vermin, including everything from hedgehogs to kingfishers. Some parishes paid out a half-penny per mole, others appointed mole-catchers with contracts lasting up to 21 years. In addition to their salaries, mole-catchers sold the silky mole skins, which were prized for the tailoring of waistcoats.
In the early 20th century, worms dipped in strychnine became the preferred method for controlling moles on farms. The poison blocks nerve receptors along the spinal cord, causing the victim to become frantic and hyper-stimulated. Their body is overcome by painful convulsions which lead to a backward arching of the head, neck, and spine, a state known as opisthotonus. And because strychnine doesn’t break down in animal tissue, it can also ripple through the food chain when a bird of prey or even a domestic dog consumes a poisoned mouse or mole.
In 1963, when the House of Commons was debating a bill to ban the poison, David Renton, the minister of state for the Home Office, testified that moles “strangely enough” failed to show “the same symptoms of pain” as other animals. In the end, the law banned strychnine for mice and rats, but exempted moles because no ready substitute existed. In the following decades, British farmers purchased more than 50kg of strychnine each year – enough, in theory, to kill half a billion moles. (The entire mole population in Great Britain has been estimated at 31 million.)
The poison was only phased out with the European Union’s new pesticide regulations in 2006, which led British newspapers to make grave predictions of a mole explosion. At the same time, the regulation led to the rise of the modern mole-catcher, drawing in dreamers who wanted to make a living from this unusual business.
When Louise Chapman first started trapping moles in 2014, she joined an organisation named the Guild of British Molecatchers and took a class with its founder, Jeff Nicholls, who is considered a leading authority on the topic. The Guild, which was founded in 2008, is one of three mole-catching organisations in the country and has about 150 dues-paying members, along with 200 registered supporters.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest ‘The mole’s forelimbs are cartoonishly large, pink and practically hairless’ Photograph: imageBROKER/Alamy/Alamy
Unlike the British Mole Catchers Register and the Association of Professional Mole Catchers, the Guild has strict rules about checking traps daily. A letter that the Guild sent out to members in 2009 explained that daily trap checking was “gaining a strong momentum from numerous sources” and the Guild had adopted “a self-regulating stance before it is dictated to us by some bureaucratic directive in Brussels”.
Chapman claims to have known none of this and, one day in October 2014, she was surprised to receive notice that she was being kicked out of the Guild. Its agents had evidently discovered that she was failing to follow its rules. “I tried being reasonable, and they don’t want to play like that,” Chapman told me.
Chapman didn’t just join a competing organisation, she bought up one that already existed. Membership in the British Mole Catchers Register would give mole-catchers credibility and visibility, she promised. At £75 per year to join, it also costs nearly twice as much as the Guild.
When I first began looking into the Guild of British Mole Catchers, I was surprised to find that Jeff Nicholls’s name is not included in the list of officers on the website. He had spoken to me briefly by telephone, but later proved difficult to communicate with, responding to my emails erratically and failing to answer my questions directly. He was friendly in a way, but he expressed a fear that I might invalidate his life’s work. He was, he told me, on the verge of a kind of breakthrough in ensuring higher welfare standards for the mole, and he was concerned about his own safety. “I’ve been told to sleep with one eye open because I might smell smoke,” he told me, referring to an anonymous phone call he had received from a molecatcher who was unhappy with his efforts on behalf of Britain’s moles. I decided that I had to meet him in person.
It had just stopped raining when I arrived at the Royal County of Berkshire Show, held near Reading. The air was heavy with the scent of wet grass and animal manure. After circling the grounds, I finally found what I was looking for: a makeshift arena decorated like a Smurf village with artificial flowers, cartoon backdrops, and two wooden chests with signs warning: “Danger Keep your Distance”. A stout man with a rosy complexion popped out from a tent behind the stage. Nicholls had a red scarf around his neck, a canvas hat on his head, and a headset microphone bent in front of his mouth. “Ladies and gentlemen,” he announced, “I’m a professional grass shark hunter.” With that, the show began.
On stage, Nicholls directed his wife to remove the chains from a number of boxes, and warned onlookers to run in the other direction should he drop them. He cracked the lid of one of the boxes and produced a 3ft-tall mole puppet he had had custom made in California. It was named Freckles. Over the course of the half-hour show, as Nicholls delved into the mole’s life and habits, his style shifted from corny to educational and back again. “Do moles smell?” he asked. “If you leave them in the back of the car, they do.”
When you leave this planet, you must leave something behind or there’s no point in being. My path is moles Jeff Nicholls
After the show, I introduced myself and Nicholls eyed me suspiciously. He warmed a little as his passion bubbled up and he offered me a cheese and onion sandwich from his cool box. “I just want to fight for the moles, who have had such a bad deal for so many years,” he said.
Nicholls has been catching moles since he was a boy, when he had to make his own traps, and all those years of killing had not numbed him to the plight of his prey. It had only furthered his certainty that they deserve better. What he wanted was a simple thing. The government currently recommends that mole-catchers check their traps daily to ensure that moles are not suffering unduly. Nicholls would like that rule change to be mandatory.
“I say to my boys – my youngest is 26 – when you leave this planet, you must leave something behind or there’s no point in being. Either a book or a song or a sculpture,” Nicholls said. “My path is moles. I must do something for them, get this welfare for them before I leave this planet.”
There is something jarring about the idea of a humane kill, as though the fact of taking a life can be mitigated by minimising the pain inflicted during death. Most authorities agree that what is known as the “time to irreversible unconsciousness” is the relevant variable in determining how humane a kill-trap is. Whereas a standard mouse trap will dispatch the animal instantly by snapping the spine from above, the Duffus style of mole trap applies its blow to the chest, with less predictable results.
The shortcomings of the Duffus trap have been known for a long time. In 1951, a committee reporting to the British legislature on animal cruelty wrote that “the spring of the ordinary type of mole-trap was too weak to kill instantaneously”. More recently, a 2004 report on mole control by the Department of Environment Farming and Rural Agriculture (Defra) concluded that, “The performance of existing kill-traps (or the way they are used) is questionable as a more humane alternative to the use of strychnine.”
I saw the brutality of the Duffus trap with my own eyes when I rode around with a mole-catcher named John Noblett, whose work largely comes from dairy farms in Lancashire. Noblett is the embodiment of the 21st-century mole-catcher, a straight-shooter with no time for the theatre of some of his colleagues. He sometimes bags more than 6,000 moles per year, and he sets so many traps that he has a GPS mounted on his quad bike to pinpoint their location. He has earned the title “Master Mole Catcher” from the Guild and wants nothing more than a clean, humane kill.
When he pulled one freshly-laid trap from the ground, the mole inside was still alive with the thin belt of metal cinched around its waist. All four of its feet were waving around in sad circles. Noblett whipped the animal against a metal box on the back of the idling quad, and the life went out of it. He set the limp creature down on its side. A perfect sphere of blood bubbled up out of its ear.
Man v rat: could the long war soon be over? | Jordan Kisner Read more
Nicholls, as part of a lobbying effort, has amassed a dossier of suffering, collating his own disturbing accounts and testimonies from like-minded colleagues such as Noblett. The 37-page report, which Nicholls shared with me, contains a photograph of a mole caught by just one paw. Another, by its snout. According to Nicholls, other styles of traps, including the popular scissors trap, are generally less humane than the Duffus. In the report, Nicholls describes how he has spent years setting traps and waiting for them to trigger, so that he could closely monitor their efficacy. “It was a long process and worth every hour,” he writes. What he witnessed confirmed all his worst suspicions about the cruelty of his beloved profession. Never once did he witness a mole receive a fatal strike. Quite regularly, he saw moles struck below their bellies struggling for more than five minutes as their bodies filled with blood. “I was in fact allowing moles to suffer in the traps I set – this undetected misery was in my hands and was and is totally unnecessary suffering.”
The observations led Nicholls, in 2008, to design a modifed Duffus trap for Procter Brothers, a Welsh company founded in 1740. This trap, which has a stronger spring to make it a more efficient killing machine, is widely available, but there is no legal requirement to use it over other trap styles.
Under the Pests Act of 1954, trappers can only use approved traps to kill stoats, weasels, rabbits, and squirrels and they must be checked at least once per day. Nicholls cannot understand why moles and rodents do not merit the same protection. Several years ago, a European Union study on trapping vindicated Nicholls’ views, concluding that “there is no scientific justification for not including all species” in trapping regulations and that kill traps “should be inspected once every 24 hours”. While some may think live trapping moles offers a humane alternative, a wet mole in a cold plastic tube can quickly succumb to starvation or hypothermia. (There is also the question of where to release them. Because moles are highly territorial, if they are released in a neighboring territory, they will potentially tear each other to pieces.)
Nicholls is tight-lipped about his government contacts, but he has had the ear of politicians such as Chris Davies, a Liberal Democrat and former member of the European parliament, who previously came out in support of the strychnine ban. Bernard Donoughue, the Labour peer and former minister for Farming and the Food Industry, was once listed on the Guild’s website as a “patron”. In the last year, Nicholls claims he has got his report in the hands of someone “as high as you can go” at Defra, which has the power to set trapping regulations.
One reason that Nicholls is so careful not to reveal too much about his political contacts is that at every opportunity he has had to advance his cause, he has been foiled by his nemesis, Duncan Emmett. In 2008, Emmett cofounded the Association of Professional Mole Catchers, as a counterweight to the Guild of British Mole Catchers. When Nicholls tried to get the Guild’s code of practice endorsed by an umbrella organisation of British pest controllers, Emmett rallied his own members to halt it. When Emmett heard that Nicholls was trying to get new rules passed in Scotland, he filed freedom of information requests with the government so that he could challenge it. (Emmett declined to share the information he obtained from these requests.)
Facebook Twitter Pinterest ‘Unlike other species, such as the grey squirrel, which were introduced by humans in recent centuries, the resident mole has lived in Britain for more than 350,000 years’ Photograph: Tony Evans /Timelaps/Getty Images
When I spoke with Emmett, he told me that daily trap-checking would be devastating to his members because of the potential cost and time required to drive out to the same yard again and again. Nor did Emmett believe that such rules would achieve any measurable advancement in mole welfare. Why not check traps twice a day as they do in Sweden? Or every four hours? Or five minutes?
Despite putting up a good fight, Emmett admitted that a rule change is inevitable. The public concern over animal welfare will, he believes, be decisive. “He [Nicholls] will pull it off in the end,” Emmett said. “People don’t want a mole in their garden, but they don’t necessarily want to see it cut in half and displayed on their gate.”
In an era when farmers and foodies alike have embraced the idea of sustainability, a call to a pest controller, with their traps and chemicals, feels like a sin. The central dilemma of the modern mole-catcher is to demonstrate that not only are their services ethically sound but that they are also valuable and necessary. Some scientists believe this may not be an easy task.
On a blustery Sunday morning, I met Rob Atkinson near his home in Ludlow. Atkinson is the former chief scientist for the RSPCA and author of the natural history book The Mole. Although he corresponded with Nicholls while at the RSPCA and has supported research on mole traps, he came to realise that they had different goals. For Atkinson, it wasn’t enough to find nicer ways to kill moles – he didn’t want them to be killed at all.
Atkinson is a soft-spoken, thoughtful man who has wavy grey hair and a downy white beard, and I couldn’t imagine him harming a single creature. He admitted to me, however, that he was once tasked with clearing moles out of his parents’ garden. He still remembers the excitement he felt when he would see a sprung trap. But, he added, “even, then, there was this sadness”. The landscape, once dynamic and alive, soon grew still. The rain washed over the molehills and they gradually flattened out. “You’ve done what you intended to do, but there’s a feeling that something is gone that was once here,” he said. Moles are in no danger of becoming extinct, but they are a reminder of Britain’s ancient natural history. Unlike other species, such as the grey squirrel, which were introduced by humans in recent centuries, the resident mole has lived in Britain for more than 350,000 years.
In the late 1980s, Atkinson studied the lives of moles while working on his master’s degree at the University of Oxford. He interviewed farmers about their impact, and tracked the movements of moles in the field. He came to the conclusion that mole catching was, for the most part, useless – a practice that should have died out years ago. In fact, scientists believe that moles benefit vegetable crops by turning the soil and eating pests. Overall, the annual cost of moles to the £25bn British agriculture industry has been estimated at less than £5m. “If you don’t like them on your lawn, does that give you a reason to kill them?” Atkinson asked me.
He told me about one particular moment that had stayed with him from his research around Oxford. It was summer and dry weather had driven the moles so deep underground that he rarely saw much activity on the surface. Then, one evening at dusk, Atkinson was walking through a field when he heard a noise like crinkling paper. It was the sound of grass roots snapping. The ground rose up, creased and fissured. Earthworms fled to the surface.
The earth split open. Atkinson spotted a mole’s snout poking through the soil, periscope-like. He fell to the ground and dangled a live worm. The mole snatched it between its jaws. It didn’t swallow the worm immediately. Instead, it ran its claws along the length of the worm, sloughing the unwanted dirt from inside the translucent body like small pink fingers squeezing a tube of toothpaste. It was one of the most magnificent things that Atkinson had ever witnessed. Next thing he knew, the mole had gobbled up the worm and disappeared.
Main image: Tony Evans/Timelaps/Getty Images
This article was amended on 13 March 2017. The misreading of a graph and a further miscalculation resulted in the author originally stating that in the decades after the 1960s British farmers purchased more than 50,000kg of strychnine each year – enough, in theory, to kill 2.5bn moles. Those figures should have been 50kg and half a billion respectively. This has been corrected.
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November 18, 2015
We’re sharing our alpha build of Eco next week, November 23rd, and we’re wrapping up the core features for that release: buildings, skills, farming/food, research, meteor.
You can upgrade/create your pledge here if you want to check out the game during alpha: http://www.strangeloopgames.com/eco/
Here’s the updates for the week:
Eric – [email protected]
Worked on all manner of various bugs in push towards alpha release.
Building up our playtest settlement:
Craft table setup:
Fuller – [email protected]
Bug stomping.
Also finished up the tech tree, added some extra items to fill out the more advanced tiers.
Here’s a picture of our Strange Loop Settlement:
John – [email protected]
Getting things sorted for our alpha release next week! Reviewing, iterating, and bug fixing on skills, crafting, buildings, ecosystem, and laws. We moved our task tracker from Pivotal back to Trello (since they wanted to start charging, and there were some features we liked better in Trello). The board is public so you can check it out here: https://trello.com/b/nnQinvmW/eco
Keegan – [email protected]
I’ve been working on some crafting table tweaks, back on the meteor effects, and just overall now going around doing touch-ups and quick content additions to fill in gaps for alpha. Working with Milenko on our strategy for assets in the future, and of course we’re all finally starting to get to testing things in game now.
Milenko – [email protected]
Been a busy week. Did some pitch art for something else, tried out an art pipeline for our 3D assets, did a bunch of new icons, did a quick sketch of the anti asteroid space laser and started looking back at the environment revisions, trees and all kinds of other stuff.
Thanks and hope to see you in our alpha test. |
In terms of total dollars, 31-year-old relief pitcher Jonathan Broxton, who agreed to terms on a two-year, $7.5 million contract, was the second biggest free agent signing by the St. Louis Cardinals this offseason (behind the $80 million deal for Mike Leake, of course). Sure, with four years remaining on a previously-signed six-year contract, utility infielder Jedd Gyorko is owed more money than Broxton, but Gyorko was acquired via trade with the Padres, so his contract status is a bit more complicated, particularly in 2016.
Regardless, after the team declined Broxton's $9 million mutual option at the start of the offseason, he was brought back (at a more team-friendly price) to play a fairly significant bullpen role in 2016. It must be noted that the uncertainty of the Jordan Walden's shoulder health most definitely factored into Broxton's return. Also, as suggested by managing editor Craig Edwards in the podcast from Sunday, I would not be surprised if part of the reasoning behind bringing Broxton back was his direct involvement in the trade that shipped a low-floor, but at the same time, high-ceiling prospect (Malik Collymore) to the Brewers at last year's non-waiver deadline.
As I try to do with any new pitcher signing (or pitching prospect call-up, for that matter), I will now take a look at what the Cardinals can expect from Broxton in 2016 (and 2017, I guess, considering he signed a two-year deal):
Fastball Velocity (via BrooksBaseball.net)
While the slope of the lines can be deceiving (almost as if to suggest that Broxton is barely touching 90 MPH anymore), he was still consistently throwing 95+ MPH in 2015. That being said, averaging a shade over 95 MPH is considerably slower than his 2007 through 2009 years when he was averaging 97-98 MPH. For perspective, Broxton was worth 6.8 fWAR during this three year span, second highest among MLB relievers behind only the great Mariano Rivera (7.0). With declining velocity, Broxton must continue to fine-tune the other pitches in his repertoire, as detailed below (using 2015 PitchF/x data):
Pitch Frequency Velocity (MPH) Fourseamer 43.44% 95.22 Sinker 19.15% 94.29 Slider 30.21% 88.13 Curveball 2.37% 77.49 Splitter 4.64% 88.25
There is nothing too surprising here as Broxton has primarily been a fastball-slider guy over the course of his 11-year career. Of note, though, Broxton seems to have begun throwing a splitter in 2015, as July 12th was the first game on record to include such a pitch. At 4.64%, it may be a pitch he simply experimented with and will ultimately scrap going forward. But if he is able to build on the pitch during spring training, he profiles to have a pretty complex repertoire, particularly for a reliever. Plus, a fastball (95 MPH)-slider (88 MPH)-splitter (88 MPH) combination can be a nightmare for hitters from a pitch tunneling perspective (for those interested, my very rough MS Paint representation of the concept).
2015 Statistics
Team IP K% BB% ERA FIP fWAR Brewers 36.2 23.7% 6.4% 5.89 3.71 0.2 Cardinals 23.2 25.7% 11.9% 2.66 3.56 0.1
Look no further than the ERA column (2.66 versus 5.89) to see that Broxton enjoyed more success with the Cardinals than he did with the Brewers in 2015. And while we see a slight increase in his strikeout rate with St. Louis, his walk rate ballooned (by nearly 86%) while wearing the Birds on the Bat. Predictably, a good portion of the demonstrated difference in his ERAs can be attributed to batted-ball luck, as he was forced to deal with a BABIP of .346 while with Milwaukee as opposed to a more reasonable .295 while with St. Louis (.296 was league average in 2015).
Given what we saw in 2015 and an understanding of the aging process in fastball-dependent pitchers, one can reasonably expect a slight decrease in strikeout rate going forward, but at the same time, a decrease in walk rate, as the 11.9% with the Cardinals appears to be a statistical blip when compared to his career numbers.
Where does this leave Broxton? An average to slightly above-average relief pitcher, which, has value. Now, he won't be threatening Trevor Rosenthal or Kevin Siegrist for the closer or set-up man roles, but he won't be reserved for Carlos Villanueva-type mop-up duty, either.
Over the last three seasons, manager Mike Matheny has relied heavily on Seth Maness in middle-inning, yet still high-leverage situations. With Broxton and Seung-hwan Oh now in the mix, Matheny has more options for these situations, and both project to be more productive than Maness in 2016. It remains to be seen who will be used in the typical "two-men on, one out" scenario, but it doesn't hurt to have more than one pitcher to choose from, a luxury Matheny did not necessarily have last season.
2016 ZiPS Projection for Broxton (via @DSzymborski)
IP K% BB% ERA FIP zWAR 52.2 21.4% 8.0% 3.59 3.60 0.3
Given his projected role, I have zero complaints here. |
The Okinawa Prefectural Government will file a new lawsuit against the central government Monday to block ongoing construction work at the relocation site for a contentious U.S. Marine base, local government sources said Friday.
The move will reignite the legal dispute between the central and local governments, long at odds over the plan to move U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Ginowan to the less populated Henoko coastal area of Nago. The plan calls for filling in land off Henoko.
In the lawsuit, the Okinawa Prefectural Government is expected to argue that the central government is acting illegally without securing permission rights from the governor for work that involves damaging rock on the seabed where fishing rights have been granted.
The government of Okinawa has urged the central government to apply to renew the permission rights, which expired in March. For its part, the central government maintains that the fishing rights in the Henoko area were suspended through legal procedures and that it does not need permission.
The central government has so far not carried out work that involves crushing rock, but the prefectural government plans to take legal action because “it is certain to be conducted in the future,” according to the sources.
As the first stage of the land reclamation process, the central government began building seawalls for the planned replacement facility for the Futenma base in late April, following its victory in legal wrangling at the Supreme Court over the base relocation plan.
Sand and soil are eventually expected to be poured inside the seawalls, which opponents fear will have a huge impact on the marine environment, affecting coral reefs and endangered dugong habitat.
Under the plan to transfer the flight functions of the Futenma airfield to the site adjacent to Camp Schwab, the central government is scheduled to reclaim around 157 hectares of land in waters off the Henoko area and construct a runway with a V confirguation.
Many people in Okinawa, which hosts the bulk of U.S. military facilities in the nation, want the Futenma base removed from the prefecture altogether. |
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What about Soccer Dog: The Movie? It's a movie. About a dog that befriends a lonely kid and plays children's soccer, which drives the mafia crazy.
YouTube
Actual dialogue. Did the mafia have money riding on this pee wee soccer game?
Or what about Cop Dog? That's about a boy and a dog who team up to solve crimes. (I know that might sound like a dumb idea, but this was made all the way back in 2008. It was a different time, no one knew how bad cocaine was yet.)
imdb
"You're under bark-rest!"
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Or, hey, what about MVP: Most Valuable Primate? It's about a chimpanzee that plays hockey. I know that chimpanzees are different from dogs, but the film still falls into the popular "animal capable of things you wouldn't expect befriends lonely child" film genre, so I think it's OK.
What do all of these movies have in common? In every one of them, the father is dead. In Air Bud, the kid is sad because his dad just died in a plane crash. MVP starts off with the death of a kindly scientist who functioned as a father figure for the chimp. The kid that Soccer Dog befriends in the movie Soccer Dog: The Movie is an orphan. The crime that the boy and dog team up to solve in Cop Dog is the murder of the child's father.
I have no idea why this is. Sure, I've written a gritty screenplay about a corgi that stalks the night committing people crimes (because there's no rule that says a dog can't sexually assault), but that doesn't make me an expert on the genre. Maybe it's too believable to imagine a kid with a father being lonely enough to have a dog as a best friend. Maybe the writers think all dads hate dogs. Or maybe Air Bud made the choice first and then every producer in Hollywood said, "Just do that again with a different sport. That exact thing." We'll never know. All we know is that if you see some lonely kid striking up a good relationship with a dog that has a tennis racket in its mouth, you better find that kid's dad and tell him to watch out. |
Henry Mintzberg is Cleghorn Professor of Management Studies at McGill University and an author of the recent books "Managing" and "Management? It's not what you think!".
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GET it America. The problem with the economy is not economics but enterprises. Accordingly, no manner of economic intervention will put an end to this “recession”. The problem has been created in corporate America, and that is where it will have to be solved
It is the enterprises that play the game of business, while the economists keep score. Too many corporate “leaders” have trashed their enterprises, taking with them America's legendary sense of enterprise. The scorekeepers cannot fix that. To understand the basis for such a sweeping claim, add up the stories you have heard about the goings on in so many of the largest American enterprises. Then you may get it.
Get it, not just about the scandal of executive compensation, but also about its destructive consequences. Any chief executive who accepts a compensation package that so singles him or herself out from everyone else in the company is not a leader. Leadership is about conveying signals that engage other people in the company. How many leaders are left among America's large enterprises? There is an Israeli expression that a fish rots from the head down. So too does an enterprise.
Many economists and journalists see the CEO as the be-all and end-all of corporate success. The worst CEOs believe it. They thus allow themselves to be paid accordingly to “shareholder value”, which is a fancy term for increases in the price of a company's stock.
There are two basic ways to increase the price of the stock: by exploring and by exploiting. Explorer companies achieve this by doing better research, making improved products, and offering superior service. This is hard work, and it takes time. Exploiter companies have it easier: they depreciate the brand, cut investments in research, confuse the customers with bamboozle pricing, and stay as close as possible to the letter of the law while lobbying politicians to reduce its level. These behaviors can raise the price of the stock long enough for the executives to cash in their bonuses and run, as have so many in the large American companies.
Get it about the consequences of favouring heroic leadership over engaged management. America is obsessed with leadership, probably because it gets so little of it. Now it is fashionable in corporate America to dismiss plain old management: leadership is the glamorous stuff.
The problem is that leaders who don't manage―who don't get off their pedestals and into the fray―don‘t know what's going on. Who among the executives of those failed banks and insurance companies knew what was going on when they allowed their enterprises' futures to be bet on mortgages that were such obvious junk?
Get it about the mass firings of “human resources”. If the CEO is the enterprise, then everyone else is a “human resource”, to be “downsized” en masse at the drop of an earnings report. After all, resources are conveniently dispensed with, especially when the wolves of Wall Street are baying at the door, and need to be thrown the bones of some human resources to quiet them down. But why not: the company can carry on, in the short run, at least until the bonuses are doled out. Unfortunately, the short run has now run out for American enterprise.
At what price these firings? The answers are all around us: in overworked, unappreciated, discouraged and burned out workers and middle managers.
A robust enterprise is not a collection of human resources; it is a community of human beings. How many large American corporations can claim that kind of robustness? Effective strategy, for example, is not about a planning process that comes from the “top” so much as a learning process that can come from anywhere in the enterprise. The key to IKEA's successful strategy, to take a pointed example, lies in its provision of unassembled furniture that is easily transported. That idea came from a worker who had to take the legs off a table to get it into his car. He was apparently not downsized or discouraged by the leadership of his company.
Treated decently, respected by a leadership that engages itself to engage others, the people of a corporate community devote themselves to their products, their customers, their company and its strategy. They care. Did the employees of those failed banks and insurance companies care about their businesses any more than their leadership knew about those businesses?
Get it about the unproductiveness of “productivity”. Economic statistics tell us that these firings are productive. After all, the companies go on to produce their products and services with fewer resources. That this takes place on the backs of the workers and middle managers is of no concern to these statistics, nor is the longer term consequences of all this. These things don't count, not to the economists who have been trying in vain to fix the American economy.
Here in Canada, the economists are constantly berating us about our economy not being as productive as that of the United States. This is curious, because our economy has been doing much better. Can our lower productivity be the secret to our success?
Finally, get it that most economists, analysts, and executives have been the source of the problem, while robust enterprises have to be the core of the solution. Enough of the abstract measures and disconnected policies of the economists. Enough of the wolves of Wall Street on the backs of American enterprise. Enough of the mercenaries in the executive suites, and the elites in the board rooms. Americans will have to rebuild their economy with determination and patience, enterprise by enterprise, in order to regain their legendary sense of enterprise. |
The Republicans are huffing and puffing about a few paragraphs in Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mary Burke's economic development plan that were gleaned from similar plans of other candidates. They're going so far as to demand that Burke withdraw from the whole shooting match over this.
This is silly. What Burke did is not plagiarism in the sense that the term is usually applied. Republicans point to U.S. Sen. John Walsh. The Montana Democrat withdrew from his race for reelection last month amid charges that he had plagiarized a paper at the Army War College. And, in fact, charges of academic cheating are serious enough that they might lead to a candidate's bowing out, but that's not what happened in this case.
What happened here was that a consultant hired by the Burke campaign, Eric Schnurer, reused language that he himself had written for plans done for gubernatorial candidates in Delaware, Tennessee and Indiana between 2008 and 2012. For one thing, you can't plagiarize yourself. And for another, a campaign document, offered under the candidate's name but understood to be written by many others, is not presumed to be covered by the rigorous standards that apply to originality and proper footnoting in an academic setting.
Besides, if we are going to go down this path, then what's more serious: borrowing a few paragraphs in a plan offered on a campaign website or taking exact language from outside sources and placing them in bills that become laws governing our state?
That is exactly what Gov. Scott Walker and Republican legislators have done in taking draft language (PDF) developed by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) and turning it into legislation and eventually laws limiting public employee union bargaining rights and at least 11 other pieces of legislation.
Actually, I don't see anything wrong with doing that either. After all, there is a long and perfectly acceptable practice in this country of developing and offering model legislation. A search on the term "model legislation" brought up examples from the Innocence Project, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and even the League of American Bicyclists. Simply because we might not like the direction of the legislation ALEC develops doesn't make the practice of developing model legislation wrong in itself.
So, neither borrowing language for a policy document nor using proffered language for legislation is either unusual or inappropriate.
If it were possible to have an intelligent conversation about this topic -- and trust me, it's not -- we might ask a more fundamental question: How much can a state government really affect economic development in the first place?
Republicans have long argued that creating jobs is as simple as cutting taxes and regulation, but there's scant evidence to support their claims. A review by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities of dozens of studies on that topic results in no consensus. You can quote reputable studies that back up the Republican claims, others that refute them and more concluding that it's hard to say. And in the real political world, Kansas' Republican governor, Sam Brownback, is facing a tough reelection fight after taking conservative economic orthodoxy to its logical conclusion and dramatically reducing state income taxes. The result has been a state budget crisis and nothing to show for it on the jobs front.
Back in Wisconsin, Walker owns this issue and the bad numbers that go with it because he unwisely claimed it for himself. Four years ago he made a very specific promise -- 250,000 new private-sector jobs in four years -- and then explicitly said he should be held accountable at the next election for producing them. The state is on track to add about half that number, and we have consistently ranked at the bottom of Midwest states and in the bottom third of all states in job production during Walker's time in office.
At the center of Burke's campaign is her claim that she should be given a chance to do better. Certainly, Walker's turning back of over a billion dollars in federal investment in high-speed rail, rural high-speed Internet and expansion of Medicaid has hurt the state's economic competitiveness. There's little doubt that Burke would make smarter choices in these areas and that she understands the importance to the state's economic future of investing in education, especially for young children.
But there is a serious question about how much a state's economic development policies really matter in the end. A good case can be made that Wisconsin's troubles are the result of demographics (we're skewing old), international economics (it has been cheaper to manufacture products offshore), pricing of agricultural products (beyond our control), farm policy (made in Washington) and the irresistible gravitational pull of major metro areas, of which we have none to compare to the coasts, Chicago or the Twin Cities.
So the Republican charges of plagiarism are just so much campaign-season nonsense. But the chances that we'll have a meaningful conversation about just how much the state can do to improve its jobs picture, and exactly where those levers are located, are slim to none.
Dave Cieslewicz is the former mayor of Madison. He blogs as Citizen Dave at isthmus.com/citizendave. |
The U.S. Forest Service is being sued for approving a large gravel mine adjacent to Theodore Roosevelt National Park's Elkhorn Ranch. Credit: Eric Foltz.
BISMARCK, N.D. – The U.S. Forest Service faces a federal lawsuit for its approval of a large, new gravel pit on the outskirts of Theodore Roosevelt National Park.
The suit comes from the National Parks Conservation Association, represented by the Environmental Law and Policy Center.
Staff attorney Jennifer Cassel says there was not a strong enough environmental review with the approval, a violation the National Environmental Policy Act.
"In this case we're talking about a nearly 25-acre gravel pit within view of a very historic area in our country, which is President Roosevelt's former ranch," she explains. "Indeed, that is what he himself considered to be sort of the cradle of his own conservation ideas."
The suit is requesting that the Forest Service conduct a more thorough analysis of the environmental impacts that the proposed gravel pit could have on Theodore Roosevelt National Park's Elkhorn Ranch, as well as the park's visitors.
Cassel says the development of this mine would include the improvement of several roads in the area that are leased by gas and oil companies.
"Thereby potentially allowing for increased oil and gas development likely also within view and within earshot of the national park," she points out. "And the evaluation that was done of those impacts was simply inadequate in light of the potential impacts that they're going to have on this critical historical resource."
While this pit is not in the park itself, it is on property where Roosevelt's historic ranch lands were located, which were purchased by the Forest Service several years ago and are on the National Register of Historic Places.
John Michaelson, Public News Service - ND |
Here he is: the nasty prez O-BUMPER who is always showing up to dip his BUNGLER’S FINGERS into the SOUP AND MILK of hardworking Americans. O-BUMPER is a menace who is trying to destroy lunch for hardworking Americans nationwide. Here are four pics of the bad prez O-BLIMPY dipping his BUNGLER’S FINGERS into the SOUP AND MILK of honest Americans in order to ruin lunch all across the United States.
1. Here’s the devastating O-FRAMBLE sticking his disgusting BUNGLER’S FINGERS into the soup of a hardworking man. Is there no lunch that this nasty prez won’t stain with his BUNKLER STINK? He is truly the worst.
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2. How can you possibly defend O-BUMPUS after seeing this gruesome picture? This innocent AMERICAN woman’s HOT MILK OF COW WITH FEATHERS IN IT has been STAINED by the NASTY FINGERS of the dastardly prez BULGING-BOINKO. His NASTY BUNGLER’S FINGERS come sneaking through her window like SNAKES IN THE NIGHT. Now her lunch is BUNGLED beyond repair!
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3. NO SOUP IS SAFE FROM BUNGUS! Here’s a pic of O-FROWNO dipping his BUNGLER’S BUMPER FINGERS into the innocent soups of two BEST FRIENDS! These distraught PATRIOTS were simply trying to enjoy an American lunch of ISLAND SOUP (HOT WATER WITH CHUNKS OF PINEAPPLE IN IT) when out of nowhere in waltzes the nasty prez O-BUGLE BOY to deliver his TROUBLE DIGITS into the HOT SOUP OF AMERICAN LUNCH. No act of FINGER DIPPING is too NASTY for the depraved mind O-GORGEOUS. The O-DIPPLER is a monster! Worst prez we’ve ever encountered in history! He is trying to KILL LUNCH with his BUNGLER’S FINGERS OF THE JUMBLER!
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4. OH NO! BOINGUS RIDES AGAIN! BIG BOPPER, how could you? BONUS-BINGO is the nasty prez! Here is a picture of a BEAUTIFUL AMERICAN HERO PLUS GRANDMA settling down to a PATRIOT’S FEAST of COW’S WHITE MILK mixed with CROW’S FEATHERS AND RANCH DRESSING (HOT TEMPERATURE), when out of nowhere, in walks nasty former prez O-PLUNGER to dip his harsh CALAMITY HAND into the steaming-hot whiteness of LUNCH! This pic is 100% proof that O-SPRANGLERINO is destroying lunch one glass of HOT LUNCH MILK at a time! BLONDY is a menace! His HOT HONKING BUGLER’S FINGERS will RUIN AMERICAN MEALS for all time! These pics are the PROOF OF THE PUDDING that O-BOYHORSE IS TRYING TO DESTROY AMERICAN LUNCH. We need to defeat his BUNGLER’S FINGERS before it’s TOO LATE. |
Judge Arthur Boylan may have led mediation between the National Football League and NFL Players Association during last year’s lockout, but the Minnesota-based chief federal magistrate finds the current NHL work stoppage hitting closer to home.
A Chicago Blackhawks fan from youth who has since converted to a supporter of his hometown Minnesota Wild -- a season-ticket holder since the team’s inception -- Boylan just received his refund for this weekend’s game against the Detroit Red Wings, among the several hundred matches canceled in the wake of the NHL lockout. He is going to watch the Wild’s farm team, the Houston Aeros, take on the Rockford IceHogs at the Xcel Energy Center on Sunday instead.
Before the lockout began, Boylan didn’t know how much time he devoted to watching the sport. Now, he’s wondering why he even has cable.
"I’d volunteer to do it for free," Boylan said in a telephone interview with ESPNNewYork.com. "I’d love to get this thing done."
Whether mediation is a route the NHL and NHLPA pursue -- both sides have admitted being open to the possibility at points throughout the process -- remains to be seen.
After four straight days of negotiations last week, the final session ended with heated exchanges across the table. Two days later, the sides met for less than an hour, seemingly more at odds than before.
The two sides have been in limited contact since the dispiriting bargaining session Sunday, and no future meeting has been scheduled.
The outlook is bleak, but Boylan said there is too much at stake to see another season lost, like in 2004-05.
"They know the future of the game is in their hands," he said. "They'd really be blowing this thing if it doesn’t get resolved, it being the second lockout in recent memory. That would be a real disaster for everybody."
Boylan said he feels mediation is always a wise choice when two sides hit this sort of impasse -- the earlier, the better. The judge was tasked with bringing together the NFL and NFLPA after a failed round of mediation before the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service lockout in April 2011.
The first thing he did?
Huddled NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and NFLPA chief DeMaurice Smith together for lunch, talking about everything but football. From his chambers, he slipped the two men out of a side door, evaded the press and found a quiet place for the three of them to grab a bite to eat.
Goodell and Smith had a D.C. connection, Boylan found, a small tie but not too trivial to work with.
"Part of the whole thing about mediation is finding common ground, even if it’s something unrelated. You can find camaraderie in anything," Boylan said. "And boy, there sure are a lot of traditions in hockey and a love for the sport. One thing leads to another and that commonality, that sure goes a long way."
A large part of Boylan’s job was not just to find traction in negotiations but also to determine which lawyers worked well together and which owners and which players were helpful to the process.
And always, he encouraged them to keep talking.
Oftentimes, the two sides would stay at the same hotel, he said, and even when they met with fierce resistance, he insisted the two sides “break bread” after sessions. Whether it was joining up for dinner or grabbing a few cocktails, Boylan wanted the two sides to maintain communication.
The NFL and NFLPA eventually came to an agreement on a 10-year collective bargaining agreement in July, managing to avoid further damage to the game by settling before the regular season began.
"This sounds corny, but it’s the honest-to-God truth. You saw how passionate both sides were about the game, how much love they had for the game, and they knew how much was riding on whether they resolved the case, for the future of the game," he said. "These guys had reverence for the game, and they were stewards for that game. They weren’t going to blow it. I’m not saying money wasn't important, but there really was a mutual respect there."
The respect factor, or even the lone semblance of trust, might be the biggest impediment to seeing hockey any time soon. Despite the numerous reports of mounting tension, contentious battles and lack of common ground between the NHL and NHLPA, Boylan remains optimistic.
"I’m pretty confident they’re going to get this thing done," he said. "At least there’s some hint of optimism on the union’s side. I think getting players that love the game and owners that love the game in there together is the perfect combination."
Boylan hopes that, however they choose to resolve their differences, some agreement is in place soon.
"I’d love to take a crack at it, because it’s truly the game I love," he said. "And from a selfish standpoint, you’d really like to see them back on the ice." |
Glue Blackhead Remover 4
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I love this pin. It’s, like, doing my job for me.
I’m pretty sure there’s even a not-too-veiled jizz joke in there.
BUT… I am still skeptical that it actually works, so I tried it myself.
This is a nose:
This is a freshly washed nose:
This is a nose with glue on it:
Heh heh heh heh:
And then I waited for an indeterminate amount of time for it to dry. I don’t really know how long, but probably like half an hour or something. I don’t know. You guys are smart. You’ll figure out when the school glue you squirted on your face has dried appropriately…
The fun part:
Annnnd, here’s the moment you’ve all been waiting for: the before and after, wherein I tell you if my pores shrunk to nothing with the magic of school glue…
Sorry guys. I was hoping to report that Reddit and imgur finally found the solution for pores like mine. Fortunately, though, I can continue to store my car keys in them, so there’s that. |
On Oct. 8, Becky Bond, the political director of CREDO Mobile, announced she would be taking a leave from the company to join the campaign of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who is seeking the Democratic nomination for president.
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Sanders' chief rival for the Democratic nomination, recently came out in opposition to the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Keystone XL pipeline, two issues on which CREDO had directed its members to ask Clinton to state her position. CREDO activists had previously rallied around Sanders' demand for transparency in the TPP negotiations, which concluded this week.
Below is a profile of Bond published by The Huffington Post on May 6. The article was part of a HuffPost series marking the site's 10th anniversary, looking at some of the people and issues that will shape the world in the next decade.
Becky Bond, the political director of the progressive activist organization CREDO Mobile, hopped on a conference call on a sunny April day in San Francisco with a message for Democrats: We’re watching you.
Bond was reacting to a newly minted deal to give President Barack Obama the authority he will need to fast-track massive new trade deals, like the Trans-Pacific Partnership, through Congress. In a conference room decorated ironically with life-size cardboard cutouts of former Rep. Allen West (R-Fla.) and former Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin, Bond told reporters that CREDO members had made more than 10,000 calls to Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), the top Democrat on the finance committee who participated in negotiations over the bill, and donated nearly $60,000 to Public Citizen, a consumer rights group and one of the leading opponents of the developing trade deal.
“Congress is throwing Americans under the bus by giving President Obama and future presidents a blank check to bypass Congress and cut an anti-environment, anti-worker, anti-consumer deal with multinational corporations,” Bond said. “Now that the fight is moving to the House, CREDO members will be counting on [House Democratic Leader] Nancy Pelosi to unite House Democrats and stop this disastrous trade deal.”
The fight over the Trans-Pacific Partnership is likely to be the defining intra-party battle of Obama’s second term, if not his entire presidency. For months CREDO has been right in the thick of things, urging its members to sign petitions, make calls and demand would-be party leaders like Hillary Clinton make it clear where they stand.
Bond calls this a “structural” fight. If the trade deal goes through, it could weaken progress CREDO has made on other issues, like protections for workers and environmental regulations. “Almost everything we care about is at play. If we lose that one fight we lose on so many issues,” Bond said.
CREDO has supported the president on other fronts, like the nuclear negotiations with Iran. But Bond hasn't shied away from criticizing Democrats when she feels they stand on the wrong side of an issue, or aren't being aggressive enough. She is guided by the theory that change comes from those outside the nation’s capital pushing the boundaries of what seems politically feasible.
“When you start with a compromise, and there’s an inevitable compromise on the compromise, then you don’t see the change you want to see,” she said.
What's also striking about Bond’s message is that it was delivered from the headquarters of a private, for-profit mobile phone company with more than 100,000 customers, housed just steps from the San Francisco waterfront. One might not usually associate corporate interests with progressive causes, but that gets to the core of the company’s unique DNA.
“CREDO’s a social change organization, which is very different than saying that we're a mobile company. We're a social change organization, first and foremost, that runs a very good mobile service in order to fund our activism and our philanthropy,” co-founder Michael Kieschnick told The Huffington Post.
CREDO began in 1985 as a credit card company called Working Assets Funding Service. It added long-distance phone service in 1991 and mobile service in 2000. Since then, it has directed a portion of its revenues toward a range of fellow progressive groups. To date, it has given away more than $76 million to groups like the climate change-focused Friends of the Earth, the digital civil liberties group Electronic Frontier Foundation and the youth-led immigrant advocacy group United We Dream. CREDO has also been Planned Parenthood’s largest corporate sponsor since 1986.
Plenty of companies give money to various groups and organizations. CREDO's model, however, departs from the traditional understanding of corporate social responsibility, in which company executives meet in a boardroom and decide, on behalf of their shareholders, which foundations or nonprofits to fund.
At CREDO, the monthly donation process begins when members and customers nominate groups to receive funding. CREDO staff members pick three recipient organizations from that nominee pool, and then members vote for their preference to determine how to allocate the money. Groups can receive anywhere from tens of thousands of dollars to more than $100,000 in a month.
CREDO’s activism also involves engaging with a broader network of 3.6 million members, many of whom aren’t mobile customers. They are asked to make calls to politicians, sign petitions and even volunteer to get arrested. Bond herself has been arrested three times -- twice protesting the Keystone XL pipeline and once protesting the Iraq war. |
Copyright by KHON - All rights reserved
It's been about a year since the Hawaii Department of Health started issuing placards to restaurants as part of its food safety program.
The color coded system gives everyone a clear look at just how safe a restaurant is.
A green card means it passed inspection. A yellow card means two or more major violations and a follow-up inspection is needed. And red means the place is shut down because of health risks.
One of the first restaurants to get a green placard was Scratch Kitchen & Bake Shop in Chinatown.
"I feel the placard system makes restaurants feel accountable for their sanitation, their health issues, their kitchen, how they manage their food," said Brian Chan, Scratch Kitchen & Bake Shop owner.
In the first year of the program, July 2014 - July 2015, health inspectors handed out 8,546 placards, amounting to about 84% of all food establishments in the state.
Of those placards given out, 6,744 received green ones, 1,802 received yellow, and no one got a red placard.
KHON2 asked health officials what the response has been from restaurants that received yellow placards.
"They understand what we're doing. Before we started to roll out this program, we made a point to visit every single one of our 10,000 establishments to explain at length exactly what our inspectors would be looking for. So I think it's not really much of a shock to them. They understand the idea to get the green placard is rapid corrections of the violations," replied Department of Health Sanitation Branch manager Peter Oshiro.
As of right now, you don't know what kind of a placard a restaurant has until you get there.
In March, the Department of Health told KHON2 it would have a website up by September that would allow the public to check a restaurant's placard rating online. But it's been pushed back again.
"Hopefully next year we should have it up and running, by early next year," Oshiro said.
The state awarded the initial website contract to Paragon in 2012, paying the company $170,000 over three years -- money that came entirely from restaurant permit fees, and not from taxpayer dollars.
Earlier this year, the state decided to go with a different vendor, Digital Health Department, and is paying that company -- again from restaurant permit fees -- $158,000 for the first year, and if all goes well, $60,000 per year after that to fully host and maintain the system.
"The previous vendor did deliver on most of the things they were contracted to do for us. It was just not up to the standards we expected so we decided to move to a different vendor," Oshiro said.
When it's finally up and running, the website will not only tell you what color card a restaurant received, but it'll also show you what violations inspectors found.
The Department of Health expects to have all restaurants and food establishments in Hawaii inspected by the end of this year, and eventually plans to inspect full service restaurants up to three times a year. |
"A Swingers Club Is Rebranded a Church To Evade Local Busybodies," produced by Amanda Winkler and narration by Todd Krainin. About 5 minutes.
Original release date was May 28, 2015 and original writeup is below.
How do you protect a swinger club from a bullying neighbor and a hostile zoning board? Turn it into a church.
That was the innovative legal tactic devised by Nashville Attorney Larry Roberts, whose client purchased a property for $750,000 last November with the intention of making it home to the Social Club, an "equal opportunity lifestyle organization" that aims to help its members find other that share the "same interest and desires."
Enter the Good Pasture Christian School, which his located nearby. Principal Ricky Perry complained that the organization would "pollute" the minds of his children with "ungodly activity." The local zoning board agreed, passing an emergency zoning resolution in March that blocked Robert's client from building on the site.
So the swingers club found religion. When asked if rebranding the club as a church was intended to skirt the zoning resolution, Roberts smiled. "Let's just say it's opening up to give people guidance."
No sexual activity will be allowed on the premise, but there will be socializing and dancing. "It will have the same rules that many churches observe," says Roberts, "such as do not steal, do not lie, do not cheat, do not harm others, and do not kill." There is one difference: Adultery is OK, as long as your spouse knows all about it.
About 5 minutes.
Produced by Amanda Winkler. Narration by Todd Krainin. |
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