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Manipulation of resistance exercise variables (i.e., intensity, volume, and rest periods) affects the endocrine response to exercise; however, the influence of dietary nutrients on basal and exercise-induced concentrations of hormones is less understood. The present study examined the relationship between dietary nutrients and resting and exercise-induced blood concentrations of testosterone (T) and cortisol (C). Twelve men performed a bench press exercise protocol (5 sets to failure using a 10-repetitions maximum load) and a jump squat protocol (5 sets of 10 repetitions using 30% of each subject's 1-repetition maximum squat) with 2 min of rest between all sets. A blood sample was obtained at preexercise and 5 min postexercise for determination of serum T and C. Subjects also completed detailed dietary food records for a total of 17 days. There was a significant (P < or = 0.05) increase in postexercise T compared with preexercise values for both the bench press (7.4%) and jump squat (15.1%) protocols; however, C was not significantly different from preexercise concentrations. Significant correlations were observed between preexercise T and percent energy protein (r = -0.71), percent energy fat (r = 0.72), saturated fatty acids (g.1,000 kcal-1.day-1; r = 0.77), monounsaturated fatty acids (g.1,000 kcal-1.day-1; r = 0.79, the polyunsaturated fat-to-saturated fat ratio (r = -0.63), and the protein-to-carbohydrate ratio (r = -0.59). There were no significant correlations observed between any nutritional variables and preexercise C or the absolute increase in T and C after exercise. These data confirm that high-intensity resistance exercise results in elevated postexercise T concentrations. A more impressive finding was that dietary nutrients may be capable of modulating resting concentrations of T. |
"We're too far from the gates. The fire... their archers... hundreds will die." ―Imry Florent to Stannis Baratheon [src]
Ser Imry Florent is a member of House Florent and brother of Axell Florent and Queen Selyse, the wife of King Stannis Baratheon.
Contents show]
Biography
Background
Ser Imry Florent is a member of House Florent of Brightwater Keep, a noble house sworn to House Tyrell of the Reach. However, due to his sister Selyse's marriage to Stannis, the Florents declare for Stannis in the War of the Five Kings.
Ser Imry accompanies Stannis aboard the King's flagship, the Fury. After much of Stannis' fleet is destroyed with wildfire, Stannis orders his forces to disembark. Ser Imry warns Stannis that hundreds will die trying to reach the shore. The King replies that it will actually be thousands, but is the first to climb down to a ferry boat.[1]
As the King's flagship was not engulfed in wildfire during the battle, his whereabouts are unknown.
Appearances
Family tree
In the books
In the A Song of Ice and Fire novels, Ser Imry Florent, like the rest of House Florent, declares for Stannis after the death of Renly Baratheon. He's given command of Stannis' fleet as Lord High Captain and leads it blindly into Blackwater Rush instead of sending scouts like Ser Davos advised. He was killed in the battle when the flagship Fury is engulfed in wildfire.
See also |
NEW ORLEANSSprint executives today laid out their plans for a better 3G network, wider push-to-talk capabilities, and a solid LTE 4G experience during a breakfast at the CTIA Wireless trade show.
We've already heard how Sprint is turning on six LTE cities in the middle of this year and committing to releasing 15 LTE devices. They've already announced four: the LG Viper, Samsung Galaxy Nexus, HTC EVO 4G LTE, and a Sierra Wireless hotspot.
Sprint's LTE and 3G Plans
Sprint has only announced six LTE cities so far, and the execs today didn't expand on that. Rather, they focused on how they're going to make the LTE experience consistent and solid.
Sprint's LTE rollout will initially be in 5-MHz channels, narrower than Verizon's 10-MHz channels. Peak speeds won't hit the levels we've seen on Verizon and AT&T of 30-40Mbps, said Sprint's network senior vice president, Bob Azzi. But the network will be more consistent and more convenient, with reliable average speeds and faster handoffs between 3G and 4G than Verizon is seeing.
"What we focus on is what the customers are really going to get in the network, and that's why we're really confident that this network will be really competitive," he said.
Sprint isn't ignoring its 3G network, which will still be its workhorse for the next few years. Its Network Vision plan dramatically improves 3G coverage in several different ways.
Shifting voice calls to the new 1x-Advanced technology lets Sprint carry more calls in less spectrum, opening up airwaves for more 3G data on devices like Apple's iPhone. Faster, Ethernet-based backhaul dramatically increases the number of megabits each cell site can carry.
Moving voice calls to abandoned Nextel 800-MHz spectrum opens up even more 1900-MHz data bandwidth for hungry iPhone users, without the iPhone having to include another radio band.
Sprint is also working on background apps that will automatically connect its phones to Wi-Fi networks, further improving the apparent data performance of 3G phones.
"It'll be a headless client that will prompt the customer with the ability to identify when there's a Wi-Fi network in the area, and permanently put that into the settings so that the next time you see that hotspot we'll connect to it," said Farid Adib, Sprint's device chief.
That client will also speed up transitions between 3G and WiMAX for existing WiMAX devices, he added.
A Focus on Voice Calling
That Nextel band has better range and building penetration than the 1900-MHz band, so Sprint users should see a dramatic improvement in voice coverage as it comes online.
"In about 80 percent of our markets, we'll initially deploy a single CDMA voice carrier on 800Mhz," he said.
For the old Nextel customers, Sprint's CDMA-based Direct Connect is working well and the company is moving customers off the old Nextel network, Azzi said. The next move will be to turn push-to-talk into a downloadable Android app that will work on a variety of phones, Adib said.
Sprint is already in the process of turning off 9,600 old Nextel cell sites and transitioning the coverage to its new Network Vision sites, Azzi said.
"The middle of the second half of next year is our target to have all the customers migrated and have the network turned down," he said.
Sprint will also activate HD Voice on its network, a higher-quality voice codec that's first coming on the HTC EVO 4G LTE.
"This will be the best vocoder in the industry for 2G," according to Sprint's vice president of network development, Iyad Tarazi.
For more from CTIA, check out the photoblog below.
For the top stories in tech, follow us on Twitter at @PCMag. |
Discussion and Conclusions: Despite the apparent prevalence of somatosensory tinnitus its underlying neural processes are still not well understood. Necessary involvement of multidisciplinary teams in its diagnosis and treatment has led to a large heterogeneity of approaches whereby tinnitus improvement is often only a secondary effect. Hence there are no evidence-based clinical guidelines, and patient care is empirical rather than research-evidence-based. Somatic testing should receive further attention considering the breath of evidence on the ability of patients to modulate their tinnitus through manouvers. Specific questions for further research and review are indicated.
Results: Most evidence on the pathophysiology of somatosensory tinnitus suggests that somatic modulations are the result of altered or cross-modal synaptic activity within the dorsal cochlear nucleus or between the auditory nervous system and other sensory subsystems of central nervous system (e.g., visual or tactile). Presentations of somatosensory tinnitus are varied and evidence for the various approaches to treatment promising but limited.
Methods: Literature searches were conducted in Google Scholar, PubMed, and EMBASE databases. Additional broad hand searches were conducted with the additional terms etiology, diagnose, treatment.
Somatosensory tinnitus is a generally agreed subtype of tinnitus that is associated with activation of the somatosensory, somatomotor, and visual-motor systems. A key characteristic of somatosensory tinnitus is that is modulated by physical contact or movement. Although it seems common, its pathophysiology, assessment and treatment are not well defined. We present a scoping review on the pathophysiology, diagnosis, and treatment of somatosensory tinnitus, and identify priority directions for further research.
Introduction
Tinnitus is defined as the conscious perception and reaction to a sound in the absence of a matching external acoustic stimulus, commonly described as a phantom perception. It is considered a symptom rather than a disease per se (Jastreboff and Hazell, 1993; Bürgers et al., 2013). Tinnitus is present in more than 10% (11.9–30.3%) of the adult population (McCormack et al., 2016), although only 0.5–3% refers to it as a problem that decreases quality of life (Coles, 1984; Swain et al., 2016).
Although tinnitus has been the subject of much research, its pathophysiology remains poorly understood. It is well-accepted that many social factors, such as poor education, lower income, or occupational and recreational activity associated with high noise exposure, influences the prevalence and risk of tinnitus (Hoffman and Reed, 2004). Moreover, it is regularly associated with hearing loss, trauma, or ototoxic medication triggering cochlear damage, with sustained neural changes in the central auditory system that succeeds such lesions (Møller, 2011a; Langguth et al., 2013). Tinnitus prevalence is believed to increase with age up to 65 years, where after it decreases (Hoffman and Reed, 2004; Shargorodsky et al., 2010). It is also a widespread symptom among children with hearing loss (Coelho et al., 2007) and many causes of hearing loss and tinnitus are thought to be the same (Crummer and Hassan, 2004).
Recent neuroimaging and animal model studies suggest that tinnitus-related neural activity may involve complex interactions between several sensory modalities, sensorimotor, somatomotor, and visual-motor systems, neuro-cognitive, and neuronal-emotional networks (Cacace, 2003; Sanchez and Rocha, 2011a,c; Ostermann et al., 2016). Signs of interactions between the auditory system and the somatosensory system include gaze-evoked tinnitus (Cacace et al., 1994; Pinchoff et al., 1998; Lockwood et al., 2001), cutaneous-evoked tinnitus (Cacace et al., 1999a,b), motor manipulation or forceful muscle contractions of head, neck and limbs that induce or suppress tinnitus, or affect tinnitus loudness (Sanchez et al., 2002, 2007; Simmons et al., 2008). Pressure on myofascial trigger points (Travell, 1960; Wyant, 1979; Fricton et al., 1985; Bjorne, 1993; Rocha et al., 2006, 2008; Rocha and Sanchez, 2007), electrical stimulation of the median nerve and hand (Moller and Rollins, 2002), finger movements (Cullington, 2001), orofacial movements (Pinchoff et al., 1998), and pressure applied to the temporomandibular joint (i.e., Bjorne, 1993) are also observed to modulate tinnitus in some people. Such “somatosensory tinnitus” is supposed to be a prevalent tinnitus subtype (for review see Ralli et al., 2016) and prevalence may even be under-estimated because it relies on self-report that tinnitus is modulated by touch or movement (Ward et al., 2015). For example, the prevalence of somatic modulation is higher when the patients are questioned specifically about it rather than spontaneous reports (Sanchez et al., 2002).
For clarity we will use the following definitions: Tinnitus Modulation is the human capability of changing the tinnitus perception (frequency or intensity) by means of performing a certain manouver or movement of the head or neck or jaw or limbs or the eyes. Triggers is the phenomenon that acivates tinnitus modulation, examples: gaze movement, some tactile stimulous, performing a certain manouver or movement of the head or neck or jaw or limbs or the eyes. So the peripheral activity or stimulation are the primary single sources of a precise modulation of the tinnitus sound and it is described as trigger activity and the term modulation is reserved solely for describing the central neural activity that affect changes in tinnitus percept.
In the most comprehensive literature review to date on somatosensory tinnitus, Sanchez and Rocha (2011a,b) spoke of the need to establish evaluation protocols and specific treatments for somatosensory tinnitus that focus on both the auditory pathway and the musculoskeletal system. Yet there has never been a scoping review or systematic review on the topic. In this review, we scope the primary research literature on the pathophysiology, diagnosis, and treatment of somatosensory tinnitus. The aims of the review are to account the breadth and current state of knowledge on somatosensory tinnitus, to consider priority directions for research, and to identify whether any systematic reviews would be informative to the field.
Materials and Methods
Literature searches were conducted in November 2016 in Google Scholar, PubMed, and EMBASE databases using the search terms somato* AND tinnitus (see Appendix 1 in Supplementary Material for an example search). Search results were screened to identify original articles and case reports for review. For Google Scholar, results were screened until five consecutive results pages yielded no new potentially relevant results. Additional hand searches of publications were conducted in the same databases using the additional broad search terms etiology, diagnose, treatment. Records were independently reviewed by at least two authors. In cases of disagreement, opinion of a third reviewer was taken as consensus. Inclusion criteria were: somatosensory tinnitus as main or secondary study objective, inclusion of at least one group with patients or case study suffering from somatosensory tinnitus, definition of somatosensory tinnitus, description of somatosensory tinnitus diagnostic approach or treatment. If the focus of the study was somatosensory tinnitus pathophysiology, diagnosis, or management, and at least one of the study groups or case study consisted of somatosensory tinnitus patients, the study was included; otherwise it was excluded. Exclusion criteria were articles written in languages other than English, and records relating solely to objective tinnitus.
Initial screening was based on abstract reading. Where there was uncertainty whether or not a record was relevant the full text record was screened. Records were grouped into three categories: pathophysiology, diagnosis, and treatment. One record could be relevant to more than one category. All records included patients with somatosensory tinnitus (P). Interventions (I) and their effects were recorded. Outcome measures were also identified (O), and comparisons (C) were described either between patients and controls, groups of patients divided by tinnitus type or intervention, as well between groups of patients before and after intervention for somatosensory tinnitus (see Figure 1).
FIGURE 1
Figure 1. Flow chart of study records.
Results
The initial searches for somato* AND tinnitus yielded 1,630 records of which 100 were suitable for inclusion in the review. Records are subdivided for review according to pathophysiology, diagnosis, and management.
Pathophysiology and Etiology
Records describing studies on the pathophysiology and etiology of somatosensory tinnitus were included and are reviewed here. A table compiling the case controlled studies and cross-sectional studies were summarized in Appendix 2 in Supplementary Material (case reports, reviews and book chapters were excluded).
A number of authors suggest the somatosensory stimuli inducing tinnitus are deeply related to abnormal cross-modal plasticity of somatic-auditory interactions (Cacace, 2003; Levine et al., 2007; Herraiz, 2008; Rocha et al., 2008; Koehler and Shore, 2013) whereby somatic modulations of tinnitus results from abnormal auditory neural interactions—distortion of the normal synaptic activity—within the central nervous system, as Sanchez et al. (2007) describes, “The information triggered by muscle contractions is carried by the somatosensory system and, upon reaching the cuneiform nucleus, may influence tinnitus through its projection over the auditory pathway due to an overactivitiy in the cochlear nucleus.” In particular, modulation of hyperactivity of neurons in the dorsal cochlear is triggered by the stimulation of specific ipsilateral cranial nerves, i.e., branch of the trigeminal nerve, explaining how ipsilateral tinnitus may be modulated by head and neck's manipulation (see a review, Kaltenbach, 2006). In guinea pigs, it was demonstrated that DCN bimodal plasticity is stimulus timing-dependant and implicated as an underlying mechanism in tinnitus (Shore et al., 2007; Koehler and Shore, 2013).
Levine et al. (2003) found somatic modulation in patients with tinnitus and deafness patients, identifying neural interactions in the central nervous system as the main protagonists in this process. Levine et al. (2008) also suggest that pulsatile tinnitus is modulated by the somatosensory system of the head or upper lateral neck, presenting two mechanisms; (1) cardiac synchronous somatosensory activation of the central auditory pathway, or (2) distortion of the normal synaptic activity between the somatosensory and auditory central nervous system. Simmons et al. (2008), studying patients who could modulate tinnitus with jaw clench found that an alteration in tinnitus loudness related to a variation in neural activity in the auditory cortex, concluding that tinnitus originates in the central auditory pathway. The same effect has been observed in patients who can modulate their tinnitus with eye movements (Lockwood et al., 2001; Sanchez and Akemi, 2008), and in patients whose tinnitus is modulated by intravenous administration of lidocaine (Reyes et al., 2002). Modulation of tinnitus with oral-facial movements suggest that the classical auditory system is not implicated in tinnitus because limbic structures respond to sound stimulation in patients with tinnitus (through hypoactivity localized in the hippocampus), further indicating the central auditory system and not the cochlea as the origin of tinnitus (Lockwood et al., 1998; Cacace, 2003; Schaette and McAlpine, 2011). In his studies, Levine found that patients could better detect changes in their tinnitus when using isometric maneuvers of the extremities, compared to head/neck maneuvers, suggestive of a major role of the central neural pathway as opposed to the auditory periphery (Cacace, 2003). In fact, a higher prevalence of somatoform disorders in individuals with tinnitus may also relate to certain craniocervical pathological features (e.g., herniated discs or temporomandibular joint syndrome; Chole and Parker, 1992; Rubinstein, 1993; Gelb et al., 1997; Levine, 1999b) and dental and jaw diseases (Han et al., 2009). For example, there is a higher than general incidence of tinnitus in patients and normal hearing who have temporomandibular disorder (TMD) (Levine, 1999b), suggesting that it may be associated with other symptoms of TMD (Chole and Parker, 1992; Bernhardt et al., 2011). The temporomandibular joint (TMJ) is thought to be commonly involved in the ability to modulate tinnitus, particularly its loudness (Ralli et al., 2016). Recently the risk of tinnitus was established as 8.37 times higher for patients with TMD (Bürgers et al., 2013), and unilateral tinnitus is even reported to be on the same side as unilateral TMD (Bürgers et al., 2013). These patients are also reportedly able to regulate their tinnitus through certain jaw or neck movements (Wright and Bifano, 1997a; Vielsmeier et al., 2011, 2012; Bürgers et al., 2013). Since tinnitus is normally related to the opposite risk factors (i.e., older males with hearing loss), such findings postulate that TMJ may be the cause and maintenance of tinnitus (Vielsmeier et al., 2011). It is proposed that TMD can cause tinnitus through the disruption of the trigeminal input (Vielsmeier et al., 2012; Ostermann et al., 2016). Another indication supporting the role of TMD in tinnitus is that the two conditions occur simultaneously. Evidence also shows that worsening of tinnitus coincides with aggravation of TMD (Wright and Bifano, 1997b).
Diagnosis
Records describing studies on diagnosis or rate of diagnosis of somatosensory tinnitus were included and are reviewed here. A table compiling the case controlled studies and cross-sectional studies were summarized in Appendixes 3, 4 in Supplementary Material (reviews, thesis, and book chapters were excluded), concerning both epidemiology and diagnosis fields, respectively.
Common attributed risk factors for any subtype of tinnitus are male gender, older in age and hearing problems (i.e., Hazell, 1991; Abel and Levine, 2004; Eggermont and Roberts, 2004; Hoffman and Reed, 2004; Oostendorp et al., 2016), except for TMD-tinnitus patients (Chole and Parker, 1992; Wright and Bifano, 1997b; Vielsmeier et al., 2011; Bürgers et al., 2013). Recent evidence in a British cohort study shows that somatic tinnitus is more common among younger people and it is unrelated to hearing loss or tinnitus severity (Ward et al., 2015). Some of these audiological and demographic traits, may be indeed useful in informing therapy (Won et al., 2013) through the identification of “clinical criteria for useful subtyping of tinnitus patients” (Vielsmeier et al., 2012).
Signs of somatosensory tinnitus include head or neck problems (i.e., temporomandibular joint syndrome, osteophits, arthorosis, spondylosis, myofascial trigger points, etc.), dental or jaw diseases, frequent pain in head, neck, or shoulder girdle, aggravation of events of simultaneous pain and tinnitus, incorrect body postures, and severe bruxism (Sanchez and Rocha, 2011b,c). Such complexity demands a multidisciplinary team (i.e., dentist, physiotherapist) to diagnose.
Somatosensory tinnitus is strongly evidenced when the patient can modulate the loudness or intensity of their tinnitus (Abel and Levine, 2004; Latifpour et al., 2009; Sanchez and Rocha, 2011b,c; Oostendorp et al., 2016). Hence somatic testing may identify patients who could be treated with somatosensory system-related therapies. However, this type of testing receives little attention (Won et al., 2013).
There are various presentations of somatosensory tinnitus to be aware of. Typical cases include gaze-evoked or modulated tinnitus, cutaneous-evoked tinnitus, and tinnitus modulated by movement of corporal elements (i.e., head, fingers, jaw). Gaze-evoked/modulated tinnitus, the modulation of tinnitus by eye movement, provides clues on the potential cortical role in tinnitus (Lockwood et al., 2001). Simmons et al. (2008) found a large sample of patients who were capable of modulating their tinnitus by eye movement, half of whom had developed this ability after undergoing surgery for removal of an acoustic neuroma; these patients were able to change the tinnitus loudness and pitch through eye movement.
Studies of cutaneous-evoked tinnitus (using magnetoencephalographic signals and tactile discrimination tests) have found that cutaneous stimulation of skin on the hand region (specifically palm and fingers) activates the somatosensory system along with the auditory cortical areas in congenitally deaf individuals (Cacace et al., 1999a,b; Cacace, 2003).
In respect to modulation of tinnitus through of head and neck, Levine (1999a) reported that 68% of 70 patients could modulate tinnitus through maneuvers of the head, neck, or less intensely, maneuvers of limb. Similarly, Sanchez et al. (2002) found both patients with tinnitus (65.3% of 121 persons) and healthy subjects (14% of 100) could modulate or develop, respectively, tinnitus through 16 different maneuvers, and later found 57.9% of a study population could modulate tinnitus using nine different maneuvers (Sanchez et al., 2007). Simmons et al. (2008) found that, in 93 subjects able to modulate tinnitus by jaw clench, 90% could increase the loudness of their tinnitus, and 50% could alter the pitch. In a different assessment, the same authors found that 78% of their sample of 45 subjects could modulate their tinnitus with movement of the head or neck, mainly using the cranial and cervical nerves and using forceful maneuvers. In another study, Won et al. (2013) found that in 57% of tested ears in a population sample of 163 patients, tinnitus (especially unilateral tinnitus) was modulated through neck maneuvers or jaw maneuvers, decreasing and increasing tinnitus loudness respectively. The authors also reported that in their sample bilateral and low-pitch tonal tinnitus was rarely modulated by movement and may even be aggravated by somatic therapy. More distal movement is also observed to modulate tinnitus. Cullington (2001) reported the case of a 78-year-old man with severe hearing loss implanted with a cochlear implant in his right ear was able to modulate his tinnitus by moving his finger. Fascinatingly, this patient reported that the quicker the movement, the more intense was tinnitus loudness; passive or isometric movement did not modulate the tinnitus (Sanchez and Akemi, 2008). See Table 1 for a summary of somatic maneuvers.
TABLE 1
Table 1. Summary of somatic manouvers.
Even when the patient cannot self-modulate tinnitus, it may be altered by other kinds of stimuli, using maneuvers to increase activity of the trigeminal nerve such as passive muscular palpation to find myofascial trigger points (MFT), relaxation, and massage (Simmons et al., 2008; Sanchez and Rocha, 2011b; Shore, 2011; Won et al., 2013).
Treatment
Records describing studies on the treatment of somatosensory tinnitus were included and are reviewed here by treatment category. Case controlled studies and cross-sectional studies were summarized in Appendix 5 in Supplementary Material.
Physiotherapeutic Treatment
Studies have accounted the benefits for tinnitus of treating (temporomandibular disorder) TMD. Wright and Bifano (1997a) studied tinnitus in TMD patients and reported that 56% had been cured and 30% had a significant improvement with cognitive therapy and modulation through maneuvers. However, it has also been found that that severe tinnitus is less likely to improve with TMD therapy (Wright and Bifano, 1997a). Another similar study has shown that younger patients with moderate tinnitus were more likely to experience relief of their tinnitus through TMD therapy (Wright and Bifano, 1997b). Tinnitus severity as a predictor of the effectiveness of TMD therapy has already been proposed by others including Erlandsson et al. (1991) and Bush (1987).
The presence of fluctuating tinnitus is another factor that may associate with TMD treatment effectiveness (e.g., Tullberg and Ernberg, 2006).
One form of TMD treatment is occlusal splint therapy (Attanasio et al., 2015). In their study involving this treatment in patients presenting with chronic subjective tinnitus Attanasio et al. (2015) divided patients into three groups according to whether TMD was absent, present, or the patient was considered predisposed to TMD. Patients were subjected to treatment with a neuromuscular occlusal splint for 6 months (using the splint at night time) and rated for the severity of tinnitus using 10-point visual analog scale and Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI; Newman et al., 2004) questionnaire. Post-treatment THI scores were reduced in all groups but was most pronounced in the TMD (experience or predisposed) groups. The authors concluded that, once otologic disorders and neurological diseases are excluded, that clinicians should refer patients for an evaluation of the temporomandibular joint and subsequently to treat patients with TMD or a predisposition to it.
Wright (2000) suggested oro-myofunctional therapy as an effective alternative to occlusal splints therapy. Their study involved patients from the US air force seeking treatment for tinnitus, dizziness, and/or nonotologic otalgia without an identifiable cause and presenting with TMD symptoms in the temple, jaw, or preauricular area. Patients were provided a dental orthotic and TMD self-care instructions. After 3 months of orthotic wear, the percentages of patients reporting at least moderate symptom improvement of their tinnitus, dizziness, otalgia, and/or TMD were 64, 91, 87, and 92%, respectively. Follow-up telephone calls 6 months after completion of TMD therapy revealed that all patients maintained their symptom improvements. These findings imply that TMD was affecting the patients' otologic symptoms.
Stomatognathic Therapy
Usually it includes splints therapy, therapeutic exercises for the lower jaw and occlusal adjustment in combination with counseling.
For a long time, scientists have investigated the effects of dental and stomatognathic therapies in tinnitus (Junemann, 1941; Gelb and Arnold, 1959; Dolowitz et al., 1964; Kelly and Goodfriend, 1964; Gelb et al., 1967; Koskinen et al., 1980; Ioannides and Hoogland, 1983; Cooper et al., 1986; Bush, 1987; Rubinstein and Erlandsson, 1991). According to the findings of Rubinstein (1993), almost one-third of patients report improvement in their tinnitus after mandibula movements and/or pressure on their TMJs. More recently, Bürgers et al. (2013) found that stomatognathic therapy had a positive effect on tinnitus symptoms in 44% of their TMD-tinnitus patients (n = 25), up to 3–5 months after the first intervention; while promising it is noted that there was no control group in this study. Using dental functional therapy, the authors found an improvement on acute or subacute tinnitus in 100% of the patients but little improvement in patients with chronic tinnitus. It is important to note that the authors discussed an individual therapeutic strategy with each patient before the start of treatment. The authors suggested long term studies are conducted to assess the outcome and advised caution when interpreting current epidemiological data.
Chiropractic Therapy
Chiropractic therapy is a correction therapeutic treatment of an abnormal movement pattern through the manipulation of the vertebral column and extremities. Only three studies related to chiropractic treatment of tinnitus were identified and all three were case studies. Alcantara et al. (2002) described the chiropractic therapy in a 41-year-old woman with history of ear pain, tinnitus, vertigo, altered hearing, ear infections, and headaches, and who was diagnosed TMD and cervical subluxation. The authors reported a complete relief from the TMD symptoms, including tinnitus, after only 9 treatments (2 months). The treatment involved the application of high-velocity low amplitude adjustments. Kessinger and Boneva (2000) also reported progress in a 75-year-old patient who received upper cervical specific chiropractic care which resulted in improvements in vertigo, tinnitus, and hearing loss. These authors concluded that the success of chiropractic therapy was due to improvement in cervical spine function.
DeVocht et al. (2003) also describes the chiropractic management of a 30-year-old woman with TMJ pain. The patient suffered daily from unremitting jaw pain for 7 years accompanied by headache, tinnitus, decreased hearing, and a feeling of congestion in her right ear. Twenty months of chiropractic treatment resulted in total resolution of all symptoms except fullness of the right cheek.
Muscle Relaxation
Combined with chiropractic care, muscular relaxation (through massage and stretching exercises) is used in clinical practice. For instance, evidence suggests that palpation of masseter, pterygoid, and sternocleidomastoid muscles or myofascial trigger points can modulate tinnitus (Rocha et al., 2008; Teachey et al., 2012). Björne (2007) reported on the effectiveness of stretching exercises targeting the suboccipital muscles, along with rotation movements in the atlanto-occipital joint and relaxing exercises, on a TMD patient population (no control group). Bjorne notes that patients with Ménière's were more likely to present with TMJ and cervical spine disorder's symptoms (including tinnitus), than people who do not have Ménière and using a coordinated therapy of TMJ and cervical spine disorder (relaxation and posture) found improvements in self-reported tinnitus severity that were retained up to 3 year follow up.
Latifpour et al. (2009) evaluated 24 subjects from an original pool of 41 subjects (non-randomized), divided into two groups: treatment and control group. The authors compared self-training of stretching, posture training, and acupuncture, targeting muscle symmetry and balance in the jaw and neck, and later reported an improvement of tinnitus in the treatment group. In this blinded study they observed immediate and long term (3 months) improvements in the treatment group.
Another therapy worth noting here; in a pilot study with 11 patients, Kaute (1998) reported improvement in vestibular disturbances through the method of Arlen's Atlas Therapy, normally applied to whiplash-injured patients, concluding it to be indicated where tinnitus may be caused by neck muscle tension. This study suggest that muscular relaxation may play a significant role in the treatment of tinnitus but high quality explanatory studies (i.e., comparison with a control, blinded, randomized allocation), are needed.
Somatic Modulation Therapy
Somatic modulation therapy (treatment aiming to modulate the intensity of a given symptom, by movement) has rarely been studied beyond case studies. Sanchez et al. (2007) were the first to investigate the effect of repetitive training maneuvers with head and neck muscle contractions, focusing on its value as a tinnitus retraining therapy. The authors found it to have a significant effect on the modulation patterns but not in the daily perception of tinnitus.
In the case of a 39-year-old woman who developed gaze-evoked tinnitus after surgery to remove a left vestibular Schwannoma, therapy consisted of a repetitive gaze training and tinnitus was resolved after 14 weeks (Sanchez and Akemi, 2008). Interestingly, there was both a “horizontal” and “vertical” gaze effect on tinnitus and the vertical component responded more quickly to treatment suggesting more than one neural network or process was involved in this case.
In another case, a 54-year-old man with severe tinnitus noticed an improvement through tactile stimuli to the ipsilateral postauricular area, head rotation, opening of the mouth, and clenching teeth and mandible lateralization (Sanchez and Akemi, 2008). In another case of tinnitus improvement through tactile stimulation was reported in a single patient by Emmert et al. (2014); the patient reported a decrease in tinnitus intensity in the left ear when a tactile stimulus was applied (block-design using EPI sequence—the patients touched on the right cheek on seven blocks of 25 s, intercalating with 25 vs rest).
Electrical Stimulation
Recent evidence reported a significant improvement in tinnitus using transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (Herraiz et al., 2007; Vanneste et al., 2010). Trans-electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) of areas of skin close to the ear increases the activation of the dorsal cochlear nucleus through the somatosensory pathway and may augment the inhibitory role of this nucleus on the CNS and thereby ameliorate tinnitus (Herraiz et al., 2007).
Vanneste et al. (2010) applied transcutaneous nerve stimulation in the upper cervical nerve in 240 patients with the ability to modulate tinnitus and found a significant suppression of tinnitus. Although only 18% of the patients responded to the treatment, 43% declared an improvement and six patients reported a total suppression of tinnitus (Vanneste et al., 2010). Herraiz et al. (2007) showed that trans-electrical nerve stimulation led to improvements in 46% of somatic tinnitus patients (reduced VAS tinnitus severity scores) after 2 weeks of treatment. Intermittent “typewriter”—sound like tinnitus was the most responsiveness. Herraiz et al. (2007) also noted that tinnitus caused by a somatosensory injury had a better response than somatic tinnitus with an otologic disease.
Standardizing the indications and method could increase the efficacy of electrical stimulation in somatic tinnitus according to most authors. These results are promising so further controlled trials are warranted.
Pharmaceutical Treatment
Only one relevant record describing a pharmaceutical treatment was included. In this case study McCormick and Walega (2015) reported the successful treatment of refractory somatic tinnitus with cervical epidural injection of 80 mg triamcinolone acetonide. The patient was 61-year-old male with previous history of bacterial otitis media.
Surgical Treatment
No surgical treatment studies specific to somatosensory tinnitus were identified. One case study worth mentioning however was that of a 65 years old patient with left sided tinnitus and with left sided cervical neck pain who experienced a complete resolution of somatic tinnitus for over 1 year through radiofrequency ablation of the left C2–C3 medial branches of the dorsal ramus ipsilateral to tinnitus symptoms (Gritsenko et al., 2014).
Discussion
Tinnitus is complex in nature and so ideally, and to achieve the best results, diagnosis and treatment should be specific to an individual patients experience. Further research on the physiological processes that lead to somatosensory tinnitus would facilitate the development of a specific protocol and therapy targeting the auditory pathways and musculoskeletal disorders (Sanchez and Rocha, 2011c). Indeed, any holistic view of tinnitus needs to take into consideration the auditory system as a dynamic and active structure, integrating systems of reaction, stimulation, and emotion and tinnitus itself as a symptom with complex causes that indicate hyperactive neural activity (Møller, 2011a) and activation of neural plasticity (Moller and Rollins, 2002; Møller, 2011b; Smith et al., 2013), without the participation of the ear (Møller, 2016).
Evidence points to a high prevalence of somatosensory tinnitus, but that it is under-investigated by clinicians and the processes underlying are still poorly studied. For instance, only very recently have the first steps been made toward understanding the genetic underpinnings of subjective tinnitus (Lopez-Escamez et al., 2016) or the social context and environment which may influence tinnitus, following the new Social-Neurophysiological Model of Tinnitus. This model proposes the integration of the neurophysiological system (Jastreboff, 1990; Jastreboff and Jastreboff, 2000) the relation between psychophysiological and behavioral systems) and the social information system, associated with the emotional experience of tinnitus (Li et al., 2015). These avenues may help develop clinical strategies that adapt to patient's understanding and attitudes toward tinnitus, through social learning. What these will mean for somatosensory tinnitus is an open question.
It is important to note that an early and precise diagnosis, presents the best outcomes for the patient treatment (Herraiz, 2008). Recent research on the treatment of somatosensory tinnitus has focused on bone and muscular disorders, on each structure independently or using multimodal approach including manual therapy and exercise (Michiels et al., 2014, 2016). This demands different practitioners (dentists, neurologists, audiologists, physiatrist etc.) to be involved in treatment. Although such strategies do not target tinnitus directly, such therapies are shown to ameliorate its side effects.
It is not possible to cure tinnitus through dental and TMD therapies. But these same therapies may contribute to a multidisciplinary methodology of tinnitus treatment (Herraiz, 2008; Bürgers et al., 2011). It is a priority to establish how TMD and somatosensory tinnitus are related and what criteria should be used to select tinnitus patients for different TMD therapies. Further research is needed to attest the efficacy of TMD therapy on tinnitus and to access the placebo effect (Rubinstein, 1993; Tullberg and Ernberg, 2006).
A multidisciplinary approach to managing somatosensory tinnitus may result in different strategies being used by different teams of clinicians if there is poor interdisciplinary communication and the lack of large-scale controlled trials to inform evidence-based clinical guidelines (Møller, 2007). In addition, standardization of core measures hinders the process of any potential meta-analysis on the large datasets, which would aid the development of clinical interventions for tinnitus. However, it will need to be tested whether these standardized outcomes are sensitive to treatment related changes in groups of patients or trail participants who have somatosensory tinnitus.
Conclusion
Because somatosensory tinnitus is not judged a disease per se, but instead it is considered a symptom, its diagnosis and treatment were related to other disorders. Connection to hearing loss and bone and muscular disorders are evident.
With this scoping review, we intended to give the reader a broad overview of findings to date concerning somatosensory tinnitus, and encourage new systematic and integrative analyses which will hopefully bring the much-needed order to the field of tinnitus research.
We propose several outstanding studies on somatosensory tinnitus:
1. There is some discrepancy over the prevalence of somatosensory tinnitus; a systematic review is needed.
2. The etiology of somatosensory tinnitus needs continued investigation. Particularly, and considering the involvement of neural plasticity, it is necessary to determine the exact processes that initiate the abnormal cross-modal plasticity of somatic-auditory interactions. Moreover, it is important to determine the exact relation between the head/neck maneuvers in the central neural system.
3. There is a lack of objective diagnostic methodology, which may misguide clinical management. Clinical guidelines that consider or are specific to somatosensory tinnitus are needed.
4. There are many and different strategies for managing tinnitus, originating in different clinical fields (audiology, neurology, psychology, etc.), and not all strategies have been trialed in somatosensory tinnitus. Integrating such strategies, and having in mind that each patient is a singular case, may increase the success of clinical management practices for tinnitus.
5. To support further trials and data synthesis in somatosensory tinnitus there needs to be standard research methodologies. Theses should be developed through consensus.
6. A therapeutic intervention combining simultaneously several types of treatment approaches may bring the best results for tinnitus relief, but such combinations may also be individual specific.
Author Contributions
HH is the guarantor of the review. DH and DK created the search strategies. DK and CN created the tables in appendix. IP contributed in data extraction and initial manuscript. HH, DH, and RC contributed equally to all other stages of the manuscript development, produced, and approved the manuscript. NT, HC, AL, and JP provided consultative advice and approved the final manuscript.
Funding
HH, DH, DK, AL, and HC are members of COST Action (TINNET BM1306) a research program funded under the Biomedicine and Molecular Biosciences European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST) Action framework. Travel, subsistence, and accommodation for them to participate in Tinnet meetings has been funded by Tinnet and that has been an opportunity to enhance networking collaboration between them. HH has received a Ph.D. Grant from Jmellosaude (20,000€). DH is funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Biomedical Research Unit programme. The views expressed are those of the authors and not the funder.
Conflict of Interest Statement
The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
Supplementary Material
The Supplementary Material for this article can be found online at: https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fnins.2017.00207/full#supplementary-material
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By Hugo Scott-Slade, Technical Director
In this series of posts I will go through the stages necessary to build a shader than can ‘melt’ any mesh into the ground. There are a lot of tutorials out there which cover the basics of writing shaders but these posts will aim to cover some good techniques for taking your game to the next level. I will assume you have a basic knowledge of shaders and we will build on each step until you have a cool shader to play with. This week will focus on Tessellation.
Part 1 & 2 covered
Object Space vs World Space
Moving Verts in the shader
Supporting Unity’s PBR rendering with the moving verts, including updating the shadows to match your new shape
Reorienting Normals based on new shape.
Creating the melt ‘shape’
Changing the objects material properties for the melted area
Parts 3 will cover next week
Tessellating the mesh to create new verts for a smooth melt shape
Optimising your tessellation
Combining tessellation, vertex and surface shaders
Circumventing current Unity limitations for the above.
General bug tips and things you will probably come across in your workflow and how to fix them!
All shaders and scripts have been written in Unity 5.4 but should work in older/newer versions too. Some shader keywords have changed in 5.4 such as _Object2World to unity_ObjectToWorld . If that doesn’t mean anything to you don’t worry – it will.
Additionally, the source code for all shaders is commented outlining the steps but this post will give a greater depth of information (it has pretty pictures) so be sure to read both. Also I won’t be using any of those fancy greek letters or reducing things to simple letter notation. I find that kinda stuff just bounces off my brain so I will aim for clarity over brevity.
Tessellation
Tessellation is really quite simple to get started with in Unity, they have a great library of functions in Tessellation.cginc and a lot of information in their manual. Tessellation is only supported on some of the latest hardware but it can really add to the quality of shader effects. If your machine supports it I would recommend looking into it as it can be great fun and will give you a lot of ideas.
Tessellating the melt shader
I will start by adding tessellation to a shader from the last part in this series. For reasons that will become clear later on I will start with the melting verts ( 3 - Melting Verts/Base ) shader. Also for simplicity’s sake in the shaders I have written for this post I have not included a fallback SubShader if the machine running the shaders don’t support tessellation but that is easy to add for production.
Much like adding the custom vertex shader before the surface shader, we are going to add the tessellate shader before the vertex shader in the same manner.
#pragma surface surf Standard fullforwardshadows vertex:disp addshadow tessellate:tessDistance nolightmap
The tessellate parameter is identical to the vertex parameter in that it takes the name of a function that is setup with the correct arguments. Additionally I have added nolightmap as no second UV channel used and this is more efficient. In similar fashion you need to declare your own appdata struct in order to use tessellation so you are encouraged to only include the data you actually use for effeciency. If you don’t use a custom appdata struct you will get an error and the shader will not compile. I will include a list of common gotchas like this at the end of the post.
float4 tessDistance(appdata v0, appdata v1, appdata v2) { float minDist = 10.0; float maxDist = 25.0; return UnityDistanceBasedTess(v0.vertex, v1.vertex, v2.vertex, minDist, maxDist, _Tess); }
This tessellation function is taken directly from the Unity manual and controls the tessellation based on how far the vertex is from the camera. It’s a simple function which you can dissect if you look at the built in shader code (if you haven’t already, download this immediately from Unity). Adding the _Tess property and updating your vertex shader to use the new appdata struct then moving your scene camera in and out you can see how the vertices are created.
Optimisation
You could be tempted to slide that _Tess slider up to maximum and consider it a job done, everything is smooth and it looks great. I mean you totally could but you’re making a mammoth of new vertices all over your object and doing nothing with them. Any vert about the melt line is now split into 100s of new ones and below the surface you’re making many more you’re not even seeing. As with all things optimisation is a must. A simple optimisation is to check if any of our triangle’s verts are within the ‘melt’ range and if not don’t create any new verts.
I did this by taking Unity’s distance based tessellation method and adding my own conditions to it. The distance function is already calculating world space for each vert in each triangle it’s checking so before it returns a value I check if the melt value for that world position is outside of the melt range (+ a small threshold). Any vert outside the range is treated like it’s in the distance – no new verts are created. More could be done to improve the tessellation such as only creating verts along the silhouette of the shape but I will leave that to you.
Tessellation, Vertex and Surface
Unity does a great job for the most part at letting us write these small little surface shaders and then expanding them out to work across all platforms. Unfortunately it doesn’t work for all situations. It turns out that currently Unity won’t recognize your vertex shader if it has an out Input o if you use tessellation. Without manually adding the code in for each pass and each variation it is actually possible for us to create our melt shader. It’s not the most efficient method to do this but when developing shaders I care less about efficiency and more about iterations and workflow.
There are several variables Unity can pre-fill for you inside the Input struct without you having to manually fill them inside your vertex shader. The full list can be found here but for our purposes we only care about worldPos . The deformation is still handled within our vertex shader but in order to create the hard wave-like edge from the end of the part 2 we need a few things; the melt value and our object space position.
I created a new function called getMelt which takes a world space position and returns either a 0 or 1 for use within the surface shader.
float getMelt( float3 worldSpacePosition ) { float4 objectSpacePosition = mul( unity_WorldToObject, float4( worldSpacePosition, 0 )); float melt = ( worldSpacePosition.y - _MeltY ) / _MeltDistance; melt = 1 - saturate( melt ); // melt = pow( melt, _MeltCurve ); // we don't care about the curve for this, just the linear melt value // this is the same code as the pixel shader in part 2 float wave = sin( objectSpacePosition.x * 4 + objectSpacePosition.z * 5 ) * 0.15; float hardMelt = step( 0.5, melt + wave ); return hardMelt; }
And there it is, we can melt objects and create a nice smooth melt puddle using tessellation. There is more that will be done on this shader but I think this should give you a good process and enough building blocks to get to work on your own amazing shaders. A lot of the times I come across a cool shader online it is in its complete state with little to no explanation of process so I hope this helps you all find clarity.
Download the unity package for this post here
For more information about Cone Wars be sure to subscribe to the mailing list and follow @Glitchers on twitter.
Bonus – Common Issues
There are a few shader compilation bugs I got when writing this post so I wanted to quickly list out a few things I found and their solutions. |
Image copyright Dan Oakley/SDNPA Image caption South Downs National Park said gaining Dark Sky Reserve status would help improve its night skies
A campaign to reduce light pollution in South Downs National Park and give it dark skies special status has begun.
A bid is being putting together to make the sky above the 1,600 sq km (617 sq miles) park a Dark Sky Reserve.
Granted by the International Dark-Sky Association the reserves aim to reduce light pollution.
The park authority said light pollution affects wildlife and reduces stargazing opportunities.
Gaining official status does not carry any legal power, but it is hoped the move will encourage residents in the South Downs, which stretches 140 km (87 miles) from Winchester in Hampshire, to Eastbourne in East Sussex, to think about how much light they use.
The International Dark-Sky Association said status was usually granted to large areas of public or private land with an "exceptional or distinguished quality of starry nights and a nocturnal environment that is specifically protected for its scientific, natural, educational, cultural heritage, and/or public enjoyment".
The South Downs National Park Authority is asking people to support its bid.
It said it would also work with communities to identify sources of light pollution and where lighting can be altered to "make our dark skies even better".
The park authority says the south east is the most light-polluted region of the UK.
It added that the light pollution threatened habitats and adversely affected nocturnal species, including bats, moths and glow-worms, which can "become disoriented, resulting in decreased reproduction and reduced foraging for food".
It hopes to submit its Dark Sky Reserve application next winter.
Certified Dark Sky Reserves in the UK
Brecon Beacons National Park
Exmoor National Park
Source: International Dark-Sky Association |
Past research has determined that humor plays a role in selecting a mate, but the exact evolutionary function has yet to be determined. There are three common theories. The first suggests that humor functions as an indicator for genetic quality. Humor requires intelligence and verbal skills, both of which display psychological fitness. The second theory states that humor is an interest indicator. If the recipient responds with genuine laughter or interest, then the humor producer will believe the recipient is interested in a relationship. Finally, the third theory believes that humor is a way of showing compatibility. Jokes require background knowledge, attitudes, and values. Couples with a similar sense of humor tend to stay together.
The current study published in Evolutionary Psychology recruited 116 undergraduate students as participants. They were shown 24 facial photographs of opposite sex individuals who were either higher or lower in attractiveness, and then information about said individual’s humor receptivity and productivity. The participants then ranked their desire for a short term and long term relationship, as well as physical attractiveness.
For long term relationships, the results revealed that both humor production and receptivity were important for both men and women. However, humor production had a greater effect on women’s rating than it did for men. This finding fits in with the psychological fitness view, as men must display humor, showing off their intelligence and verbal skills. Receptivity was also a strong factor for women for long term partners, which goes against the psychological fitness theory. Instead, this supports the idea that humor may be a way to convey compatibility. If a man is not receptive to his partner’s humor, it may show that he does not share the same values with her.
For short term relationships, the effects of physical attractiveness were more important than in long term relationships. However, in regards to humor, there were no sex differences. Overall, the effects of humor were more pronounced for long term partners than short term partners. These findings were inconsistent with the three theories discussed above. Both high humor production and high humor receptivity boosted the attractiveness of a partner.
The researchers commented that both the psychological fitness model the compatibility model were best displayed with the results. Humor is able to convey compatibility in terms of shared goals, values, and background knowledge; humor may also serve as an indicator of romantic interest. An interesting limitation is that this study used only heterosexual males and females, and a follow-up using homosexual participants may yield different results. |
Office of Medical Staff detailed exactly how to enforce sleep deprivation, limit food intake, waterboard and use ‘confinement boxes’, declassified report revealed
CIA medical personnel acknowledged that placing detainees in small boxes barely large enough to fit their bodies inside was not “particularly effective”, but they still provided guidance permitting interrogators to continue using the so-called “confinement boxes” for hours on end.
Sensitive agency documents, declassified on Tuesday, provide a new level of detail on the intimate involvement of its medical staff during its post-9/11 torture program. Officials assigned to the Office of Medical Staff (OMS) provided precise specifications for enforcing sleep deprivation, limiting the caloric intake of detainees’ food, and the proper positions for waterboarding, as outlined in a 2004 document providing “guidelines on medical and psychological support” for torture.
In the event that a detainee stopped eating and drinking inside the agency’s unacknowledged prisons overseas, known as “black sites”, OMS advised that the preferred method to forcibly hydrate a detainee was rectally – a procedure that human-rights advocates have equated to sexual assault.
Since a 2014 Senate report criticized the CIA for running what it characterized as an ineffective, brutal regimen of incommunicado confinement, the agency has pointed to the involvement of OMS staff to claim it performed its torture within doctor-mandated safeguards. Yet human-rights-minded physicians say OMS staff violated a fundamental obligation of medical ethics – to do no harm – and instead provided agency torturers with a physiologically informed blueprint for inflicting pain.
“The guidelines are an affront to my profession, the medical and mental-health professions, and health professionals should know better and be ashamed of defending a document like this,” said Vincent Iacopino, the medical director of Physicians for Human Rights.
Among the procedures discussed in the 2004 document, is a method for placing detainees in what it termed “awkward boxes”. The technique, first proposed by contractor psychologists James Mitchell and Bruce Jessen, is known as the “confinement box” and was dramatized in the movie Zero Dark Thirty.
Some boxes were “small cubes allowing little more than a cross-legged sitting position”, the OMS document advised. Agency torturers were permitted to place detainees into those for up to two hours consecutively, “[a]ssuming no significant medical conditions (e.g., cardiovascular, musculoskeletal)” were present. Longer boxes, “rectangular and just over the detainee’s height, not much wider than his body, and comparatively shallow”, could hold detainees for “eight consecutive hours, up to a total of 18 hours a day”.
Abu Zubaydah, whose 2002 detention became the pilot program for CIA torture, spent a cumulative 266 hours, equivalent to more than 11 days, within the longer box, which the Senate report noted was reminiscent of a coffin. His smaller box was 21 inches wide, 2.5ft high and 2.5ft deep. Agency officials placed him in it for a total of 29 hours. That confinement occurred with the span of an “aggressive” 20 day-span, according to the Senate report.
“The CIA interrogators told Abu Zubaydah that the only way he would leave the facility was in the coffin-shaped confinement box,” the Senate report noted.
A different OMS document, also declassified on Tuesday, concluded that Abu Zubaydah likely would have cooperated with interrogators without being waterboarded. CIA interrogators subjected Abu Zubaydah to waterboarding, a technique the body processes as drowning-induced suffocation, 83 times in the span of a month.
Yet the OMS personnel providing the guidelines took a dim view of the intelligence value of the confinement boxes.
“These have not proved particularly effective, as they may become a safe haven offering a respite from interrogation,” the medical staff document states.
Additionally, the Geneva Conventions bar “close confinement” for prisoners of war – a classification the Bush administration denied CIA detainees – except where “necessary to safeguard their health”.
Elsewhere in the document, the medical staff advises CIA interrogators on medically acceptable procedures for various torture techniques, including prolonged stress positions, severe dietary restrictions and waterboarding.
Detainees without “medical contraindications” can be kept in shackled stress positions for “extended periods (up to 48 hours) in a standing position … if the hands are no higher than head level and weight is borne by the lower extremities”. Keeping detainees standing, however, will yield “dependent edema”, the accumulation of fluid in the lower extremities; the document instructs that “regular attention to leg circumference and the fit of shackles is mandatory”.
OMS instructed that the CIA could, for shorter periods of time, inflict “more stressful shackled positions”, through shackling someone’s arms “above the head (elbows not locked) for roughly two hours without great concern”. Keeping the detainee in such a position for between two and four hours “would merit caution, and subject should be monitored for excessive distress”, the document states.
Making reference to common dieting plans, OMS recommended “a minimum intake of 1,500 Kcalories/day, recognizing that intakes of 1,000 kcal/day are safe and sustainable for weeks on end”. Should a detainee engage in a hunger strike and cease drinking fluids, OMS’s preferred option of forcibly hydrating detainees was “rectal tube insertion”, ahead of intravenous methods.
“[B]ecause it is less invasive as a medical procedure, the rectal tube is considered by OMS the first line intervention,” the document reads. It advised that the “rectal tube is not an efficient way to deliver nutrients other than fluids, salts and glucose, and thus is not recommended for feeding (vice fluid replacement)”, raising questions about the CIA performing the procedure on detainees, including Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, Abd al-Rahim Nashiri and Majid Khan.
One detainee, a German man named Khalid el-Masri whom the CIA held in 2004 by mistake, lost 50lb during five months of black-site captivity, according to a different declassified document.
The document writes that waterboarding is “by far the most traumatic of the enhanced interrogation techniques”. It runs through a checklist of pre-existing medical concerns that would prevent waterboard use, and warns the process can induce pneumonia or even death.
OMS instructed interrogators on how to revive suffocated detainees – “a sub-xyphoid thrust” – and urges “aggressive medical intervention” should such first aid fail. “Cumulative effects” of extended waterboarding sessions, defined as “days 3-5 of an aggressive program”, are a “potential concern”, and states that “beyond this point continued intense waterboard applications may not be medically appropriate”.
Although the CIA is barred from conducting human experimentation, OMS instructed that “every application of the waterboard be thoroughly documented”, in order “to best inform future medical judgments and recommendations”.
The CIA documents, which informed the Senate torture report, were released in response to transparency lawsuits brought by the ACLU and Vice News.
“This is a manual for health professionals to aid and abet torture practices, and assuage people’s moral resistance to such acts,” said Physicians for Human Rights’ Iacopino, himself a physician.
“There’s a huge body of literature saying all these things are torture and ill-treatment. They cause lasting physical and mental pain. Any physician should know better.” |
Third party candidates are frequently overlooked in the United States political system. Often times, third party candidates struggle to gain traction due to low name recognition or lack of funding. However, 2016 has presented a unique opportunity for third parties in the United States. Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are the two most unpopular presidential candidates in the history of modern U.S. politics. Their unpopularity has led to eye-popping poll results for candidates Gary Johnson (Libertarian), Jill Stein (Green), and Evan McMullin (independent). In this article, I will explain to you why a third party vote is NOT a wasted vote.
Is a Third Party Vote a Wasted Vote?
To answer this simply: no, a third party vote is not “throwing your vote away.” This line of rhetoric is based in the reality that no third party candidate can realistically win the presidency in the current U.S. political system. The Electoral College is a first-past-the-post system, meaning whichever candidate passes the “post” (in the case of a U.S. Presidential election, the post is 270 electoral votes) wins. Often times, third party candidates are considered “spoilers,” meaning that a third party candidate will “steal” votes from the major party candidate with similar views.
The most recent and relevant example of this “spoiler” effect can be studied in the 2000 election, where Green Party candidate Ralph Nader won 2.7% of the vote. Nader received 22,000 votes in New Hampshire, while Al Gore, the Democratic candidate, lost the state by approximately 7,000 votes to Republican candidate George W. Bush. If Gore had gotten those votes instead of Nader, Gore would have won New Hampshire and the 2000 Presidential election. If anything, this case shows exactly how significant a third party vote can be.
From a purely democratic perspective, there is no such thing as a “wasted vote.” By voting for any candidate, you are fulfilling your civic duty and participating in a democratic election in the hopes of electing a politician who best represents the values and policies you wish to see brought into law.
But if a Third Party Candidate Cannot Win, Why Should I Bother Voting for One?
Here are a few benefits your preferred third party candidate could receive if you support them:
Increased Funding
Minor party candidates have a lot to gain from strong election performances. Earlier in this article, I touched on how minor party candidates are at a disadvantage in terms of funding. Unfortunately, candidates need absurd amounts of money to run successful political campaigns. Well, by voting for a minor party candidate, you can increase their chances of receiving partial public funding for general election campaigns (for a full breakdown, scroll to the “General Election Funding” subheading).
Ballot Access
Third party candidates, who are already low on funds, can have difficulty gaining ballot access in all fifty states. Different states have different standards for being granted ballot access. Two of the most common standards are:
Any party that has a certain number of registered voters has automatic ballot access. Any party that got a certain percentage of the vote in the previous general election get automatic ballot access.
Clearly, registering or voting for a third party candidate can help that third party grow, which is crucial if that third party wants to remain relevant in the United States political system.
Presidential Debate Presence
Minor party candidates can also get on the Presidential debate stage if they poll at 15% or more in five “selected national public opinion polling organizations.” Although these polls are not necessarily directly related to the final voting results, the logical assumption is that an increase in citizen voting third party will result in higher polling result for third party candidates prior to the election.
In Summary
The purpose of this article is not to convince you vote for a third party candidate. Rather, my goal is to help voters understand that all votes have some inherent value, regardless of the candidate’s probability of winning the election. Every vote, even a third party vote, is worth casting, so do not be discouraged when you get to the ballot box, even if you know your preferred candidate cannot win. |
A film on JJ Abrams' production slate that doesn't involve the worlds of Star Trek and Star Wars is the planned biopic of shamed cyclist Lance Armstrong. It's a project that Abrams is unlikely to direct, but looks like he might produce. And it looks like it's a project that's caught the eye of one Bradley Cooper.
Chatting to the BBC last week (yep, we're a little bit late with this one), the Oscar-nominated actor, when asked about appearing in a film about Armstrong's life, said that "I would be interested in that. I think he's fascinating. What a fascinating character".
Fascinating is certainly one word to describe Lance Armstrong, but we figure you don't come to this site to hear us ranting about figures such as him. Rest assured that we could though.
The planned Armstrong movie, which Abrams' Bad Robot company is developing, will be based around the incoming book Cycle Of Lies: The Fall Of Lance Armstrong, by Juliet Macur (the book is due out in June). There's no timescale for the movie that we know of, but we'd imagine they'd want to get this one moving quickly if they can.
BBC.
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If it’s true that what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, then Jimmy Cygler and Paul Leventhal are plenty tough.
When both were infants, they were taken from their mother, Rebecca Kaufman, and raised worlds apart without knowing of the others’ existence. With the help of 23andMe, the brothers recently found each other and were able to meet in person in early 2015.
Jimmy traveled from his home in Sao Paulo, Brazil to spend a week with Paul in Florida. There the two men got to talk about their lives. Paul shared with Jimmy the little he knew about their mother, a brilliant but troubled woman. Jimmy was able to share with Paul a little about his improbable life.
“Stories of this kind, they are hard to believe,” Jimmy says. “Do you know the book ‘Life of Pi?’ A fantastical story, but it is nothing compared to my life.”
Paul downplays the drama in his own life – the separation from his mother, spending his first five years in a foster home, and growing up in a house where his father and stepmother were distant. Paul has one fleeting memory of sitting on his mother’s knee – almost everything else he knows about her comes from what he’s gleaned from relatives. It wasn’t until Paul turned 18, after his father’s death, that he learned he’d been the product of an affair.
At first Paul pushed this information out of his head, but a few years later as a young man, a relative confirmed it was true.
“My life was turned upside down,” Paul said.
He had to live with not only his mother abandoning him but her family cutting ties with him as well. Jimmy thinks that Paul having to endure their mother’s abandonment and rejection may have been harder than the physical abuse he suffered. Paul’s not so sure, but he knows that it affected him.
“I was angered by the fact that her brothers – two doctors and two lawyers – didn’t step up to the plate and save me from going to a foster home,” Paul said. “I must have been quite an embarrassment to them and my maternal grandmother, who was still living at the time.”
Rejected by his mother and her family, Paul spent years trying to find his biological father. That’s part of why he eventually got his DNA results with 23andMe. While he hasn’t yet found the identity of his biological father, Paul did find his brother Jimmy.
“My father had no idea who his mother was and finding his brother finally helped us solve that puzzle,” Jimmy’s daughter, Orly, said. “Now we know who she was.”
Her father agrees that it has helped. “You know Nietzsche, ’that which does not kill us makes us stronger?’” Jimmy asks from his office in Sao Paulo. “Well, it is true for me.”
Paul disagrees with his brother on this point. What doesn’t kill you might make you stronger or it may damage you for the rest of your life.
Jimmy survived years of abuse as a child, life at a kibbutz, four wars, and three marriages. But he doesn’t feel damaged.
“I’m a rebuilt human being,” Jimmy says. “Really all the conditions of my life were anything but normal or positive, but the art of my life was to become a good human being.”
But it wasn’t easy. When Jimmy first went to Israel at the age of 13, he began getting psychological help to work through his childhood trauma.
“When I came to Israel I was a pile of wreckage, and I had to do something to these broken pieces to reassemble a human being,” Jimmy said.
But not having all the pieces about his life made that “reassembling” a life-long process.
“The story with Paul is part of it, but just one part of it,” said Jimmy. “I’m one of nine brothers and sisters. I’m the only brother (related to) all of them and I spent my whole life searching for those missing pieces.”
Jimmy mentions connecting this process with what psychiatrist and Holocaust survivor Victor Frankl wrote about in his book Man’s Search for Meaning.
“He says a person who has meaning can bear almost anything,” Jimmy said. “So this search for meaning became important to me.”
Part of that search has included trying to learn more about who he was, where he came from and to whom he is connected.
“First I had to gather all the pieces and then you start putting the puzzle together and you try to find meaning in the picture that emerges,” Jimmy said. “You might have the whole picture or, like me, just parts of it.”
Jimmy said he also learned that one small piece of information could change everything. Recently a relative in London found a travel document Jimmy’s father had used when Jimmy was a baby. On it was the name James Maurice Goldberg.
“That’s my name (from his birth certificate, before his father changed his last name), but I’d never known it before,” he said.
The name also helped him find out more about his father, Izrael Aron Goldberg. Jimmy’s father fled Poland before the start of World War II and settled in Peru. There he married a woman and had two children, a son Lucho and a daughter Alina, and converted to Christianity. He would later say that all the family he had in Poland died in the Holocaust. After experiencing financial troubles, Izrael left his family in Peru and moved to New York City.
“I do have a business card of his from his time in New York,” Jimmy said. “It says ‘I. Aron Goldberg, specialist in furs.’”
It was in New York that he met Rebecca Kaufman, who already had two sons, Paul and Jay, who were several years older than Jimmy.
Paul ended up in foster care and Jay was taken by Rebecca’s first husband. Rebecca was unable to care for Jimmy when he was born in 1949, and she was subsequently placed in an institution. Izrael, alone with his infant son, asked his estranged wife in Peru to come to New York with their two children.
“The interesting part of the story is that he didn’t tell her that he had a baby, me,” Jimmy said.
Jimmy’s half-sister, Alina, was almost 10 years old at the time. His half-brother, Lucho, was about eight. His sister remembers holding Jimmy as an infant, and falling in love with him. But it would be the last she’d see him for almost 55 years because the family quickly fell apart.
Jimmy doesn’t know all the details but is aware that his father fought with his wife. She stayed just a few months before returning to Peru with her two children, leaving Jimmy and his father in New York. Izrael took Jimmy to Brazil shortly thereafter. Jimmy thinks his father suffered from survivor’s guilt and wanted to somehow reconstruct the family he lost in the Holocaust, which might explain why Izrael had three children from two different mothers. Jimmy’s father took the name Israel Cygler when they moved to Brazil. He also quickly remarried and that’s when Jimmy’s life turned into a nightmare.
“I thought I had a ‘normal life,’” Jimmy said about what things were like after his father remarried. “I had a father, a woman whom I thought was my mother, and four younger brothers. I was raised Christian, studied with the nuns at school and went to mass on Sunday. Had a first communion. That was my life. But what I thought was normal at the time was not normal at all. “I was maltreated and tortured as a kid.”
His stepmother once punished him by putting him in a hole under the house for a week without food. Another time she smeared hot pepper juice “on all the holes of my body.” And after getting caught playing with matches as a seven-year-old, his mother placed his hand into a gas fire to punish him. He was burnt so badly that it took years of surgeries and skin grafts before he could properly open and close his hand.
“My mother did that to me,” Jimmy said. “She was the real villain in this, but I didn’t know that. I didn’t know she wasn’t my mother, if I had known I could have dealt with that. But the only conclusion I could draw from those punishments was that I was a monster, that I deserved that because I was a monster. That was me at 13.”
Then the trajectory of his life changed when his father became critically ill and a stranger shared with him some surprising news.
“Out of the blue this young lad appears, speaks with me for half an hour and tore down the basis of my life,” Jimmy said. “He tells me ‘I’m your brother from another marriage. I’m from Lima, Peru. You also have an older sister, and your mother is not your mother. You were born to a woman in New York.’”
Jimmy was stunned. His father then told him it was all true.
“’Well son, now that you know you are a Jew, you are going to the land of the Jews, which is called Israel,’” Jimmy recalled his father saying. “I didn’t know anything about that country or those people. I didn’t know anything about the Jewish people. ”
He arrived in Israel in October 1962, and stayed for the next 27 years. “The country embraced me,” Jimmy said.
He lived in a special area of a kibbutz for teenagers who didn’t have parents. They were from 30 to 40 different countries and many had been orphaned or displaced by World War II. Jimmy received good care, including intensive psychological treatment to help deal with the emotional wounds from his stepmother’s abuse.
“That’s why I say I’m a rebuilt human being,” Jimmy said.
He served as a soldier in four wars, was married, has two sons and a daughter, divorced, married again, and had another daughter, and then divorced again.
“And then I met a Brazilian girl and fell in love and went to Brazil,” he said.
Jimmy reinvented himself – the twice divorced veteran who was a father of four went to college, married again, started another family, and now he runs a very successful business. But he was always looking, “desperately looking,” he says, for the pieces to the puzzle of his life. He was able to find his four half-brothers from his father’s family in Brazil. His stepmother told them he died in the war. With the help of a Peruvian businessman, Jimmy tracked down the phone number of a woman in Lima he thought might be his sister, Alina. He called her, said his name was Jimmy and that he was from Brazil.
“My dear little brother Jimmy, I have been looking for you all my life!” she replied. Jimmy pauses to control his emotion as he recounts meeting his sister.
“From this moment I felt love for her,” he said.
Jimmy traveled to Peru to get to know his sister, and she shared a blurry old photo she had of him being held by his biological mother. She also told him her own memory of holding him as an infant. She never forgot that and spent her life looking for him, never knowing how she could find him.
“She kept that memory her whole life, always wondering what had happened to me,” Jimmy said.
She also told him about their father, his financial problems in Peru, some of his history fleeing Poland and losing all of his family in the Holocaust. And he learned about being born in New York, but he still didn’t know anything about his biological mother. Jimmy says he and Alina became very close.
In 2013, his sister was diagnosed with cancer, a year later she died.
“Alina was a wonderful woman,” he said.
Losing her so soon was a huge blow to Jimmy. Jimmy’s story took another turn in early 2015 when his daughter, Orly, got her 23andMe results. She saw a match with Paul, thinking he was a cousin. But when she shared with Jimmy Paul’s date of birth and how much DNA he shared with Paul, they concluded that Paul and Jimmy were brothers.
In that first meeting, both men were overcome as they hugged and shed tears.
“It was very emotional,” Jimmy said. “We’re kind of old guys and I could see in his eyes how much he had suffered. I know what I went through and I came out a real strong person – a leader, a teacher and a family man. We both survived.” |
Apple initially announced its new and improved iPhone 7 will be available in five color options: Silver, Gold, Rose Gold, Matte Black and Jet Black. But it seems the Cupertino giant isn’t quite done introducing additional colors to its lineup.
The Big A is reportedly planning to refresh its iPhone 7 lineup with a new ‘Jet White’ color option, Japanese news outlet Mac Otakara reports.
The report makes no mention of when Apple might add the sixth color to its catalogue, but it speculates it will be available for both models – the standard iPhone 7 as well as the boosted 7 Plus.
While Mac Otakara has accurately leaked information about upcoming Apple products in the past, the Japanese publication warns its source “may not be reliable” this time around – so don’t get too excited just yet.
Apple enthusiasts are well-known for sketching recreational mockups of some of the company’s most popular products. It wouldn’t be entirely out of the ordinary if it turns out the Jet White iPhone 7 rumor is merely another fan-made concept – much like this mockup of the AirPods in Jet Black.
Apple to add 'Jet White' color option for iPhone 7 on Mac Otakara
Read next: What it’s like to sell a company to your former employer |
After over 100 episodes, I finally found an excuse to combine two of my favorite things in the world into one: the cartoon series Steven Universe and John Stuart Mill’s utilitarian ethics. That it took so long to do so is more of a testament to the high quality of the show than anything else. The sheer expanse of the show and the topics it deals with – from basic lessons about friendship to in-depth explorations of grief, loss, and trauma in the aftermath of relationships and war – kind of makes it a bit intimidating to get a grasp on it. What finally inspired this long-awaited excuse to stuff utilitarianism into yet more cartoons (see my long, long list of utilitarian ethics inspired analysis of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic) was the two-parter episodes of Beta and Earthlings, the 100 and 101the episodes according to the Steven Universe wiki.
But we’ll get to that in a moment. For those not familiar with either Steven Universe or John Stuart Mill, a brief introduction.
Steven Universe is a cartoon staring the titular character Steven Universe and the trio of extraterrestrial beings known Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl. Together they form the Crystal Gems, a group dedicated to defending the Earth against the distance Gem empire known only as Homeworld. As the series progressed, we learned that Earth is a former colony of the Gems, and that Steven’s mother Rose Quartz – who gave up her physical existence to form him – was the leader of a rebellion that expelled Homeworld from the Earth…for now.
John Stuart Mill was a 19th century British philosopher and political economist who is most famous for his being a major proponent of utilitarianism. Utilitarianism itself is an ethical system that, in its most basic form, argues that the basis of ethical decision making should be, in the hedonistic form that Mill advocated, the weighing of the resulting levels of pleasures and pains that an action results in. The goal is, broadly speaking, to take the action that maximizes the resulting balance of pleasure and pain.
So, obvious how I came to associate Steven Universe and John Stuart Mill, right? If not, well, that’s what this article is for, but the focus of this article won’t be on Steven or the Crystal Gems. Instead, the character that sparked this connection, and the one who I find the most likely to be sympathetic to Mill’s utilitarianism, was the former Homeworld technician turned Crystal Gem, Peridot.
Peridot originally appeared as an antagonist. To make a long story short, Steven and the Crystal Gems captured Peridot who revealed to them a giant fusion abomination known as the Cluster was in the center of the Earth and threatened to destroy it. In working with the Gems to defeat it, Peridot eventually came to treasure and value the Earth and the Gems, leading to her eventually defecting from Homeworld and becoming one of the Crystal Gems.
What is it about this little clod (her favorite word) that drew a connection between her and John Stuart Mill? This is where the episodes Beta and Earthling finally come in, but mostly it was this speech she gives to Jasper, her former bodyguard during her mission to Eart who, having been beaten by Amethyst and Steven demands to know why Peridot is with the Gem’s now:
Jasper: How can you side with Rose Quartz?! Why? Why protect this useless shell of a planet? Peridot: It’s not a shell, there’s so much life. Living here, that’s what I’m doing! I’m living here! I’ve been learning new things about myself all the time! Like how I can make metal do my bidding! (Shows off ability, but the metal rod just falls behind her) The point being: Earth can set you free.
It’s the phrase “I’ve been learning new things about myself all the time!” that caught me, that sense that one of the things that Peridot associates with how Earth is “freeing” is this ability to constantly learn new things about one’s self. The reason this clicked with me is because of this Mill’s On Liberty, which is his defense of liberty and freedom not from the perspective of “rights” but, instead, purely from the basis of utility as Mill states:
“I regard utility as the ultimate appeal on all ethical questions; but it must be utility in the largest sense, grounded on the permanent interests of man as a progressive being.”
The key phrase here is “man as a progressive being”, a concept that is threaded throughout Mill’s works, that is the connecting thread between Peridot and Mill’s utilitarianism. Because for Mill, happiness is the result of allowing individuals to develop and use all of their faculties; the moral, the intellectual, and, central to his utilitarianism, the sympathetic.
“It Could’ve Been Great!”
One of the more interesting connections between Mill and Peridot arrives from an unlikely source: Mill’s political economy work Principles of Political Economy.
Mill was writing in Victorian England during the Industrial Revolution, and he was quite critical of what he perceived to be the effect of industrialization and capitalistic society on the character of individuals. For Mill, the Industrial Revolution and resulting capitalistic systems demands of the homo oeconomicus, the economic man, to work and consume in pursuit of “economic progress” threatened to subsume all behavior and motivation for people towards growth without end. Indeed, in Utilitarianism, Mill uses the love of money as an example of a situation in which the association between an object and happiness can often translate into the desiring of that object as a mean of itself.
While we currently have no information on whether or not Homeworld is “capitalistic”, we do know that it is strapped for resources, as noted by Peridot in the episode “Too Short” when she states that current era Gems do not have the “powers” that older era gems such as the Crystal Gems have due to lack of resources. But one of the most telling aspects of the relationship between Homeworld and their colonies comes from the episode “It Could’ve Been Great”. There, the Crystal Gems and Peridot go to the Homeworld base on the Moon to find information on the location of The Cluster. After finding that information, and Steven playing around on the computer, Peridot pulls up information on the plans for Earth and is absolutely marveled at it, stating:
“Ta-da! A finished Earth colony. Wow, look at this! Eighty-nine kindergartens, sixty-seven spires, a Galaxy Warp in each facet, efficient use of all available materials. What were you thinking, shutting this operation down? It could’ve been great!”
The Crystal Gems, having been protecting Earth for thousands of years, were not amused. In the ensuing argument, Peridot appeals to the expansion of the Gem population and the expansion of the Empire. In other words, Peridot defends the resource extraction plan purely on the basis of growth and ‘progress’ for the Homeworld empire. Noticeably missing, however, is any concern about either life on the Earth or even the improvement of the quality of life: growth for growth’s sake is all Peridot is concerned about. From a Millian perspective then, it appears that Homeworld has misplaced the means of progress for an end in of itself: the expansion and consumption of resources is a moral goal in of itself instead of simply a necessary component for achieving some other end. For Mill, of course, the end is the cultivation of happiness.
“You’re a pearl! You are beneath me!”
The question, then, becomes how to correct this misplacement ends with the means? In regards to the capitalistic society part of things, Mill advocated for the reorganization of the relationships in the workplace from the oppositional hierarchy of labor and capitalist to cooperative-based partnerships.
When Peridot and the Crystal Gems decide to work together to stop the Cluster, Peridot initially believes that their relationship will remain in the form of the hierarchy established by Homeworld. There, our Pearl would be considered an accessory and servant, and although a Peridot would normally not have one, it would still be expected that Pearl would be beneath Peridot. Pearl, however, belongs to no one and has instead spent her time and freedom on Earth cultivating a large array of talents.
This clash of Peridot’s expectations of a hierarchical based relationship with the cooperative-based expectations of the Gem’s leads to a giant robot fight to ‘prove’ who is the best.
Peridot ‘wins’ and, as her expectations suggest she should get praise. Instead, she is basically ignored as the rest of the Crystal Gems praise Pearl for her performance, and Steven points out to Peridot simply how amazing Pearl must truly be to continually push her limits and do all she has done.
The result is Peridot’s grudging respect for Pearl, though admittedly it sill appears based mostly on a basis that Pearl is useful. In fact, judging the worth of individuals on the basis of how ‘useful’ they are is still a challenge for Peridot, even judging herself in the episode “Too Short” on the basis of the lack of powers. Still, this moment marks the beginning of Peridot’s re-evaluating the relationship between herself and the Gems from “enemies temporarily working together” to a more truly cooperative relationship.
“I’m Percy and Pierre” “….Ohhhhh!”
The development of the sympathetic abilities is perceived by Mill to be one of the most important aspects of the utilitarian character. The ability to imagine is useful for recognizing commonalities and shared interests between ourselves and others, and Mill’s hedonistic utilitarianism provides the readily available commonality of pleasure and pain as a starting point. In his writings on the Romantic poet William Wordsworth, Mill emphasizes the use of poetry and nature as a method of cultivating these imaginative sensibilities, relating to his own experiences in reading Wordsworth helping him to overcome his depression in his early youth.
Peridot, however, I doubt truly has that sense of awe and meditation when she see’s nature that Mill advocates for. Her interest in nature often times appears to be more intellectual which, to be fair to Mill he does allow as he also emphasizes the importance of recognizing that different minds find different things appealing for different reasons. Where Peridot and myself must break from Mill, however, is that his defense of poetry and aesthetics for the development of emotional and empathetic sensibilities includes the usual deprecation of novels that was common in the Victorian era as being stimulating in the same manner as gossip or sight-seeing.
Why this break? In the episode “Log Date 7 15 2” , Steven introduces Peridot to the series “Camp Pining Heart”, a melodramatic series set in summer camp in what appears to be the show’s equivalent of Canada. While initially dismissive, Peridot quickly becomes engulfed in the episode Steven gave her, marathoning it 78 hours straight and creating a highly detailed relationship chart between all the characters. She particularly focuses in on the pair of Piere and Percy, which Peridot believes is the superior relationship than the show’s canon teasing of Paulette and Percy.
Meanwhile, Peridot remains continually confused by the existence of Garnet. Garnet is herself a fusion of two other Gems, Ruby and Sapphire, who remain continually fused. From Homeworld’s perspective, to quote the character Jasper, “Fusion is just a cheap tactic to make weak Gems stronger”. That Garnet remains herself despite doing absolutely nothing of practical or martial value befuddles Peridot. Garnet offers to fuse with Peridot to show her, and Peridot does make the effort to do so before backing out. Still confused, Peridot asks again why Garnet exists. Garnet’s answer?
“I’m Percy and Pierre.”
This single sentence apparently solves the mystery for Peridot, noting in her log that while she had hoped to get a better understanding of fusion, she instead got a better understanding of Garnet. This ability to use her fictional show to learn more about and empathize with another being is one reason I’m dismissive of Mill’s dismissiveness of novels and preference for poetry. Because to be quite honest, I personally still don’t see how poetry is supposedly superior at the creation of imaginative sympathies or providing a deep insight into human psychology than novels. And if Mill is dismissive of novels, probably dismissive of Camp Pining Hearts as well, I wouldn’t argue if Peridot wants to call him a clod.
But arguments about medium aside, Peridot’s cultivation of an empathetic ability through the relation between the aesthetic experience of her favorite show and the experiences of another individual hit at the larger point that Mill was attempting to get at in his discussions on the role of aesthetics in the cultivation of moral character. His opposition to the “novelistic” stems from a belief that the experience of working through our thoughts and feelings over a piece of art is superior to entertainment by the incidental. His mistake, then, is more the lack of his own imagination, I believe, in believing that one can not go through that experience when reading through a novel or watching a show.
“Let me show you our…morps.”
In the episode “Beta”, Steven and Amethyst arrive at the barn that Peridot and Lapis Lazuli have made home only to find that they have filled the barn with their own creations. In Peridot’s words “What if we made music, but instead of sounds, we use things!”
Steven quickly informs them that is called art, but Lapis and Peridot prefer the term “meep morps.” For a good analysis on this scene from someone more familiar with aesthetics and art history, see Storming the Ivory Tower’s “Self Portrait as a Fused Gem: Steven Universe and 20th Century Art”. Here, I will primarily focus on the creation and role of art from Mill’s perspective.
Mill argues for an expressive theory of art in which the value of the art is based out of the emotional self-expression of the artist. The appreciation and creation of artwork, then, is tied to the development of those imaginative and creative sensibilities that Mill argued were part of resisting the homogenizing effects of society as well as the development of new, unconventional possibilities for living life.
Of the pieces Peridot presents, “Wow, thanks”, a piece with several broken cassettes and her recorder, is probably the one I’d pick to be closest to Mill’s conception of art. As Peridot notes:
“It represents the struggles of intercommunication. The tape is the ribbon that binds our experience on Earth together. It has no functional purpose! It just makes me feel bad!”
In other words, the piece is specifically designed to invoke an affective reaction, but the meaning of the piece also reveals Peridot’s self-awareness and desire to tangle with the difficulties that have come from her new home on Earth and communicating with the Gems, Steven, or Lapis Lazuli. Considering the emphasis Mill places on sympathic feelings and communicating with others, I think he would be quite pleased with Peridot for this piece if not her taste in television programs.
Unfortunately, I don’t quite consider myself versed enough in aesthetics or art history/theory to really discuss the other pieces in-depth. If anything, my gut reaction would be to suggest Mill would raise an eyebrow at Lapis’s piece and her statements suggesting they simply invoke memory or just likes that show, invoking the more “novelistic” aspects of art Mill did not find to be stimulating. Hence my suggestion of Storming the Ivory’s piece for a superior exploration of these pieces from an art perspective.
“The point being: Earth can set you free.”
In my article “John Stuart Mill and Pinkie Pie: A Crisis of Moral Unfreedom”, I explored Mill’s concept of “moral unfreedom” in the context of an episode of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic and direct you there for a greater look at the topic. If I had to pick a quote from Mill to sum up the idea, however, I would pick this one from On Liberty:
“One whose desires and impulses are not his own, has no character, no more than a steam-engine has a character.”
In other words, for an individual to be said to be truly ‘free’ in a meaningful sense requires that their actions and motivations be derived from their own desires and impulses, of which an individual preferably has a rich diversity of them. The process of meditation, debate, imagination, empathy, aesthetic education, etc. are all in the pursuit of ensuring that the passions that drive humans remain alit and not subsumed under the dictates of habit and conformity.
Homeworld, with its emphasis on a strict caste system in which every Gem has a set role in service to their Diamond in the pursuit of expansion of the growth of the empire, is exactly the sort of society that Mill would find suppressive of the individual and the development of their character. Her experiences on Earth, however, and the relations she formed with the Crystal Gems, Steven, and Lapis, have given her the tools needed to truly meditate and explore herself. In doing so, she has learned more about herself, about others. Heck, she even learned that she isn’t actually powerless but can make metal do her bidding! Her time on Earth, then, has freed her from the confines of Homeworld’s society.
Peridot and the Meep-Morp of Life
In his third edition A System of Logic published in 1851, Mill added a brief discussion on what was the difference between “science” and “art. Science, Mill argued, was the realm of claims asserting matters of fact, the “arts” the realm of claims that “do not assert that anything is, but to enjoin or recommend that something should be.” In other words, the traditional is/ought distinction of philosophy. Mill, adds to this the claim that every art has a first principle affirming what the desirable end is.
The “Art of Life”, Mill argues, has the ultimate principle of the cultivation of human happiness and is broken into the departments of “Morality, Prudence or Policy, and Aesthetics; the Right, the Expedient, and the Beautiful or Noble, in human conduct and works.”
Now, for full exploration of this I would recommend reading the book mentioned in the acknowledgement section. I bring it up, however, because the distinction between “science” and “art” according to Mill serves as a useful metaphor for Peridot’s character arc. It also explains where I got the article title.
When she first arrived, Peridot, in a sense, viewed life as a “science”: Peridots were technicians, Quartzes were soldiers, Pearls were accessories. Deviation from this objectively true placement in life was “incorrect” and defective. As she notes in the start of her recorded rant at the end of “Too Far”
“Log date: 7112. This entire planet is backwards. There hasn’t been one instance of correct behavior exhibited by any one of these “Crystal Gems“. I have concluded that they are all defective.”
It is the lines that follows, however, were we begin to see Peridot’s shift from viewing life as a “science”, in Mill’s terms, to an “art”:
“But I am no better. I failed my mission and now I’m working with the enemy. And I can’t even get that right. I have apparently “hurt” Amethyst’s “feelings”, which was not my intent. If I’ve damaged my standing with the best Gem here, then I’ve made a serious mistake. I’m still learning. I hope you understand. I want to understand.”
She’s still viewing life in the sense of “defective” behavior versus “correct”, but that’s the start of character development for you. By the time “Earthlings” comes around and she explains herself to Jasper, another Homeworld Gem who continues to define herself based on her role as a soldier for her Diamond and is now on the verge of corruption after losing to the Gems, she no longer talks in terms of defective behavior. Returning to her quote:
“It’s not a shell, there’s so much life. Living here, that’s what I’m doing! I’m living here! I’ve been learning new things about myself all the time! Like how I can make metal do my bidding! (Shows off ability, but the metal rod just falls behind her) The point being: Earth can set you free.”
She is no longer viewing “life” in scientific terms of “correct” and “defective” behavior, but is instead in terms of learning and living. She has, in other words, begun to master, using her own term for it, the “Meep Morp of Life”
Acknowledgement: I would like to thank the book “John Stuart Mill and the Art of Life” and the various articles within it on Mill for inspiring much of this conversation and filling in the gap of my knowledge on things such as Mill’s aesthetics and his political economic work. |
Introduction
Some stories are meticulously written by their authors with utmost care, out of their will to express themselves. Other stories simply unfolds on their own in the writer's mind and demand to be told. "Pink To The Future", believe it or not, falls completely in the second category.
First of all I want to thank the authors of K-On Abridged, since the premise of the story is based upon a gag they wrote (or re-dubbed, if you prefer).
After that, I have to apology to all lovers of the original K-on manga and anime, because the ties with the original story-line are quite loose. The main reason why I made this story a K-on fanfic it's because it was inspired by the Yui/Azusa dicotomy, and I really wanted to develop that in a very unusual but "deeper" way.
With that said, I wish to thank in advance all those who will overcome the inevitable flaws of this fanfic, enjoy it, and possibly tell me what they think about it, whether in the form of a review or a private message.
K-on (c) belongs to Kakifly
Prologue: A Pink and Future Secret
It was a spring day like another at the Sakuragaoka Girl's High School - or at least that's what everyone thought it was. A young girl was standing in front of a window, in a small landing between the intersection of a stair: the girl in question was Yui Hirasawa, lead singer and lead guitarist of a light music circle's band known as Hokago Tea Time. As she was reminiscing the days gone by, she started talking out loud to herself:
"When I was in the elementary, I was always spacing out. When I was in Junior High School, I was always spacing out. But now that I'm a third-year High School student, it's time to begin my plan to rule the world !" As soon as she finished that sentence, she made a villainous, yet somehow sweet and childish long chuckle.
"Yui-senpai ! What are you talking about !?" Yui turned around and saw an astonished Azusa looking at her. Azusa Nakano was the one-year younger rhythm guitarist of Hokago Tea Time, and was in many aspects the exact opposite of Yui. As Yui was cheerful, outgoing and naive, Azusa was always determined, logical and quite introverted.
"Azu-nyan !" Yui replied with the widest smile, calling her friend with that silly nick-name she made for her, as she always used to do. She was just about to run at her and hug her, when Azusa stopped her firmly:
"Stop right there ! What where you talking about just now ?" she said, more perplexed than worried.
"What ?" Yui asked back. After a second, she remembered: "Oh, right ! That thing about me ruling the world ?"
"Yes !" Azusa replied back with an even more pressing tone.
Yui gave her another childish smile, this time with a little streak of playfulness as if she was teasing her, then she said:
"But you don't have to worry about that, you silly ! I'm going to make a world where everyone is happy. Always." Of course, Azusa wouldn't take seriously that statement even for a second, but she couldn't help but feel that something wasn't right.
"Just out of curiosity, what that plan would consist about ?" she asked, knowing perfectly that she would regret she did that.
"Hehe" Yui chuckeld again: "I can't tell you, it's a secret plan !"
"I thought we were friends, Yui-senpai..." she replied seriously, only for the sake of teasing her back "Friends have no secrets, you know..."
"I told you it's a secret, right ? Well, here's the catch..." this time Yui got nearer and started whispering to her friend
"You see, my plan is so secret..." she stopped again, and only when she was sure that nobody could overhear their conversation, she ended the phrase "...that I don't know it myself."
For a moment, Azusa couldn't believe the nonsense of what she heard. "But as soon as I discover that..." Yui concluded with a louder, determined voice "...nobody's going to stop me". Azusa was unable to tell if Yui was serious or not, and that made her worry about her friend's mental sanity once again. She shrugged and dismissed that feeling: that's how she always felt about Yui after all.
"Let's go to the club, now. The others are waiting" she told her with a disconsolate voice.
"YAAAY !" Yui screamed happily, throwing her arms up in the air.
That very night, Azusa was all set for a good sleep. She pretty much forgot about the discussion she had with Yui, since it wasn't the first time she heard her weird stuff. She closed her eyelids and fell asleep slowly, but nothing could be prepare her for what she would see when she opened them again.
As the sun hit her face, Azusa rubbed her eyes still half-asleep. She found herself lying on the middle of a street, still wearing her yellow pajamas. As she soon as she had time to recollect she noticed buildings on both sides of the streets, and she was immediately struck from something very peculiar: they were all pink.
"Lucid dreaming..." she mumbled to herself as she got to her feet. Her suspicion was apparently confirmed by what she saw thereafter. Pink: pink everywhere. She saw a group pf people assembled not very distant from her. She instinctively reached the sidewalk and walked toward them, and when she finally recovered completely her senses, she realized that not only the buildings but all their clothes as well were mostly pink.
Some had blue jeans, while other people had other bright colors on their shirts, but every person's clothes were mostly of that color. Nobody, absolutely nobody where wearing dark or dull colors. No traces of black, grey and similar colors could be found anywhere. She finally noticed that even the street under her feet itself was pink, its shade different just enough to tell where the sidewalk would begin.
As she got near, all the people looked at her with a welcoming but puzzled look on their face. "I'm in pajamas, after all..." she thought to herself. The more the seconds passed, the more she felt uncomfortable: all of this was somehow too vivid to feel like a dream, no matter how a person would call it.
"Hello, young girl ! Did something happen to your clothes, may I ask ?" A middle-aged man asked, with a quite dumb smile on his face. "Well, I..." she paused for a second, then said "...I'm sorry, I'm not even sure how I ended up here."
"Oh, some kind of amnesia ? I'm sure it's temporary !" the man answered with a reassuring voice, still keeping the same facial expression.
Azusa felt her disquieting sensation get stronger every minute. Something was wrong about this, because everything felt real... too much real. She looked at those people faces, and that sure didn't reassure her: they all had that happy, dumb expression she noticed on the man she talked to. When she gave another, more detailed look to her surroundings she literally froze on the spot.
The city was literally filled with any kind of luminous signs and billboards, all pink when it was possible. Electronic displays where all around, showing the very same rotating sentence: "BE HAPPY". And the billboards all showed the same figure, one figure whose cute smile Azusa could recognize among millions: an adult version of Yui. |
Last week, Lyndo Jones, 31, was shot by a Mesquite County, Texas police officer while he was sitting in his own car.
The alarm on his truck went off due to a malfunction caused by a previous accident and he was trying to fix it when officers arrived on the scene, responding to what they thought was a burglary. According CBS 11 News, things escalated quickly after the officer arrived.
At a news conference Tuesday, Police Lt. Brian Parrish identified Derick Wiley as the officer who shot Jones. He said Jones didn't give the officer enough time to begin an investigation before he attempted to flee and a struggle ensued.
“He was detained because we had received information that there was burglary in progress and regardless of who owns the vehicle regardless of the actual situation, if an officer receives a call that there’s a burglary in progress and arrives at the scene and finds what he deems to be suspect it is simply a prudent matter to take that person into custody and further investigate and find out if the person is up to no good," he said.
Wiley shot Jones twice, once in the back and once in the stomach. According to the police report, Jones continued to fight with officers even after he was wounded and placed into handcuffs.
Two more officers were called to the scene to help subdue Jones until paramedics arrived.
Jones was taken to the Baylor Medical Center in Dallas where he spent six days in the Intensive Care Unit, handcuffed to his hospital bed.
While he was in the hospital, his family was denied visitation and his attorneys Justin Moore and Lee Merrit posted a video on Facebook accusing the police department of violating Jones' constitutional rights to counsel.
“I’ve not seen any clearer case of constitutional violations. Not only do you have the excessive force where the client was shot, unarmed in his own car, accused of being a burglary suspect and the media misled that this man was shot during a burglary, he was then detained in the hospital, his family was denied access to him, they were not given, as he was fighting for his life, any updates on his medical condition. His doctors said they were not allowed to give updates,” said Lee Merritt
Jones was detained for nearly a week before the police filed any charges against him.
After he was released from the hospital on Tuesday, they charged him with evading arrest and booked him without parole.
However, the charges were dropped just a few hours later and Jones was set free.
Police said Jones did not request an attorney while he was being detained or under interrogation.
Moore says that after he went to the hospital Tuesday morning to talk to his client, police removed him from the building.
“However, upon arrival Mr. Jones was being unlawfully questioned by Mesquite PD detectives who disregarded his constitutional right to have counsel present,” he wrote. "I was denied access to visit my client this morning at Baylor hospital. He was shot while being unarmed by Mesquite PD and in the process they tried to sodomize him after he was shot. Now Mesquite PD and the Dallas County Sheriff’s department are violating my clients due process rights by coercing testimony from him and not allowing me to end the interview. In the process, I attempted to end the interview and go speak with my client, and I was subsequently escorted off Baylor’s premises with a criminal trespass warning.”
Lt. Parrish confirmed that the shooting was captured on body and dashboard cameras. He said the footage was being reviewed by investigators and would be released at a later date. He told reporters that he has watched some of the video, but would not elaborate on what he saw.
“I haven’t seen all the footage and I don’t know exactly what’s in all the footage and until I do, I’m not going to relay that information," he said. "I’m not going to try this case in the public media. I’m just simply not going to do that. Right now there are pieces of this investigation that are still under investigation and when we have all the information that’s when I will be releasing it.”
Jones' lawyers say they want the footage released to their office as soon as possible so that they can prepare a civil suit against the city.
<h3>MORE FROM CIRCA:</h3>
A police chief apologized for an officer's Colin Kaepernick costume
Police shot and killed a deaf man while neighbors screamed 'he can't hear!'
An ex-police chief compared blacks to ISIS and offered to 'mow 'em down,' authorities say |
Israeli planes breached Lebanese and Syrian airspace and bombed the Syrian regime’s 155th Brigade [base] in the Qutayfa area, destroying a number of missile warehouses.
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The neoconservative Washington Free Beacon is reporting that the Israeli air force has attacked a Syrian government-controlled missile base near Syria's border with Lebanon. The Beacon cites a pro-rebel website that claims:If the report is accurate it would suggest that Israel is attacking military facilities of the Syrian government to the benefit of ISIS and the al-Qaeda franchise in Syria, at least according to the latest battle map released by the Institute for the Study of War (when coordinated with a Google map search for Qutayfah, Syria).Israel has routinely violated Syrian airspace to bomb Syrian territory and uses any stray rocket fire into Israel-occupied Golan Heights as a pretext to hit Syrian government positions inside the country.Recently Israel has been forced to back down from its routine flights over Syrian airspace by the arrival of Russian fighters, and after at least one Israeli close call with sophisticated Russian fighter jets a hotline was reportedly set up for the two countries to avoid any clashes in the area.Though these reports of Israel hitting Syrian government assets to the benefit of ISIS in the area should be taken with a grain of salt, if true this would mark yet another very volatile variable in an already very complicated and dangerous part of the world. If the Russians are busy bombing ISIS and al-Nusra positions in the area north of Damascus toward Aleppo, how will Moscow take to Tel Aviv making it difficult for Syrian ground forces to take advantage on the ground of their operations in the air? |
The government has been urged to set up a national panel to handle the problem of rising tides and land subsidence, implement solutions and promote public participation.
Wittaya Kulsomboon, chairman of the NRC panel on preparation for rising tides and land subsidence in Bangkok, cited the committee’s report that the area was 0.5-2 metres above sea level and there had been a rapid urban growth and increase in population. Combined with natural sinking, the subsidence was accelerated by the high and prolonged use of underground water and the weight of tall buildings. He said Bangkok had some 700 buildings more than 20 storeys high and 4,000 buildings eight to 20 storeys high.
Wittaya said many electric train lines also aggravated the risk of sinking into the sea to parts of Bangkok and its vicinity areas in future. It could even necessitate the relocation of the capital city, he warned. The NRC discussed and voted to acknowledge the report and have the committee review it before proposing to the Cabinet in seven days.
Sucharit Koontanakulvong, a panel member and water-engineering expert, said preventive measures included control over underwater usage, and a city plan to regulate control of tall buildings. As the Gulf of Thailand sees rising tides each year, an idea has been floated to build a barrier dam from Chon Buri to Prachuap Khiri Khan, which could require Bt500 billion, he added. |
Story highlights A federal judge set the schedule for the possible release of 15,000 new Hillary Clinton documents
The new emails are being provided to the conservative group Judicial Watch
Washington (CNN) — A federal judge set a preliminary schedule Monday for the release of nearly 15,000 documents between A federal judge set a preliminary schedule Monday for the release of nearly 15,000 documents between Hillary Clinton and top aides when she was the secretary of state.
The State Department was directed to assess 14,900 documents it received from the FBI as part of the investigation into Clinton's use of her private email server while she was secretary of state, determine a plan to release the documents and report back to the court September 23.
The State Department had proposed releasing the documents the second week of October, but Judge James Boasberg of the US District Court for the District of Columbia, at the request of the conservative watchdog group, Judicial Watch, is asking State to focus on new documents uncovered by the FBI.
It's unclear how many of the documents are emails.
Read More
FBI Director James Comey said in July the FBI "discovered several thousand work-related e-mails that were not in the group of 30,000 that were returned by Secretary Clinton to State in 2014." "As we have previously explained, the State Department voluntarily agreed to produce to Judicial Watch any emails sent or received by Secretary Clinton in her official capacity during her tenure as Secretary of State which are contained within the material turned over by the FBI and which were not already processed for FOIA by the State Department," State Department spokesman Mark Toner said Monday. Meanwhile, Republicans on Capitol Hill upped the political pressure on Clinton by subpoenaing three technology companies involved in her unusual home server setup. Related Article: Bill Clinton: Foundation will continue work, change plans The subpoenas were issued after the companies did not cooperate with a House committee's investigation into the issue, said Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas, who chairs the House Science, Space and Technology Committee, "Companies providing services to Secretary Hillary Clinton's private email account and server are not above the law. These companies have failed to comply with our committee's request for documents and interviews that would provide information critical to understanding Secretary Clinton's private server and informing policy changes in how to prevent similar email arrangements in the future," said Smith who added the information was needed to determine if Clinton's servers met federal government security standards. The letters to the companies containing the House subpoenas were also signed by Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wisconsin, who chairs the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, which is looking into the issue. "The companies have direct and unique knowledge of her private server and email account. The information being sought is a crucial step in bringing greater transparency to Secretary Clinton's 'extreme careless' -- I would call it dangerously reckless and grossly negligent -- email practices," said the senator who is facing a tough re-election race this year. The subpoenas were issued to Platte River Networks in Denver, Colorado, SECNAP Network Security Corporation in Boca Raton, Florida, and Datto, Incorporated in Norwalk, Connecticut.
CNN's Ted Barrett contributed to this report. |
So when I first read that one of the packages was something that every man should know, and not to take it the wrong way, I was thinking it might be something weird that my girlfriend shouldn't see. I decided that I should open the small cloth-like present first. To my elation, it was a bundle of awesome mix and match socks. My girlfriend and I are going up north in a couple days, and I was worried about having to make my one pair of socks last the entire week. But now, my feet will be happy, and my dog even got my entire old sock collection to herself.
With the sexy socks out of the way (high five for alliteration) I moved on to the ominous package. I opened it with hesitation, but was surprised to see the book "stuff every man should know." Far from being offended, I was happier than a... well... I was pretty happy. My dad is the lovingly - detatched type, so we didn't go fishin' and campin' and tire changin' and red neckin' together, but now I know how to do all that stuff. To celebrate, I used its cooking tips and made an awesome steak.
In conclusion, thank you Janis, your gifts were awesome! Happy reddit christmas!
Just when I thought my reddit Christmas was over, I got a package from Amazon. I only watch TV shows on Netflix, so I hadn't gotten to watch the Big Bag Theory yet despite its nerd acclaim. I got season one in the mail! Woohoo! Thank you! |
A few months ago, we told you that popular SPIKE TV series Bar Rescue was in town scouting Milwaukee locations to, well, rescue. Yes, one lucky Brew City bar was being considered for Jon Taffer’s unique brand of shout-y business advice (“SHUT IT DOWN!”) and maybe some turkey sliders, which always perk a place up. Perennial East Side dive Y-Not III (1854 E. Kenilworth Pl., 414-224-9668) was the most likely candidate, followed by nearly every other bar that Milwaukeeans could think of. Because what bar couldn’t use some unnecessarily elaborate shaker cocktails added to its menu? (And, again, those turkey sliders.)
Now, it seems that Y-Not III is indeed the lucky rescuee: Bar Rescue camera crews were spotted filming at the location Saturday night, presumably capturing the “before” for the “before-and-after” portion of the episode. Word on the street is that Taffer will be on site (and yelling) Monday night, and that the new and improved bar will be unveiled later in the week. Plenty of time to completely turn things around.
Oh, and there was a burlesque show going on upstairs Saturday night, guaranteeing that this will be a doozy of an episode. The new season of Bar Rescue begins October 5.
UPDATE: The new Y-Not III is open. It’s called Nick’s House. It’s a ’70s-themed bar. We checked it out. |
We’ve already seen the blurry camera shots and the official preview, but now we have clean scans of Famitsu’s Medarot: Girls Mission coverage.
Click the images to see a bigger view:
As previously stated, the game is an action spinoff similar to Medarot Dual. Various attacks are mapped to the A-B-X-Y face buttons on the 3DS. While you’ve got full control over your Medarot, win conditions are still the same: either incapacitate the competition or inflict the most damage. You’ll be able to do this through the game’s extensive customization features. Over 100 Medarot will be featured in the game, all allowing you to swap arms, legs heads, etc. You’ll earn them by competing in the game’s various battles, including 2-on-2 ones.
Following in the footsteps of every prior handheld game in the series, Girls Mission will be sold in both Kabuto and Kuwagata releases. Unlike every game in the series, there appears to be a major difference between the two in story. Kabuto stars Minori Hojo (voiced by Ibuki Kido), a student of Joyou Agricultural High School. Kuwagata has Megumi Kaido (voiced by Aya Suzaki) from Teikou High School. Their Medarot companions will naturally be Metabee and Rokusho, respectively. Both will compete alongside other girls to win the Artemis Cup tournament.
While players won’t be able to control their partner in 2-on-2 battles, battling together will grow the bond between both Medarot and Medarotters. Ultimately players will grow stronger.
Medarot: Girls Mission features over 20 female characters and here’s the ones Famitsu is previewing:
Minori Hojo with Metabee (Voice Actress: Ibuki Kido)
Megumi Kaido with Rokusho (Voice Actress: Aya Suzaki)
Mizuho Tanigawa with Pom-Pom Mates (Voice Actress: Saki Ogasawara) – Kabuto exclusive (Minori’s buddy)
Tsubasa Nanahoshi with Peppercat (Voice Actress: Ayane Sakura)
Ichiko Tsurugi with Bluesdog (Voice Actress: Sarah Emi Bridcutt)
Riko Sakata with Mad Juggler (Voice Actress: Minami Fujii)
Sakura Gotou with Kanehachi Mk.2 (Voice Acress: Shiki Aoki)
Shouko Shiratori with Daichanko (Voice Actress: Yuu Asakawa)
Koi Nishikino with Gokudo (Voice Actress: Mari Shiraishi)
Shikkoku no Yami (Pitch-Black Darkness) with Minerva (Voice Actress: Eriko Nakamura)
Asumi Naruko with Nin-Ninja (Voice Actress: Kana Asumi)
Sayuri Kunishiro with Scimitar Tooth (Voice Actress: Rina Kitagawa)
Kiyomi Shigeno with Topgunner (Voice Actress: Hiromi Igarashi)
Kei Musumi with Steinberga (Voice Actress: Nao Toyama)
Yuri Yasuragi with Brunhild (Voice Actress: Sayaka Gomi)
Arisu Tsuchimikado with Arachnospider (Voice Actress: Ai Kakuma)
Shizuka Minamoto with Samurai (Voice Actress: Lynn)
Laura Bartley with Whipworld (Voice Actress: Ayumi Fujimura)
Ran Suzukaze with Barbe Bleue (Voice Actress: Yuu Kobayashi)
Toki Asou with Roll beauty (Voice Actress: Izumi Chiba) – Kuwagata exclusive (Megumi’s childhood friend)
Robot designs will once again be handled by series regular Horuma Rin. The girls will be designed by Sai Izumi.
The game will feature local and online multiplayer. Players can go through the game’s story as a co-op mode will be available. Up to four players can compete in local battles, but online will be limited to just two. You’ll be able to go up against your friends as well people you don’t know.
A radio program hosted by Ibuki Kido and Aya Suzaki will begin on Ulta A&G+ on January 10th between 18:30 – 19:00 JST. Medarot: Girls Mission: Radio High School will reflect on the series thus far and chat about other things.
Medarot: Girls Mission is set for release on March 10, 2016 in Japan for 5800 yen. Development is currently at 90% completion. In a franchise first, the game has received a C (ages 15+) rating from CERO.
Via: Japanese Nintendo, Nintendo Everything
Thanks Tobias and The Golux! |
Today, Google.org’s VP, Matthew Stepka, announced that the non-profit arm of Google is going to be giving a large sum money to Sunlight Foundation and mySociety to promote civic innovation through technology. Specifically, its Civic Information API will help fuel new applications and services for places worldwide. Big and small.
Here’s what Stepka had to say about the initiative:
We’ve seen developers use our Civic Information API to bring election data to citizens in new and exciting ways. Our live election results maps have been viewed by billions around the world, bringing real-time transparency to elections in Egypt, Mexico, Ghana, and more. Last week, we launched the Kenya Elections Hub for citizens to access the latest news and resources for the country’s presidential election.
Sunlight Foundation and mySociety will be given $3.7 million to continue their innovation in civic leadership. By helping communities engage in a closer relationship with their government, Google hopes that the world can have more “open and innovative societies.”
Here’s what the money will be used for:
We are providing $2.1 million to the Sunlight Foundation to grow their programs for open government data, with a focus on making civic information for U.S. cities transparent, available, and useable. By opening up information at the city level for developers as well as citizens, Sunlight is creating opportunity for new ideas that can have an impact in local markets. We are also supporting mySociety, providing $1.6 million to build a global platform to equip developers with tools and resources–such as open source code–to more easily and quickly launch new civic apps and services. This initiative can promote collaboration between civic-minded technologists, regardless of geography. For example, a civic app created in Finland might be easily replicated 9,000 miles away by a developer in Chile.
As you saw above, the company highlighted its Kenya Elections Hub as an example of why these initiatives are so important. That hub provides citizens with detailed and accurate information about the candidates, as well as links to all relevant news stories:
Google, through Google.org, has taken a long-term interest in providing sets of data in an open way, hoping that technologists all over the world would see it as a way to spread information and help their fellow man out. Google is most valuable in collecting the world’s information and then setting it free again in a structured way.
The company is putting its money where its mouth is, which is certainly not a bad thing. |
Like clockwork, the Republican noise machine is blaming Barack Obama for the crisis in Iraq. And like clockwork, they've got everything wrong again.
The man to blame for what's happening in Iraq is not President Obama — it's President Bush.
Contrary to Tony Blair's latest protestations, the U.S./U.K. invasion of Iraq -- under deliberately fraudulent pretenses -- had a great deal to do with enabling the current emergence of a Sunni terrorist military power in Iraq, but it goes much deeper than that. The recent success of ISIS — the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria — is exactly what Osama bin Laden had hoped that the 9/11 attacks would lead to. And thanks to Bush's spectacularly foolish responses, bin Laden's dream has come true.
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Before 9/11, bin Laden was a terrorist and could only dream of becoming the "holy warrior" he imagined himself to be. When Bush chose to respond to 9/11 as an act of war, rather than a crime, he gave bin Laden the gift he had always wanted, just by conferring that status.
First, by invading Afghanistan, Bush validated bin Laden's claim that what was happening was a religious war between Islam and the Christian West. Then, by invading Iraq and deposing his most prominent ideological foe, Saddam Hussein, Bush gave bin Laden a second gift—a much stronger position of influence throughout the region.
But the invasion also fractured Iraq's tenuous factional stability, and was followed by a whole series of bad decisions making matters even worse. (There was a seeming exception to this pattern, the vaunted “surge,” but as Middle East specialist Stephen Walt tweeted on June 14, “Clear now that Iraq 'surge' in 2006-07 failed. Had 2 goals: reduce violence & promote political reconciliation. Achieved 1st but not 2nd.”) As a result, the success of ISIS and the threatened disintegration of Iraq gives bin Laden's ideological descendants a third gift: a level of military and political power they could never have dreamed of, much less achieved, on their own.
The root cause of all the above was Bush's decision to respond to al-Qaida post-9/11 as warriors, not criminals. From there, the seeds of everything else were sewn, along with the skyrocketing of our national debt (more on that below). But it did not have to be that way.
In fact, in the immediate aftermath of 9/11, there was a worldwide consensus that 9/11 was a monstrous crime, and that those who committed it should be brought to justice. Gallup International revealed this via a poll conducted in 37 countries, conducted within a week of 9/11. The first question it asked was whether the U.S. should respond militarily, or by seeking extradition and trial. In all but three countries, overwhelming majorities said that the U.S. should pursue extradition and trial.
The exceptions were particularly instructive. Two countries with overwhelming majorities in favor of war (more than 70 percent) were Israel and India — countries that have spent decades unsuccessfully trying to suppress terrorist attacks through military means. “Hey, it hasn't worked for us,” their people seemed to be saying, “but you should try it, too, so we don't feel like such fools in our isolation.”
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The third county, not surprisingly, was the U.S. But only a bare majority, 54 percent, favored a military approach, while 30 percent favored extradition and trial, and 16 percent were undecided. What's truly remarkable about the U.S. results is that almost nowhere in the media was anyone arguing against a military response — a tally conducted by Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting found that Op-Eds in the New York Times and the Washington Post ran 44-2 in favor of war during the first three weeks after Sept. 11 — and yet, a total of 46 percent of Americans did not initially support the idea.
There can be no doubt that the war response was exactly what al-Qaida wanted. In the wake of bin Laden's assassination, Jim Naureckas of Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting wrote an article, “Losing the Plot: The Afghan War After bin Laden,” citing several pieces of evidence along these lines. Over the years, bin Laden had never made it a secret what he was up to: trying to bait the U.S. into a ground war in his backyard, so that he could defeat us, just as he'd defeated the USSR, in large part by bleeding us dry financially. Naureckas first cited Abdul Bari Atwan, editor of the London-based Arabic newspaper Al-Quds al-Arabi, one of the few Western-based journalists to interview bin Laden, who spent three days with him in 1996. In a 2007 Australian Broadcasting Corporation interview, Atwan recalled bin Laden explaining his long-term strategy:
He told me personally that he can’t go and fight the Americans and their country. But if he manages to provoke them and bring them to the Middle East and to their Muslim worlds, where he can find them or fight them on his own turf, he will actually teach them a lesson.
Atwan also reported that bin Laden had been disappointed with the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Somalia:
He told me, again, that he expected the Americans to send troops to Somalia, and he sent his people to that country to wait for them in order to fight them. They managed actually to shoot down an American helicopter where 19 soldiers were killed, and he regretted that the Clinton administration decided to pull out their troops from Somalia and run away. He was so saddened by this. He thought they would stay there so he could fight them there. But for his bad luck, according to his definition, they left, and he was planning another provocation in order to drag them to Muslim soil.
Naureckas also cited bin Laden's 2004 video message in which bin Laden recalled fighting alongside the Mujahedin as they “bled Russia for 10 years until it went bankrupt and was forced to withdraw in defeat.” The same could be done with the U.S., he said, citing estimates that the Sept. 11 attacks, which cost al-Qaida $500,000, had cost the U.S. more than $500 billion in destruction and military expenditures. And Naureckas cited a 2011 Washington Post piece by Ezra Klein, elaborating al-Qaida expert Daveed Gartenstein-Ross’ contention that bin Laden had been “enormously successful”:
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Bin Laden, according to Gartenstein-Ross, had a strategy that we never bothered to understand, and thus that we never bothered to defend against. What he really wanted to do—and, more to the point, what he thought he could do—was bankrupt the United States of America. After all, he’d done the bankrupt-a-superpower thing before.
Given that Afghanistan has long been known as “the graveyard of empires,” it does not take a genius to figure this out. Who knows, bin Laden might even have read Paul Kennedy's 1988 bestseller, "The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers"; it certainly doesn't seem that anyone in the Bush administration had. Kennedy detailed the dynamics of imperial overstretch over the past 500 years, and warned of the coming decline of both the U.S. and the USSR. After the Soviets fell much sooner than anyone expected, American elites suddenly lost interest. Funny how that worked.
So what would have happened if we had chosen to bring bin Laden and the rest of al-Qaida to trial? The Taliban initially refused to turn them over, but quickly began to waver. On the eve of the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan, they were willing to turn bin Laden over to a third country — something they had actually tried to negotiate prior to 9/11. This was not an ideal solution, but a clear indication that they were moving in our direction. Bush's response? “When I said no negotiations, I meant no negotiations.”
Remember, we did not even recognize the Taliban government; we had no direct diplomatic relations with them. But we had enormous leverage, and clearly could have come to terms, if we had any desire to do so. Bush simply did not. He wanted vengeance, not justice. And what would have happened in a trial? One thing I would expect would be the testimony of Muslim religious authorities condemning the attacks as illegal and immoral in Islamic law and morality. But more important, I would expect testimony from the families of the victims — particularly the 31 Muslims who were killed that day.
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I would expect the prosecution to do everything possible, not just to seek justice for the victims, but to ensure that no one else would ever be killed in such a manner, ever again. And so I would have expected the murder of innocent Muslims to play a central role in the trial. And as a consequence, I would have expected that no child born for at least 50, if not 100 years would bear the name of “Osama.” Because make no mistake, before we went crazy in response to 9/11, we had the good will of virtually the entire world on our side. It was Bush's foolish choice of how to respond that changed that irrevocably. Within a month, we were the ones killing innocent civilians with our airstrikes in Afghanistan; that's how quickly we moved to erode our moral high ground. Bush rashly threw away a gift-wrapped opportunity to utterly destroy al-Qaida, and turn all the world against any who even dream of following in their footsteps.
In the second term of the Bush presidency, after the Downing Street memos made clear the duplicity of Bush's case for going to war in Iraq, calls for his impeachment began to arise, including books by Dave Lindorff and Barbara Olshansky, by Elizabeth Holtzman, and by Elizabeth De La Vega, a former federal prosecutor. In the Nation magazine cover story that gave birth to her book, De La Vega explained her legal rationale:
Legally, there are no significant differences between the investor fraud perpetrated by Enron CEO Ken Lay and the prewar intelligence fraud perpetrated by George W. Bush. Both involved persons in authority who used half-truths and recklessly false statements to manipulate people who trusted them. There is, however, a practical difference: The presidential fraud is wider in scope and far graver in its consequences than the Enron fraud.
Yet, Gary Kamiya, writing here in May 2007, noted a distinct lack of interest in impeaching Bush for obviously serious lies, compared to impeaching Clinton for relatively trivial ones. The surface reason was simple political calculation, he wrote, but that was only part of the story:
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But there’s a deeper reason why the popular impeachment movement has never taken off — and it has to do not with Bush but with the American people. Bush’s warmongering spoke to something deep in our national psyche. The emotional force behind America’s support for the Iraq war, the molten core of an angry, resentful patriotism, is still too hot for Congress, the media and even many Americans who oppose the war, to confront directly. It’s a national myth. It’s John Wayne. To impeach Bush would force us to directly confront our national core of violent self-righteousness — come to terms with it, understand it and reject it. And we’re not ready to do that.
Put another way, it's never easy to confront the id, and that's what impeaching Bush would have called for. So we decided to just let Bush run out the clock. After all, how much worse could things get?
Sixteen months later, Wall Street gave us the answer. But that's another story. Yet, even after that, we still weren't ready to scrutinize Bush too closely. At least that's what our elite leadership told us. When President Obama said that he wanted to “look forward, not backward,” it was funny how none of the Beltway's countless Churchill fans quoted Sir Winston back at him, “The farther backward you can look, the farther forward you are likely to see.” The one time when being a Churchill fanboy might really have been helpful, for a change, and all we got was ... crickets.
That's when Obama really did start to accrue some share of blame himself, for everything that's happening in the Iraq today, by failing to vigorously clean up the mess he inherited. The invasion of Iraq was a war crime, a violation of the U.N. charter that forbids wars of aggression, and a violation of U.S. law as well, as De La Vega wrote:
The evidence shows, then, that from early 2002 to at least March 2003, the President and his aides conspired to defraud the United States by intentionally misrepresenting intelligence about Iraq to persuade Congress to authorize force, thereby interfering with Congress's lawful functions of overseeing foreign affairs and making appropriations, all of which violates Title 18, United States Code, Section 371.
It's the president's responsibility to ensure that the laws are faithfully executed. Appointing a special prosecutor to investigate these crimes would have been an eminently reasonable thing to do. Of course the Republicans would scream bloody murder if the Obama administration itself directly undertook such an investigation. Which is why an independent special prosecutor should have been appointed — someone completely outside the DOJ's chain of command.
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At the same time, a comprehensive reexamination of the response to 9/11 should also have been undertaken as well, also by a body free from political interference. This is where the utter illogic of giving bin Laden the war he wanted should have been thoroughly analyzed, debunked and replaced with proposals for a much more solid long-range plan of action. We needed a clean, sharp break with the self-defeating policies that Bush set in motion within days of 9/11.
Of course, Obama did nothing of the sort. To the contrary, he seemed eager to maintain as much continuity as possible with the outgoing Bush administration, doing nothing to seriously alter the open-ended “long war” approach to “fighting terrorism,” and keeping much of George W. Bush’s national security bureaucracy in place, as epitomized by having Robert Gates stay on as secretary of defense.
So, if you want to criticize President Obama for the chaos unfolding in Iraq, go right ahead. But blame him properly: The fault he bears is not for undermining anything Bush did, but rather, for failing to rethink and replace it with a policy that might actually work. |
Story highlights Jeff Zucker to become new head of CNN Worldwide
Zucker is a news and programming veteran who rose to head of NBC Universal
While producer of NBC's "Today" show, helped make it No. 1
Zucker is "passionate" about journalism
Veteran news producer and former NBC Universal chief Jeff Zucker will become the president of CNN Worldwide in January, the network announced Thursday
"Jeff's experience as a news executive is unmatched for its breadth and success," said Phil Kent, chairman and CEO of Turner Broadcasting System, CNN's parent company. "In a career that has seen significant professional success in both broadcast and cable, Jeff has demonstrated his ability to run multiple lines of business and fiercely defend journalists and journalism."
Zucker succeeds Jim Walton, who has headed CNN Worldwide since 2003 . As president, Zucker will oversee 23 branded news and information businesses, including CNN's U.S. television network, CNN International, HLN and CNN Digital. The latter includes CNN.com, one of the world's leading news websites.
"I am thrilled to join the distinguished team of journalists across the worldwide platforms of CNN," Zucker said in a statement. "The global reach and scale of the CNN brand is unparalleled in all of news. Outside of my family and the Miami Dolphins, there is nothing I am as passionate about as journalism."
His first challenge is likely to be turning around CNN/US television ratings, which have been declining in recent years.
Zucker, who had most recently produced Katie Couric's new daytime talk show, had been widely rumored to be in line for the position. It's been that kind of whirlwind life for Zucker, who has had a rocket-like rise in the news and entertainment business.
Zucker, who was born and raised in the Miami area, started his professional career as a researcher for NBC's Olympics operation in 1986. Within three years he was a producer for the "Today" show; three years after that, in 1992, he became its executive producer at age 26. He helped propel the morning show to the No. 1 position, which it consistently held through the rest of his tenure.
In 2000 he was promoted to the head of NBC Entertainment -- essentially the network's programming chief -- and followed that with continued ascensions until becoming head of NBC Universal in 2007, overseeing the broadcast network including its news division and all its cable entities, such as MSNBC, CNBC and Bravo.
Zucker had his struggles during his latter years at NBC, with the broadcast network falling into fourth place in the ratings and a much-publicized controversy over late-night programming involving Conan O'Brien and Jay Leno.
Nevertheless, his news judgment and leadership made the "Today" show the most profitable show on television.
Zucker's portfolio will include all CNN networks and digital properties. The original 24-hour news network, CNN has the greatest reach of any domestic news network. The CNN brand on television extends to 100 million households in the United States and 265 million households abroad, with significant online and mobile reach and a global newsgathering network with 45 locations. |
Ashley Young has claimed he can solve Louis van Gaal’s attacking problems by filling the void left by the injured Wayne Rooney for Manchester United .
United face PSV Eindhoven in their Champions League Group B opener in Holland on Tuesday night with captain Rooney ruled out with a hamstring strain.
But having previously played as a central striker for Watford and Aston Villa, England winger Young insists he can offer Van Gaal another option upfront against the Dutch champions.
“If the manager wants me to play there, then yes, of course I would,” Young said. “I can play in lots of positions and I have done that under the manager, whether it is upfront or in midfield.
“Hopefully I can play there [through middle], but it’s up to the manager and he has to make those decisions.
“I think he knows [I can play as a striker]. He has said it to me before, but it is down to him.
“He has that headache of picking the team, so rather him than me!”
Having signed a new contract on the eve of the season opener against Tottenham, Young has failed to start a senior game since the Premier League curtain-raiser.
But after replacing Memphis Depay at half-time before helping inspire United to victory against Liverpool, Young claims he is ready to make a difference whenever called upon by Van Gaal.
“Every player in the squad wants to be in the starting XI and I am not different,” Young said. “I want to play as much as I can, but when I am called from the bench as I was against Liverpool, I just want to show the manager that I am ready and willing to give 100 per cent.
“I have always said that it is good to have competition for places and we have that in abundance in the squad.
“We have a great team spirit here and everybody is pulling in the right direction. We have a winning mentality throughout the squad and we all know what is required.”
United’s trip to Eindhoven marks their return to Champions League proper after missing out on the competition last season.
And Young admits that being on the outside last season was hard to bear and something the squad are determined to put behind them.
“I did miss it and I don’t think there is a player in the squad who didn’t miss it,” Young said. “I sat at home and watched it with my family, but I am obviously glad to be back in it again.
“It was disappointing not to be in it, but that is in the past now and we are looking forward to the game on Tuesday and hopefully also getting back to winning ways in the Champions League.
“It’s the biggest and best competition, so of course I watched the games when they were on last season, but that disappointment of not being in it, not being involved, was always in the back of your mind.
“But we have got ourselves back into it and we want to do as well as we can
“You have to come up against the toughest teams in Europe at some point, so if we get out of the group, we are aware of that and ready for it.
“You have to take each game as it comes in the group stage and the first one is PSV.” |
BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian state television said a young girl of about nine years of age blew herself up on Friday in a police station in the Midan neighbourhood of Damascus.
State-run Ikhbariya news channel showed blurred images of what looked like a blackened girl’s head in a blanket, and scenes of destruction inside what it said was the police station.
State news agency SANA, quoting a Damascus police source, said there was an explosion in the police station.
A witness in the area of the blast told Reuters a young girl entered the police station and, after asking to go to the toilet, blew herself up.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the war, said there had been an explosion in the Midan area and there were reports of casualties. |
Home � Disney Quick Service Dining , Disney World Dining , Disney World Hidden Secrets , Disney World Vacations , Epcot Dining , Epcot World Showcase , Mexican Cuisine , Mexico Pavilion � Disney World Hidden Secret: La Cantina Quick Service Restaurant
La Cantina Hidden Secret
Be A Disney World Expert!
Disney World is full of Hidden Secrets that most guests never learn about, but are available to everyone. Today we visit the World Showcase in Epcot to discover the Hidden Secret at La Cantina Quick Service Restaurant.The very popular La Cantina Quick Service Restaurant that is found in the Mexico Pavilion in Epcot has a beautiful waterfront setting with seating that overlooks the World Showcase Lagoon.The Hidden Secret that many people do not realize is that during the Lunch hours every day diners at La Cantina may enter this door to dine inside the La Hacienda de San Angel table service restaurant that is only open during dinner hours.While you enjoy your inexpensive (relatively speaking) food from La Cantina, you can dine in the posh setting of La Hacienda de San Angel ! This is a fact that very few people realize, even when it becomes standing room only for the outside seating, it is calm and quiet inside. This is especially good to know on rainy days.The restaurant affords wonderful views of the World Showcase making this a great choice for lunch.The food is great. Whether you choose the great guacamole and chips for a snack or appetizer or get one of the freshly made taco meals, you can't go wrong.The next time that you visit Epcot, suggest to your family or group that you visit La Cantina for lunch and steer them inside to the Disney World Hidden Secret seating to show off your Disney World expertise. This is sure to impress and provide a great relaxing setting for lunch! |
As predicted, lots of private torrent trackers appear to be opening signups this Christmas season. Latest site to join the party is Docs Torrents, a veteran E-Learning tracker that’s been online for more than 5 years. Docs, also known as DocsPedia, tracks hundreds and thousands of eBooks, premium documentaries (both SD and high definition videos), tutorials and other educational and infotainment material not usually found on regular torrent sites. Although docs used to open registrations quite frequently in the past, there hasn't an open signup for the last several months (which prompted us to do two invite giveaways in the meantime :p ). Anyways if you are a student, professional or an avid fan of documentaries looking forward to join this site, good news is that you can now register for a free account without the need for an invite.
Docs Torrents is a tracker of Romanian origin. However, almost all of the indexed torrents are English and will appeal to any English speaking user. Note that this tracker is handled by a very experienced crew in the BitTorrent scene. Behind the Docs project are moderators / staff / administrators from the community portal Torrents.Ro who are also behind other well known private trackers such as RsR (Open), LastTorrents (Open) and Freshon.TV. As of 23/12/2010. Docs tracked 4500+ active torrents and had a very strong user base of 26000 registered members.
Despite it having a large user base, content is this tracker’s primary attraction. If you are looking for E-learning content such as educational E-books, tutorials, test engines, sample papers, etc you’d feel at home on this tracker. Docs will also cater to those who are looking for infotainment content such as premium documentaries and other related videos both in standard definition and HD. In addition to individual releases, a number of exclusive packs are also available for download.
For those concerned with the looks, Docs has a great looking AJAX based layout which is fast, uncluttered and easy to navigate. It looks a lot similar to the layout of Freshon.TV and LastTorrents (if I am not mistaken, all three trackers have the same codebase), is very responsive and gives a user friendly feel to anyone who browses the site.
As mentioned in the title of this post, registrations for Docs are currently open. The max user limit has been raised to 30000 and there are a further 4000 free spots available (provided that signups remain open till this cap is reached) .
Site Name: Docs.Torrents.Ro (http://docspedia.org)
Signup URL: http://docspedia.org/signup.php
Special thanks to Bugatti for the heads up.
Other trackers in the Torrents.Ro Family currently open for signup: |
The roof of the new Danish National Archive, near Copenhagen’s inner harbor, is about the size of a football field — but it looks for all the world like a meadow.
There are vetch, thyme, thrift and nodding grasses, interspersed with strawberry beds, walking paths and benches bordered by trellises clad in purple clematis. A bike path weaves its way across the roof. In one corner, a group of office workers are having a barbecue. Further along, the ramps that lead down to street level are a magnet for local skateboarders.
Green roofs like these have been mandatory on suitable new buildings in Copenhagen since 2010. There are oases of green on houses, hotels, city buildings, parking garages — even on bicycle and storage sheds. The roof of a development of shops and cafes is covered with flowerbeds, benches and walkways, but no gutters: a three-foot-wide bed of stonecrop and sedum along the edge takes up all the rain.
They're a big part of why Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark, keeps winning green awards. The EU officially declared it the EU's greenest city in 2014.
Urban planners tout the benefits of installing plants on rooftops as insulation, and as an antidote to urban "heat islands." That's not a problem you'd expect in a place that's on roughly the same latitude as Moscow and Goose Bay in northern Canada. But Dorthe Rømø, a consultant to the city's Department of Planning and Climate Adaptation, says Copenhagen must plan for a different future.
“Due to climate change, we expect there will come higher temperatures in our city,” she says. “We know we will have more intensive rains, and more rain in general... [W]e know that green roofs and green areas can absorb, infiltrate, evaporate and delay the rainwater.”
Rømø says they provide other important benefits, too, like creating habitats to support biodiversity. Butterflies, bees, birds and invertebrates and a wide diversity of plants — all are thriving on the rooftop gardens. Visitors to the city, familiar with the global problem of bee colony collapse, marvel at the abundance of bees among the vegetation.
Copenhagen intends to have half its citizens getting to work or school or running errands by bicycle by 2015, and to generate all its power from renewable sources by 2040. Rømø says the city is on track to meet those goals: 40 percent of its energy is already green.
It's too soon to know what impact the green roofs will have on the carbon balance, but Rømø is sure they affect the citizen's balance and their well-being. “We like to have the view of some beautiful areas, but, in fact, you can also create these beautiful areas,” she says. “I have also heard from people that they are surprised at being in a silent area even though they are in the middle of a city.”
This article is based on a story reported by Helen Palmer for PRI's Living on Earth with Steve Curwood. |
A few months ago, Syfy made a push back into the fun space-adventure programming we used to see from the channel. Fridays saw them airing Killjoys and Dark Matter, both of which just got renewed. Both shows had a lot going for them, but do they deserve another season? And how can they improve next year?
Some mild spoilers for the first seasons of Killjoys and Dark Matter ahead.
Killjoys and Dark Matter were both clearly indebted to shows like Stargate and Farscape, both in tone and in the place they occupied in Syfy’s offerings. They aren’t A-TV like Battlestar Galactica was, but more like B-TV: using smaller budgets, and providing a counterweight to the self-seriousness of A-TV shows. Done correctly, B-TV can be fun. A good B-TV show is always more entertaining than a bad A-TV show, which can descend into navel-gazing at the worst possible moment.
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In the case of these particular shows, there was a fair amount that worked. The space bounty hunter show Killjoys had a fairly likeable cast, with Dutch in particular being fantastic. And her partner John was also fun, although John’s brother D’avin took a while to get his footing. The show’s worldbuilding was also really well done. The creators did a lot of work developing it, and engineered a good background for the story. And the story itself covered some really interesting topics: Class warfare was the central theme, but there was also some freaky governmental stuff. Mostly, though, Killjoys delivered what you want from a good B-show: lots of action, reliably funny one-liners, and good production values.
Meanwhile, a lot of Dark Matter’s good points are in conception rather than actual execution. The backgrounds of all the show’s amnesiac characters were diverse — with the Android’s growth being the most well established and followed through on. The question of who you are if you have no memories to draw on should have been the show’s driving force. The mix of standalone and series-long plot arcs was generally very good: the spaceship crew visited random places or space stations, but it was always within a larger context. And Dark Matter had some fantastic space visuals.
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The problem both of these shows had to overcome was the sense that they were copies of other shows with the serial numbers filed off. And they definitely suffered by the comparison they invited. A lot of the Dark Matter characters, for example, felt like they were lifted directly from Firefly — Three, with his named guns, penchant for violence, and one-liners, was a clearly this show’s Jayne. Six, as the cute girl mechanic who is all about the team and also has some sort of weird psychic power, is a mash-up of River and Kaylee. And, unfortunately, since the show wasn’t Firefly, these versions were much blander.
These two shows present the exact opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to making mistakes. In terms of world building, Killjoys was very engineered — there was a lot of background stuffed in, and at points, some of the episodes were pretty clearly designed to put the characters into a situation, in order to show off some plot point that would come up later. The Red 17 episode when they’re on the derelict spaceship, for example? The entire episode screams, “Okay, this is going to come up later on.”
Dark Matter, on the other hand, never explained anything. It’s a future where there are corporations in charge of huge swaths of space? We think? At least, that’s how it looks in the pilot, when the crew is screwed over by one of the corporations only to be saved by another corporation. Only later, we learn that one of the crewmembers comes from somewhere that has an emperor? And another one was an important businessman from some other kind of power structure? None of the pieces quite fit together, and nothing is ever explained.
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At times, Killjoys also felt as though it was wandering off track into areas that didn’t relate to its premise—we have the Killjoys, who are supposed to be intergalactic bounty hunters, but apparently they also dabble in weird genetic engineering and assassin stuff? Which felt as though the writers wanted to write those stories, and just shoehorned them in.
Dark Matter, on the other hand, had so many different backstories that anything and everything was fair game. Which cost the show focus.
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And while Killjoys flipped a switch about halfway through the first season—there’s a lot of setup, and then they launch pretty much into mythology episodes—Dark Matter mixed everything up from the beginning, making it harder to keep track of what was important, and what wasn’t.
But where the shows were exactly the same was in the ways that they let down their characters. Tropes aren’t bad. Clichés aren’t even bad. Even the way that these shows telegraph that they’re trying to be Farscape or Stargate or Firefly wouldn’t be bad—if they were able to embrace it and make you care about the characters. But that’s not what happened.
On Killjoys, the brothers were a bit stiff throughout, and when the team breaks apart at the end of the season, there’s not really a whole lot of emotional oomph to it. Same with the betrayal at the end of Dark Matter season one—the show never really built them up as a team, so it wasn’t too upsetting to see one of them turn the rest in. And the romance subplot—especially the out-of-nowhere love triangle—was clearly something that was added because these shows always have them. Even though none of the actors involved had any chemistry together.
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At the end of the day, the biggest sin of both Dark Matter and Killjoys isn’t that they’re bad. It’s that they’re only okay. They’re mediocre, occupying the unfortunate middle ground between “ridiculously insane and loving it,” and “quality entertainment.” They either need to wallow in their tropes more openly, or transcend them.
In season two, Killjoys needs to keep building on its momentum. It needs to figure out what the hell Khlyen is and what the whole Red 17 thing is. It would be interesting to see them play a bit more about the class/wealth inequality bits, since they actually did lay down a lot of groundwork for that theme in season one.
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Dark Matter, meanwhile, needs to refocus itself away from One and onto the team. The team is actually very strong—the few times we see them working with and not against each other, it’s great. One, however, is by far the least interesting character on the show, but is somehow the character they chose to make the lead. He is the show’s problem with blandness writ large. The show should be about this team, but we kept getting bogged down in everyone’s private crusades. The whole show needs to embrace things more. It almost works with Three. He’s a very predictable cliché, but in a very joyful way, so it’s easy to just enjoy his jokes and guns.
In 2016, Syfy is going to have a lot going on. Killjoys and Dark Matter will be joining the much more serious fare of 12 Monkeys and The Expanse, as well as the more magic-based The Magicians. These shows have a place as the B-show counterparts to the gritty realism and giant mytharcs of these other shows, if they can only find their way. |
An early autumn bite is in the air as a late, gold-tinged afternoon falls over the rolling countryside of northern France. Where the land dips between gentle rises, it is already in shadow. Dotting the fields are machine-packed rolls of the year’s final hay crop. Up a low hill, a grove of trees screens the evidence of another kind of harvest reaped on this spot nearly a century ago. Each gravestone in the small cemetery has a name, rank, and serial number; 162 have crosses and one has a Star of David. When known, a man’s age is engraved on the stone as well: 19, 22, 23, 26, 34, 21, 20. Ten of the graves simply say, “A Soldier of the Great War, Known unto God.” Almost all the dead are from Britain’s Devonshire Regiment, the date on their gravestones July 1, 1916, the first day of the Battle of the Somme. Most were casualties of a single German machine gun several hundred yards from this spot, and were buried here in a section of the frontline trench they had climbed out of that morning. Some 21,000 British soldiers were killed or fatally wounded that summer day, the day of greatest bloodshed in the history of their country, before or since.
From a nearby hilltop, you can see a half dozen of the 400 cemeteries where British soldiers are buried in the Somme battlefield region, a rough crescent of territory less than 20 miles long, but graves are not the only mark the war has made on the land. More than 700 million artillery and mortar rounds were fired on the Western Front between 1914 and 1918, and many failed to explode. Every year these leftover shells kill people. Dotted through the region are patches of uncleared forest or scrub surrounded by yellow danger signs in French and English warning visitors away. More than 630 bomb-disposal specialists have been killed in France since 1946. Like those shells, the First World War itself has remained in our lives, below the surface, because we live in a world so much formed by it.
The war’s destructiveness still seems beyond belief. In addition to the dead, another 36,000 British troops were wounded on the first day of the Somme offensive. But worse was yet in store. “No, we do not pardon,” Adolf Hitler fulminated soon after the war ended, “we demand—vengeance!” Germany’s defeat, and the vindictive, misbegotten peace settlement that followed, irrevocably nurtured the seeds of Nazism, of an even more destructive war 20 years later, and of the Holocaust as well. The war of 1914–1918 was, as Simon Schama has put it, the “original sin” of the 20th century. Even the victors were losers: how could France, for example, be considered victorious when half of all Frenchmen aged 20 to 32 at the war’s outbreak were dead when it was over?
Inaugurating industrialized slaughter on a scale previously unknown, the First World War remade the world for the worse in every conceivable way. It has few remembered moments of triumph or glory: no Waterloo, no Pickett’s Charge, no D-day landing. Those who took part are not celebrated as the greatest generation. Today we usually look on it as an object lesson in multiple follies, such as the illusion that winning a major war can be quick and easy—or the illusion that wars do not have enormous unintended consequences. But oddly, despite the flood of histories, novels, and films that will only increase as the centenary of 1914 approaches (at least one major TV series is already in the works), we pay little attention to the people at the time who knew this war was an unmitigated catastrophe—and acted on their convictions. Ignoring those who argued for peace while the battles raged seems all the more strange today, when we have a vast and rising military budget and two ongoing wars that have created far more problems than they have solved.
What kings, emperors, and prime ministers did not foresee, many others did. From 1914 on, tens of thousands of people in all the belligerent countries believed the war was not worth the horrendous cost in blood, and some anticipated with tragic clarity at least part of the nightmare that would engulf Europe as a result. Moreover, they spoke out at a time when to do so took great courage. In Germany, antiwar radicals like Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht were sent to prison—as was the American socialist Eugene V. Debs after he left a sickbed to give a series of speeches when the United States entered the conflict. The judge told him he might get a lesser sentence if he repented. “Repent?” asked Debs. “Repent? Repent for standing like a man?” More than 500 American draft resisters went to prison.
Or consider a scene that unfolded a few weeks before that notorious first day on the Somme, not far away. In the spring of 1916, Britain had begun conscription, and some 50 men who were among the first to refuse it were forcibly inducted into the army and transported, some in handcuffs, across the English Channel to France. Family members and fellow pacifists were horrified. When questioned about the men, Lord Derby, director of military recruiting, declared that “if they disobey orders, of course they will be shot, and quite right too!”
There was no news of where the men were. Then one day in early June a clue reached England: an official Field Service Post Card, designed to save army censors the time it took to read mail. These cards had half-a-dozen printed messages that a soldier could either underline or cross out, and this particular one was signed by a 27-year-old schoolteacher named Bert Brocklesby, one of the resisters. All the messages were crossed out, except two. One was, “I am being sent down to the base.” The other was, “I have received no letter from you for a long time.” But Brocklesby had lightly crossed out many individual letters, so that the message read, “I am being sent. . . to. . . . b. . . . ou. . . . long.”
Supporters of the men immediately dispatched two clergymen to Boulogne.
But would they be in time? While the ministers were still crossing the Channel, a smuggled letter arrived from France, reaching the mother of a Quaker named Stuart Beavis. “We have been warned today that we are now within the war zone,” he wrote to her stoically, “and the military authorities have absolute power, and disobedience may be followed by very severe penalties, and very possibly the death penalty. . . . Do not be downhearted if the worst comes to the worst; many have died cheerfully for a worse cause.” To a peace group, he sent a brief message on behalf of himself and his comrades, ending, “We regret nothing.” For a time, there was no more news of the men’s fate.
It was in Britain that significant numbers of war resisters first acted on their beliefs and paid the price. They did not even come close to stopping the bloodshed, but their strength of conviction remains one of the glories of a dark time. By the conflict’s end, more than 20,000 British men of military age would refuse the draft. Many, on principle, also refused the noncombatant alternative service offered to conscientious objectors, and more than 6,000 served prison terms under harsh conditions: hard labor, a bare-bones diet, and a strict “rule of silence.” This was one of the largest groups ever jailed for political reasons in a Western democracy. War opponents behind bars also included older men—and a few women—as well. If we could time-travel our way into British prisons in late 1917 and early 1918 we would meet the nation’s leading investigative journalist, a future winner of the Nobel Prize, more than half a dozen future members of Parliament, one future cabinet minister, and a former newspaper editor who was now publishing a clandestine journal for his fellow inmates on toilet paper. It would be rare to find a more distinguished array of people ever imprisoned together.
A major reason many Britons opposed the war was that their country had not been attacked. Unlike France and Belgium, Britain saw no steel-helmeted German troops pouring across its frontiers. In the first few days of war, the conflict seemed to be other countries’ business. It was only after Germany invaded Belgium—whose neutrality Britain was pledged by treaty to support—that opinion among the public and in the cabinet swung toward war.
For years, the most consistent, eloquent voice warning his fellow citizens against going to war was that of Keir Hardie. Born in great poverty in Glasgow, Hardie never went to school and by the time he was 21 had worked more than half his life underground, as a coal miner. Then he became a union leader, labor journalist, and member of Parliament. He was a believer in socialism with all the fervor, hope, and innocence that only the pre-1914 world knew: surely, surely, this was the best bulwark against the generals, because the workingmen of Europe, who cheered an advance for labor in one nation as an advance for all, would never fight each other on the battlefield. Right up to the last minute—a tumultuous peace rally in Trafalgar Square two days before Britain joined the war—Hardie called for a general strike in any country that took part. In portraits, his thick beard is dark red when he is young, white as a shroud when, in his fifties, he saw the bloodshed he had long feared shatter his dreams. His hauntingly sad, heavy-browed eyes seem to stare out at you so piercingly from any photograph that they might be staring beyond his own life, into an entire century of world wars and crushed hopes.
The war struck at Hardie’s very core. After it began, people jeered him on the street in London and mobs hooted and sang “Rule, Britannia” to try to drown out his speeches. Late in 1914 he suffered a stroke, and for a time his arm was useless, and he could write only by dictating. One of his last public appearances was in the spring of 1915. “The little hall was crowded to suffocation and the lights were dimmed,” a witness remembered. “Hardie’s bushy white hair and his white beard shone out in the darkness with almost phosphorescent radiance. His head was held high, defiantly; his voice was strong and deep. . . . His voice nearly broke when he spoke of the tragedy of Socialists murdering each other.” A newspaper printed a cartoon showing Kaiser Wilhelm II giving “Keir von Hardie” a bag of gold. Crushed and broken by the slaughter, he died of pneumonia later that year, at 59.
Unlike, for example, American opponents of our wars in Vietnam, Central America, Iraq, or Afghanistan, the Britons who opposed this war had no major newspapers and only a tiny handful of legislators on their side. For someone in a prominent position to advocate any compromise was considered close to treason. When Rev. Edward Lyttelton, the headmaster of Eton, proposed some possible peace terms, the resulting uproar forced him to resign. From Parliament to pulpit, ferocity reigned. “Kill Germans! Kill them!” raged one clergyman in a 1915 sermon, “ . . . not for the sake of killing, but to save the world. . . . Kill the good as well as the bad. . . . Kill the young men as well as the old. . . . I look upon it as a war for purity. I look upon everybody who dies in it as a martyr.” The speaker was Arthur Winnington-Ingram, the Anglican Bishop of London.
A West End theater put on a play mocking pacifists, called The Man Who Stayed at Home. Women stood on street corners handing out white feathers, an ancient symbol of cowardice, to young men not in uniform. Recruiting posters appealed to shame: one showed two children asking a frowning, guilty-looking father in civilian clothes, “Daddy, what did YOU do in the Great War?” (Keir Hardie’s friend Bob Smillie, leader of the Scottish mineworkers, said his reply would be: “I tried to stop the bloody thing, my child.”)
One dissenter was the 42-year-old Bertrand Russell, the Cambridge logician and mathematician. Not only was the pipe-smoking Russell his country’s best-known philosopher, but his broad forehead, aquiline nose, piercing blue eyes, ramrod posture, and arresting shock of hair made him one of the most striking-looking philosophers of all time. A young woman who fell in love with him recalled that Russell’s hair “seemed almost to give off sparks like a heath fire.”
Russell explored the most abstruse heights of theory—his greatest work, the coauthored Principia Mathematica, takes 347 pages before reaching a definition of the number 1—but he also wrote fluently for the general public. He denounced conventional marriage but attracted women like a magnet, hated organized religion but felt moments of spiritual ecstasy, and, during this greatest crisis of his generation, loved his country deeply but believed from the very first moments that the war was an appalling mistake.
Part of Russell’s intellectual bravery lay in his willingness to confront that last set of conflicting loyalties. He described himself poignantly in the autumn of 1914 as being “tortured by patriotism. . . . I desired the defeat of Germany as ardently as any retired colonel. Love of England is very nearly the strongest emotion I possess, and in appearing to set it aside at such a moment, I was making a very difficult renunciation.” What left him even more anguished was realizing that “anticipation of carnage was delightful to something like ninety per cent of the population. . . . As a lover of truth, the national propaganda of all the belligerent nations sickened me. As a lover of civilization, the return to barbarism appalled me. As a man of thwarted parental feeling, the massacre of the young wrung my heart.” Over the four years to come, he never yielded in his belief that “this war is trivial, for all its vastness. No great principle is at stake, no great human purpose is involved on either side. . . . The English and French say they are fighting in defence of democracy, but they do not wish their words to be heard in Petrograd or Calcutta.”
Antiwar beliefs were tested most severely by the mass patriotic hysteria of the war’s first months. “One by one, the people with whom one had been in the habit of agreeing politically went over to the side of the war.” How hard it was, Russell wrote, to resist being swept away “when the whole nation is in a state of violent collective excitement. As much effort was required to avoid sharing this excitement as would have been needed to stand out against the extreme of hunger or sexual passion, and there was the same feeling of going against instinct.” One night Russell heard a “shout of bestial triumph in the street. I leapt out of bed and saw a Zeppelin falling in flames. The thought of brave men dying in agony was what caused the triumph in the street.”
By the beginning of 1916, in response to recruiting drives, posters (“Don’t Lag! Follow Your Flag!”), and music-hall songs (“Oh, we don’t want to lose you, but we think you ought to go”), 2.5 million volunteers had enlisted in the British military. But as battles on the Western Front devoured men by the hundreds of thousands, compounded by similarly bloody operations like the disastrous Gallipoli landing in Turkey, the army’s appetite for bodies was such that Britain finally began a draft.
The authorities started raiding soccer games, movie theaters, and railway stations to round up military-age men who were not in uniform. A pamphlet by “A Little Mother” typically declared that “we women . . . will tolerate no such cry as ‘Peace! Peace!’ . . . There is only one temperature for the women of the British race, and that is white heat. . . . We women pass on the human ammunition of ‘only sons’ to fill up the gaps.” It sold 75,000 copies in a few days. “The conscientious objector is a fungus growth—a human toadstool—which should be uprooted without further delay,” screamed the tabloid John Bull. In April 1916 the major group backing resisters, the No-Conscription Fellowship, or NCF, drew some 2,000 supporters to a London meeting hall while an angry crowd milled about in the street outside. The organization’s chairman, wrote one delegate, “did not wish to incite further attack by the noise of our cheering. He therefore asked that enthusiasm should be expressed silently, and with absolute discipline the crowded audience responded.” When Bertrand Russell addressed the gathering, he was “received with thousands of fluttering handkerchiefs, making the low sound of rising and falling wind, but with no other sound whatsoever.”
Russell continued to write articles, books, and letters to newspapers in prose that rang with moral clarity. The longer the war went on, he said, the more it was militarizing Britain in Germany’s image, while making certain an embittered and dangerous postwar world. He lent his enormous prestige to the NCF, and for much of the war his thick mass of graying hair was a familiar sight at its headquarters, for when the group’s chairman went to prison, Russell took his place. He attended the courts-martial of conscientious objectors, visited COs in jail, and devoted hours to the most mundane office tasks, writing “Dear Comrade” letters to branches around the country signed “Fraternally Yours, Bertrand Russell.”
The activists of the NCF scored a rhetorical point when, in the course of one legal case, a lawyer on the government side, Sir Archibald Bodkin (later notorious as the man who would get James Joyce’s Ulysses banned from publication in postwar England) protested angrily that “war will become impossible if all men were to have the view that war is wrong.” Delighted, the NCF issued a poster with exactly those words on it, credited to Bodkin. The government then convicted an NCF member for putting up this subversive poster. In response, the NCF’s lawyer demanded the arrest of Bodkin himself, as author of the offending words. The organization’s newspaper called for Bodkin to prosecute himself, and declared that the group would provide relief payments to his wife and children if he sent himself to jail.
In the late spring of 1916, Boulogne, where the group of COs who had dropped from sight were apparently being held, was one of the ports through which supplies flowed to the British army in preparation for its great offensive near the point where the River Somme meandered its weed-choked way across the Western Front. The decisive assault, scheduled for July 1, 1916, was supposed to burst through German lines like a flood breaking open a dam. After an unprecedented weeklong artillery bombardment of more than a million shells, 120,000 men would attack on the first day alone. The plans even included a map with the British names to be given to German trenches scheduled for capture. Such thorough planning was hard to conceal. When one unit slated to take part moved into position, it found a sign held up from the German trench opposite: WELCOME TO THE 29TH DIVISION.
Preparations for the offensive were at high pitch when the first group of British COs forcibly transported to France were taken to an army camp parade ground with other soldiers and given the order, “Right turn! Quick march!” The other troops did as told; the COs remained in place, unmoving. The army fined them five days’ wages, something that amused them since they were already refusing to accept any military pay. There was little else to laugh about. Periodically they were summoned to hear announcements of soldiers sentenced to death for desertion or disobedience.
They refused to do any work. Angry sergeants punished them by administering what was known as Field Punishment Number One, which meant being trussed to a fixed object for two hours at a time, arms held open in crucifixion position. “We were placed with our faces to the barbed wire of the inner fence,” recalled one CO, Cornelius Barritt. “I found myself drawn so closely into the fence that when I wished to turn my head I had to do so very slowly and cautiously to avoid my face being torn by the barbs. To make matters less comfortable, it came on to rain and the cold wind blew straight across the top of the hill.” But the men’s spirits held, for when officers weren’t looking, ordinary soldiers showed them unexpected kindness. One gave his dinner to CO Alfred Evans, and when his superiors were gone for the evening, a sergeant of the Irish Guards spent his own money buying cake, fruit, and chocolate for the whole group at the post canteen. Worried that the men’s pacifism might influence the troops, the army moved them off base, to a fish market on the docks of Boulogne that had been turned into a punishment barracks. There, they were locked in group cells with no sustenance but water and four biscuits a day.
The men in one cell could talk to those in others only through knot holes in the wooden walls. As best they could, they held debates: on Marxism, Tolstoyan pacifism, and the merits of Esperanto. The Quakers among them held a Quaker meeting. For some, the convictions that had put them behind bars were religious; for others, political; for many, both. They sang both Christian hymns and labor songs.
Unable to comprehend so many people acting according to conscience, the military decided that Barritt and three other COs were ringleaders responsible for the larger group’s mass disobedience. They were court-martialed and found guilty. No one knew whether the messages they had tried to send had reached their families and supporters in England—or would have any effect. On June 15, 1916, two weeks before the Somme offensive, the four “ringleaders” were taken out of their cells for sentencing.
They were brought to a large parade ground, and several hundred soldiers were assembled on three sides. The rumble of artillery sounded in the distance. “I cast many a glance in the direction of the white cliffs of Dover,” remembered one, “for this might be our last opportunity.” A command rang out for silence. “I caught a glimpse of my paper as it was handed to the Adjutant. Printed at the top in large red letters, and doubly underlined, was the word ‘Death.’”
As each man stepped forward, the adjutant read out his name and serial number and the charge, and intoned, “Sentenced to death by being shot.” Then there was a pause, “Confirmed by General Sir Douglas Haig.” Then a longer pause, “And commuted to 10 years’ penal servitude.”
What the men did not know was that their supporters in England had been working feverishly. Russell had led a delegation to see Prime Minister Herbert Asquith, and, as he put it, “I made him a speech of denunciation in an almost Biblical style, telling him his name would go down in history with infamy” if the men were brought before the firing squad. Asquith then sent a secret order to Haig, the British commander-in-chief in France, saying that no conscientious objectors were to be shot.
In the days that followed, while ships, trains, and truck convoys all around them sped last-minute supplies to the front, the men were returned to England and sent to civilian prisons—as would happen with all COs from now on. In an act of great collective courage that echoes down over the years, they had stuck to their beliefs even when threatened with death. “As I stood listening to the sentences of the rest of our party,” one CO said later of that day on the parade ground, “the feeling of joy and triumph surged up within me, and I felt proud to have the privilege of . . . testifying to a truth which the world as yet had not grasped, but which it would one day treasure as a most precious inheritance.”
It was only days after these COs learned they would live that thousands of British soldiers on the Somme realized they were doomed. The German machine gun emplacements facing them were built of concrete, steel, and sometimes even stone, and proved largely impervious to all but a direct hit by a high-explosive shell, something which seldom happened. Their crews waited out the British bombardment in reinforced bunkers as deep as 40 feet below ground, and when the shelling stopped and British soldiers advanced across no man’s land, bugle calls brought the Germans racing up stairways and ladders to man their machine guns. It was these that took the bulk of the toll of British troops on that first disastrous day.
Not only soldiers perished in this war, for the conflict erased the traditional distinction between soldiers and civilians. Total war among industrialized economies meant that everybody was fair game, and each side tried to starve the other into submission. German U-boats torpedoed Allied and eventually neutral ships (which brought the United States into the war) carrying food and supplies to France and Britain. Meanwhile, the Royal Navy threw a tight blockade around Germany and its allies, sealing them off from all imports of food and fertilizer. Bad harvests in central Europe compounded the food shortages, and often the only meat on sale in Germany was that of dogs and cats. A foreign visitor described what happened when a horse collapsed and died on a Berlin street one morning: “Women rushed towards the cadaver as if they had been poised for this moment, knives in their hands. Everyone was shouting, fighting for the best pieces. Blood spattered their faces and their clothes. . . . When nothing more was left of the horse beyond a bare skeleton, the people vanished, carefully guarding their pieces of bloody meat tight against their chests.”
If there were ever a war that should have had an early, negotiated peace, it was this one. After all, before it began the major powers had been exchanging royal visits and getting along reasonably well. In public, at least, none of them claimed a piece of another’s territory. Germany was Britain’s biggest trading partner. But once the conflict was on, neither side was willing to consider anything but total victory. From the beginning, Bertrand Russell had ceaselessly proposed peace terms. He suggested that a future “International Council” resolve disputes before they turned into war. In 1916, he wrote to President Woodrow Wilson, urging him to use his influence to start peace talks, but with no result. Sometimes, however, encouragement came from unexpected sources. In December of that year, Russell received a letter that began, “To-night here on the Somme I have just finished your Principles of Social Reconstruction. . . . It is only on account of such thoughts as yours, on account of the existence of men and women like yourself that it seems worth while surviving the war. . . . You cannot mind knowing that you are understood and admired and that those exist who would be glad to work with you.” The writer, 2nd Lieutenant Arthur Graeme West of the 6th Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, was killed by a sniper’s bullet three months later, at the age of 25.
As the war went on, the number of resisters in British prisons grew. Fenner Brockway, editor of a socialist newspaper, was now, in Liverpool’s Walton Gaol, editor of the Walton Leader, one of at least nine clandestine CO prison papers. It was written with pencil lead that Brockway and other resisters had smuggled into prison attached to the bottoms of their feet with adhesive tape; each issue was published on 40 squares of brown toilet paper. The subscription price was extra sheets of toilet paper from each prisoner’s supply. Twice a week, until guards finally discovered it after a year, a new issue—only one copy could be “published”—was left in a toilet cubicle the CO prisoners shared.
It was not only draft refusers who were locked up. In the spring of 1918, Russell himself was sentenced to six months for writings the authorities deemed subversive. When he arrived to begin serving his sentence, the warder taking down his particulars “asked my religion and I replied ‘agnostic.’ He asked how to spell it, and then remarked with a sigh: ‘Well, there are many religions, but I suppose they all worship the same God.’”
Officials were so awed by Russell’s fame and aristocratic ancestry (his grandfather had been prime minister and his older brother was an earl) that, alone among war resisters, he was allowed to be a “First Division” prisoner—an ancient, privileged status that permitted inmates to keep the tools of their trade, which for him meant books and paper. Russell had a lively and unconventional love life, and, evading the strict limits on prisoners’ correspondence, was able to smuggle out letters to two women he was involved with, all the while still nominally married to a third. A set of letters to one lover, a young actress, were in French, which he knew his guards would not be able to read; Russell persuaded them that these were historical documents copied from his research materials. A letter to another woman he slipped inside the uncut pages of the Proceedings of the London Mathematical Society, telling her the volume was more interesting than it appeared. Always self-disciplined, Russell wrote four hours a day, producing, among other work, 70,000 words of his Introduction to Mathematical Philosophy.
After the bloodshed had continued without respite for three years, dissenters like these were joined by an unexpected voice that rang out from the very highest reaches of the country’s hierarchy. Lord Lansdowne was a great landowner and former viceroy of India, minister for war, and foreign secretary. His doubts about battling to an unconditional victory began after the Somme. Very much a man of his class, he was particularly appalled by the number of British officers slain. “We are slowly but surely killing off the best of the male population of these islands . . . ” he wrote. “Generations will have to come and go before the country recovers from the loss.”
When the shocked London Times refused to publish it, an open letter from him appeared in the Daily Telegraph on November 29, 1917, laying out some proposals for a negotiated peace. “We are not going to lose this War,” Lansdowne wrote, “but its prolongation will spell ruin for the civilised world, and an infinite addition to the load of human suffering which already weighs upon it. . . . Just as this war has been more dreadful than any war in history, so, we may be sure, would the next war be even more dreadful than this.” Nearly three decades before Hiroshima, he prophetically sensed something about the future: “The prostitution of science for purposes of pure destruction is not likely to stop short.” Lansdowne was attacked by many former colleagues, and in their confidential reports on the public mood, undercover intelligence agents began speaking darkly of “Lansdownism.” Many soldiers, however, wrote to congratulate him on his bravery.
Government harassment of the antiwar movement grew steadily worse. The police raided the printer that produced the No-Conscription Fellowship’s newspaper and dismantled the press. The paper quickly switched to a new printer, who soon also found his presses wrecked. Produced next on a small hand press, the paper promptly reappeared as a single page with the triumphant headline “Here We Are Again!!” When the two men who operated this press ran out of type for the large capital letters used for headlines, they borrowed them from friendly fellow printers on Lord Northcliffe’s rabidly pro-war Daily Mail. For months to come, moving once or twice because of suspicious neighbors, this secret press continued to print the paper. Scotland Yard detectives never found it. Violet Tillard, an NCF activist, served two months in prison for refusing to reveal its location. Trying to figure this out, agents kept the organization’s office under surveillance, but an impoverished-looking woman with a baby, who visited the building every few days apparently hoping for a handout, never attracted their attention. She was smuggling proof sheets beneath the blankets of her baby carriage.
The former editor Fenner Brockway was in his prison cell when he heard the news that an armistice was to take effect at 11:00 a.m. on November 11, 1918. Allowed no watch, he had learned to tell time by the position of a sunbeam on the wall.
I remember sitting on the shelf-table in the denuded cell, my feet on the stool, watching the sun creep along the wall towards eleven o’clock. I cannot reproduce the chaos and intensity of my thoughts.
“Was the slaughter of four years to end? . . . Was I to see my family and children? . . . Was I to see the fields and woods and hills and sea?
“The line of the sun on the wall approached eleven.
When horns all over the city suddenly sounded, Brockway wept.
Bertrand Russell, who had recently completed his prison term, walked up Tottenham Court Road and watched Londoners pour out of shops and offices into the street to cheer. The public jubilation made him think of the similar mood he had witnessed when war was declared more than four years earlier. “The crowd was frivolous still, and had learned nothing during the period of horror. . . . I felt strangely solitary amid the rejoicings, like a ghost dropped by accident from some other planet.”
Over the years, as the war’s toll sank in, they and others who had gone to jail for their beliefs began to win considerable respect from a public that had once scorned them. Brockway and several others became members of Parliament. Russell continued to write; in 1950, his top-heavy thatch of hair now completely white but as thick as ever, he would appear in Stockholm as one of the few writers of nonfiction ever to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature. A trade unionist named Arthur Creech Jones spent two and a half years in prison as a CO; 30 years later, he was in the British cabinet. Ramsay MacDonald, an antiwar Labour MP, had not gone to prison during the war but had been under police surveillance and was repeatedly stoned when he spoke at peace meetings. Angry patriots had even voted to expel him from his golf club. In 1924, he became prime minister.
“I knew that it was my business to protest, however futile protest might be,” wrote Russell, decades later. “I felt that for the honour of human nature those who were not swept off their feet should show that they stood firm.” And stand firm and honor the best of human nature they did. Their battle was not won, but it remains an example for our own time, a time increasingly shadowed by conflict, a time when we still, as General Omar Bradley once said, “know more about war than we know about peace.” As the 100th anniversary of 1914 approaches, who now seem the heroes—Russell and those like him, or those who dutifully marched off to be slaughtered at the Somme?
This article is drawn from To End All Wars: A Story of Loyalty and Rebellion, 1914–1918, published in May 2011. |
Yes, we are finally back! It took us two and a half months of waiting before we were at last rewarded with a new episode of Gotham. Was the hiatus worth it? Maybe, it does feel like a fresh start after the circus madness from Jerome’s last performance. Anyhow, let’s not linger in the past, but look at the bright future Gotham has to offer her residents. This is how The Riddler got his name.
We start off right after the last episode back in February. Not much time has past and the GCPD is still finding bodies from Jerome’s adventure. Not that they are short on dead bodies because a couple of Gotham’s finest and most intelligent residents were found dead. Most of them under suspicious circumstances. The way that they were found dead was not really suspicious once you know who is behind it: Edward Nygma.
Nygma is on a killing spree. He has already killed six people and he will continue until he gets what he wants. And that is not money or power, but he is looking for a mentor. Someone to replace Penguin in guiding him to be the best villain he can possibly be. We see this in action in a lab with an academic professor. Nygma asks him riddles, but sadly for the professor, he doesn’t know the answer. So Nygma casually blows up the lab.
I feel like Nygma has gone off track a bit since he uses drugs to get visits from imaginairy Penguin with ‘advice’. He honestly should have never killed him. With the help of his imaginary Penguin, he comes to the conclusion that he can’t find himself a suitable mentor. So instead of a mentor, he goes on a hunt to find himself an enemy. And he knows just the guy: Jim Gordon. Even imaginary Penguin thinks this is a bad idea, he even puts on a very strange dance to convince Nygma that he can’t be The Riddler without the Penguin.
Nygma’s next move is to send a man dressed as a bunch of grapes to the GCPD to deliver a message. This message is for Gordon, his enemy, but he is out on a break so Lucius Fox gets the note instead. It is a riddle (of course) and leads them to a chess tournament. Nygma has sabotaged the game clocks so that the player get executed once they press the buttons. Luckily for all the players, Fox, Bullock and some officers get there in time so just a couple of players get electrocuted. Nygma watches the whole scene from the balcony and is surprised that it is not Gordon who comes storming through the doors. But as soon as he sees it’s Fox he knows he has found the perfect opponent to play along in his games. Back at the GCPD Fox discovers that there are numbers under the chess pieces they confiscated. These numbers together turn out to be Nygma’s phone number. But honestly, how did Fox get the number so fast? He had to know exactly in which order the chess pieces needed to be placed to get the number. In the phone call, Nygma gives a clue about his next victim. It can be found in the Belly of the Beast at the pawn at queens. This leads Fox and Bullock to a pawnshop that is located on a street with the word queen in the name. They arrest the guy working there, but he has no clue what they are talking about. He also tells them that he covered the shift from a guy named Thirío since he didn’t show up that day. The GCPD finds the dead body of Thirío sometime later and Fox then realises that Thirío means belly in Greek. He asks Lee to cut open his stomach and Bullocks GCPD badge appears. Fox now knows that it is Bullock that Nygma will go after.
Bullock has no idea what is about to happen since he is preparing himself (as the captain of the GCPD) to give a speech to the cadets that graduate from the academy. He never gets to actually hold his speech, because when he is standing backstage he is kidnapped by Nygma. When Nygma is holding a ‘replacement speech’ he releases a toxic gas in the room full of cadets.
In the meantime, Fox gets another visit from a fruit person, now it is a woman dressed as a strawberry. When she asks if he is Foxy, Fox realises that the person responsible for this madness is Nygma because he is the only one calling him that. He rushes to the graduation location where he gets a call from Nygma to go upstairs. Nygma has Bullock dangling above the stairwell on three ropes. Around his neck is the remedy for the toxic gas to save all the cadets. If Bullock falls, the remedy will also be destroyed. In order to save Bullock and all the students, Fox has to answer three riddles. For every riddle he answers wrong, a rope will be cut. He only needs to answer one right, because then Bullock will be saved. Fox answers the first two wrong, or at least he didn’t give the answer Nygma wanted him to give. But the final riddle was answered correctly, and Bullock was saved. He did nearly fell down the stairwell because the rope snapped, but Fox was there to catch him but Nygma gets away.
Later that day when Fox goes home he gets a visit from Nygma in his car. Nygma admits that he killed his best friend and that he deeply regrets it. But on the other hand, he now knows who he is and how he needs to be that person without Penguins help. He now calls himself The Riddler. He then visits the docks to express his regret about killing Penguin but he convinces himself that he doesn’t need Penguin to succeed. Nygma decides to let Penguin go by throwing away the drugs and embraces his new persona as The Riddler.
Somewhere outside Gotham, Gordon goes on a hunting trip with his Uncle Frank where the latter reveals the reason why he came back to Gotham after all these years. He is a member of the Court of Owls, just like Gordon’s father. But now wants to destroy the Court and bring democracy back to Gotham. He also tells that Gordon’s father wasn’t killed in a car accident, but that the Court had something to do with it. The Court now wants Gordon as a member and Frank thinks this is a good way to destroy the Court together. Gordon doubts becoming a member, especially because of Franks sudden return to Gotham. Gordon’s instincts are not letting him down, because when they are back in Gotham Frank pays a visit to Katherine, telling her that Gordon might take the offer. So Frank is either lying to Gordon or to Katherine.
Bruce is still upset from everything that happened with Selina in the past couple of episodes. He is quite reluctant when he gets a note from Selina to meet her at their usual spot but Alfred encourages him to still go and hear what she has to say. Bruce waits for her but she doesn’t show up. When he is on his way home he gets into an encounter with Sonny Gilzean. Selina comes into view to stop Sonny from beating up Bruce. She also denies sending him the letter and orders him to stay away from her. Bruce still gets beaten up by Sonny but he defends himself quite reasonably. When he walks through an alley to get back home he meets his dopplegänger who drugged him. The dopplegänger takes Bruce’s his place in Wayne Manor while the real Bruce wakes up in a dungeon with a view of snowy mountains.
Meanwhile, Penguin wakes up in Ivy Pepper’s apartment after surviving the gunshot wound.
And that was already this episode. It was nice to get more Fox in the picture, usually, he is a secondary character that we only see once in a while. I also think that choosing Fox as Nygma’s potential arch-nemesis was an excellent choice. And what will happen to Bruce? Why did the Court send him to the mountains?
What did you think of this episode? Leave a comment, I’d love to know!
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They are intent on letting the United States Tennis Association put up new parking lots and new roads. And, most perilous, city officials seem intent on letting Major League Soccer build a 25,000-seat stadium not on the park’s edge, but at its very core.
It’s as if Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, in distorted homage to “Men in Black,” wanted to park a flying saucer here, obliterating soccer fields and a pond.
It is a fact of 21st-century life that the upstairs/downstairs class divide applies with great force to New York City ’s parks. To ride your bike from Brooklyn Bridge Park to Battery Park to Hudson River Park, and perhaps stop and take a stroll on the High Line , is to experience New York as Paris , beautifully kept parks with gardeners and omnipresent officers.
To ride out to the Shore Park by the Verrazano Bridge and east to Marine Park or to bike up to the city’s largest park Pelham Bay is often to bounce along roads as rutted as any in backwoods Vermont . I walked Flushing Meadows-Corona Park with Donovan Finn, a passionate 41-year-old resident of Jackson Heights and a professor of environmental studies at Stony Brook University . He pointed out lawns scarred by hardscrabble patches of dirt, soccer goal posts rusting, and the Fountain of the Planets surrounded by acres of asphalt.
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We walked beneath a stand of adolescent sycamores that would be destroyed by the tennis center. We came to a stop by the soccer fields, crowded on this weekday, which would disappear during years of construction.
“This is where my 3 ½-year-old son runs around the fountain,” he said. “This is our park. Why is it O.K. to do this to us?”
City officials hint at bags of cash for this plain beauty of a park; perhaps the soccer stadium could provide it with a revenue stream. The league might eventually rebuild even prettier fields. Maybe, perhaps, could be, some day.
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Why have mayors not demanded that the United States Tennis Association and the taxpayer-subsidized New York Mets pay fees to this much-abused park? And would the mayor, whose mansion is steps from Central Park, conceive of asking the worthies on the Central Park Conservancy to underwrite its operations by placing a professional soccer stadium in Sheep Meadow?
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To ask is to know the answer. More than a few residents of Manhattan had made clear they did not favor placing this stadium along the Hudson River.
Four years ago, the parks department released a strategic plan for Flushing Meadows. It is a dispatch from a different, green-edged age of Bloomberg. It “re-envisions” a “new greener landscape” with less pavement, cleaned-up lakes and a spectacular Fountain of Industry edged by lawns and playgrounds. And it suggests that the city force baseball owners and tennis barons to ante up their fair share of fees.
To read this report is to feel that surge of optimism when New Yorkers dream grandly of public spaces. As the former mayor of Bogotá, Colombia , Enrique Peñalosa, a champion of parks across the globe, once said: Public space is for living, kissing and playing. “Its value can’t be measured with economics or mathematics; it must be felt with the soul.”
No hint of such vision was on offer last week in a crowded public school auditorium, where the Economic Development Corporation came to solicit comment on its plan for the shopping mall. A city interpreter began by standing and explaining in Spanish to a vastly Latino crowd that it would offer no simultaneous translation into Spanish.
But, he noted brightly, you are welcome to use the agency’s Spanish language Web site.
Ms. Gutierrez sat in that audience, desperate to hold to what’s left of her children’s shrinking park. She fears a done deal.
“Why does the mayor come to Queens with this idea?” she asked. “People in Queens, we need good jobs, vacations, sick days and parks. We need beautiful, beautiful parks — just like people everywhere in this city.” |
(NEWSER) – A homeless San Francisco man who calls himself a "news junkie" might be able to get off the streets because of his news habit: He will receive the lion's share of a $150,000 reward for helping recapture two escaped inmates in January, the Los Angeles Times reports.
{ "position1" : { "type" : "live", "id" : 6043, "name" : "24/7 News", "description" : "The news you want, when you want it" } }
Matthew Hay-Chapman recognized the inmates' stolen van in a Whole Foods parking lot on Jan. 28 and spotted fugitive Hossein Nayeri emerging from the vehicle. He says he found a police officer and led him to the van, leading to the capture of Nayeri and fellow escapee Jonathan Tieu. A third man had surrendered a day earlier.
Read the full story on Newser.com |
TEL AVIV – Pro-Palestinian student group Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) has been compiling lists of Jewish students and their dorm addresses on college campuses in the U.S., a Likud minister charged.
The allegations were presented to members of the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.
MK Anat Berko said that SJP is “collecting information on where Jews live at New York University among others.”
She added that any attempt by Israelis to address students on campuses in the U.S. is always disrupted by heckling, protests, and worse.
Western universities have “no academic freedom … no freedom of expression,” she said.
Knesset member Anat Berko (Likud) reiterated the claim in an Israel Radio interview after the committee meeting, saying that SJP has been collecting information on where Jews live at New York University among others.
Likud MK Avi Dichter, who heads up the committee, said Israel “has a commitment [to protect] every Jew when they are attacked for being a Jew.”
In 2014, NYU’s SJP chapter slipped thousands of mock eviction notices under the doors of dorm rooms housing Jewish students in an apparent protest against Israel’s policy of demolishing the homes of terrorists.
NYU spokesperson John Beckman responded that it was “a matter of deep concern” that a “flyer titled ‘eviction notice’ anonymously slipped under doors at night is not an invitation to thoughtful, open discussion; it is disappointingly inconsistent with standards we expect to prevail in a scholarly community.”
Last month, Breitbart Jerusalem reported that the University of California’s SJP is being investigated for disrupting a pro-Israel event with a violent protest that included chants of “f**k Israel” and “Intifada, Intifada, long live the Intifada.” |
GLENDALE, ARIZONA --- The Arizona Coyotes announced today an agreement to sell 51 percent of the Arizona Coyotes franchise to Andrew Barroway. The sale and ownership transfer is subject to approval by the NHL’s Board of Governors. Once the transaction has been approved and closing has occurred, Barroway will begin to serve as the Coyotes Chairman and Governor.
“This is truly a dream come true for me and my family,” said Barroway. “I am extraordinarily grateful for the opportunity of a lifetime and look forward to working and solidifying a strong partnership with the Club’s current ownership group.
“As a group we are committed to serving our fans with a new level of excellence and our collective goal is to put a competitive team on the ice every season and, one day, win the Stanley Cup.”
“Today is an exciting day for the Arizona Coyotes and our great fans,” said Coyotes Co-Owner, President and CEO Anthony LeBlanc. “The addition of Andrew Barroway to our ownership group further solidifies the Coyotes long-term future in the Valley. Our entire ownership group is excited about this opportunity to work with Andrew in taking this franchise to the next level. It’s a great day for hockey in Arizona!”
Andrew Barroway is the Managing Partner of Merion Investment Management LP, an event driven hedge fund that currently manages more than $1 Billion. Merion was founded in January 2009. Prior to that, he was a partner at Barroway, Topaz, Kessler, Meltzer & Check LLP, the second largest securities class action firm in the country. Barroway graduated from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 1991. |
Hamburger SV announced on Sunday that Bruno Labbadia and his coaching team would be leaving the club with immediate effect.
The decision was taken following a 1-0 home defeat to FC Bayern München that leaves Hamburg still searching for their first win of the new Bundesliga season. "Taking our sporting situation into account, this was a necessary step," said HSV chairman Dieter Beiersdorfer. "I am convinced we need a change of coach to turn the season around after a disappointing start. After a long pre-season and our performances so far, we have come to the conclusion that our footballing development has not met our expectations."
Labbadia departs after 18 months at the helm. In 2015 he steered the club to Bundesliga survival after a dramatic relegation play-off against Karlsruher SC.
"I would like to thank Bruno for his work on behalf of everyone at the club," continued Beiersdorfer. "We will never forget what he achieved in a very difficult period for the club."
The HSV board will announce Labbadia’s successor at the beginning of the week.
For more reaction on the game, head ot the Hamburg v Bayern Match Centre |
For the millions of users still running Windows XP or Internet Explorer 6—for which Microsoft ended support this week—one way to convince customers to switch is letting them literally shoot the outdated products to death.
Microsoft’s Internet Explorer team launched a browser-based game called “Escape from Windows XP.” The simple arcade-style shooting game pits you, the last developer, on a ground made of broken Internet Explorer windows from an unending horde of cracked desktop screens, flaming recycling bins, and tanks sporting Internet Explorer logos. Some other old friends (think a certain paperclip helper) also show up along the way.
(Related: The Windows XP world of the eve of its ‘end of life’)
The game begins with a Windows XP startup screen, but the classic desktop quickly cuts to a blue screen where the player is given their quest.
“In the long, long ago, Windows XP rose like a phoenix from the ashes of Windows 2000,” the screen reads. “As newer operating systems came along, Windows XP clung to life, a pestilence on the peaceful developer community. With their community in turmoil, most developers fled ages ago… One still remains.
“One man. One hero, still supporting IE6 on XP. Now, he’s fighting the final battle for his people—to destroy it once and for all. It’s time for his escape. Here. Now.”
Check the game out here. |
When This Oil Spills, It's 'A Whole New Monster'
Hide caption Whistle-blower John Bolenbaugh wades through thick mud in the Kalamazoo River looking for leftover traces of oil from the July 2010 Enbridge tar sands pipeline spill. Previous Next John W. Poole/NPR
Hide caption An oil sheen appears along the shore of the Kalamazoo. More than 800,000 gallons of oil entered Talmadge Creek and flowed into the Kalamazoo River, a Lake Michigan tributary. Heavy rains caused the river to overtop existing dams and carried oil 30 miles downstream. Previous Next John W. Poole/NPR
Hide caption Bolenbaugh holds up a hand coated with oil sludge he has found in the Kalamazoo River two years after the spill, and two weeks after the state and EPA reopened the river to recreational use. Previous Next John W. Poole/NPR
Hide caption A culvert carries Talmadge Creek under a road in Marshall, Mich. After the spill, this small creek was flooded with oil, carrying it to the Kalamazoo River in the distance. Enbridge cleaned this area of oil twice. The second cleaning occurred after Bolenbaugh appeared on a local news channel falling through winter ice into a pool of oil in an area the company had declared free of oil. Previous Next John W. Poole/NPR
Hide caption John Bolenbaugh stands in a forested stretch of the Kalamazoo River that borders a mobile home community in Battle Creek, Mich. Previous Next John W. Poole/NPR
Hide caption Oil rings on trees only 50 feet from the nearest home show the height of the oil and water, and its proximity to the Baker Estates Mobile Home Park in Battle Creek. Previous Next John W. Poole/NPR
Hide caption Michelle BarlondSmith and her husband lived in a riverfront trailer park. BarlondSmith says the sickening fumes from the oil lasted for months. Previous Next John W. Poole/NPR
Hide caption One of dozens of houses along the Kalamazoo River sits empty since the spill. Enbridge offered to buy up most of the property along the river immediately after the spill, and most residents sold at deflated prices to escape the area. Previous Next John W. Poole/NPR
Hide caption Children fish at a newly opened recreational area built by Enbridge on the Kalamazoo River. Posted signs warn that most of the fish is not safe to eat. These children were not aware of the oil spill and were not area residents. Previous Next John W. Poole/NPR 1 of 9 i View slideshow
Sometime in the next few months, David Daniel probably will have to stand by and watch as bulldozers knock down his thick forest and dig up the streams he loves.
His East Texas property is one of more than 1,000 in the path of a new pipeline, the southern stretch of what is known as the Keystone XL system.
For years, Daniel has tried to avoid this fate — or at least figure out what risks will come with it. But it has been difficult for him to get straight answers about the tar sands oil the pipeline will carry, and what happens when it spills.
"I want to know exactly what I'm dealing with," he says. "Maybe other folks want to go through life with blinders on, but I want to know how to protect my family, and without knowing everything, you don't really know how."
New pipelines, like the one coming to Daniel's property, are spreading out around the United States as the nation gears up to get much more of its oil from Canada's deposits of tar sands in Alberta.
This is not conventional crude. It is so thick, sticky and full of sand that companies have to shoot steam deep underground to liquefy it or scrape it out of sprawling surface mines. These complex extraction techniques are expensive, and they also produce a lot more greenhouse gases than conventional oil wells. But high oil prices are finally making tar sands oil profitable.
Many people are welcoming the jobs, money and friendly oil that will come with these pipelines. And politicians including President Obama and his Republican rival Mitt Romney tout the benefits of getting more of our petroleum from such a friendly neighbor.
But pipeline spills are inevitable; hundreds of spills happen each year in the U.S.
And that terrifies some people in these pipelines' paths — Daniel included.
toggle caption Katie Hayes Luke for NPR
Planning For A Pipeline
Daniel lives about a 2 1/2-hour drive from Dallas in East Texas.
He learned a pipeline was headed his way four years ago, when a neighbor called him at work to alert him that surveyors had been on his land.
He rushed home and hurried down the shady path from his house to where spring-fed streams meander through what looks like a fairy-tale forest. He found surveyors' stakes, with some cryptic writing on them, right in the middle of his 20-acre property.
"I didn't know what 'K-X-L' was; '36-inch,' I understood what that is. That meant pretty big. And 'P-L' had to be pipeline," he recalls. "My heart just sunk that this is the piece of the property that we fell in love with, and this pipeline would tear all this up."
A few months after he saw the stakes, he got a letter from a corporation named TransCanada asking for permission to send out more surveyors.
The letter warned that TransCanada could take him to court if he didn't comply. He called an attorney whose name was on the letter.
"I said, 'I have questions. I don't know anything about this project,' " Daniel remembers.
According to Daniel, the lawyer said, "The only question I have for you is which pile to put you in, the cooperative pile or the f - - - ing uncooperative pile."
The lawyer says that he doesn't remember the conversation, and that he doesn't use such language. But Daniel took notes at the time, and he says the conversation is seared into his memory.
Daniel usually doesn't intimidate easily. He's a carpenter and used to work for circuses, riding motorcycles on the high wires. But he knew he didn't have the money to take on a big corporation.
TransCanada kept threatening Daniel that if he didn't give his permission, they'd get it from the courts through eminent domain, which forces people to give companies rights of way through private property for highways and other uses considered in the best interest of the general public.
What Daniel wants most from TransCanada is answers. He actually drew up a list of 54 questions.
"One of my many questions was: If there's a spill and we have to leave, are you going to take care of us?" Daniel says.
He also wanted to know things like: What kind of damage could a spill cause? And what chemicals would flow in the pipeline?
TransCanada told Daniel in writing that questions about spills were hypothetical because their pipeline would be designed not to spill. But in a document for the State Department, TransCanada predicted two spills every 10 years over the entire length of its Keystone XL pipeline, from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico. Some scientists argue that the company underestimates that risk. Another pipeline it put into service two years ago has had 14 spills in the United States, although most were small, according to TransCanada.
The U.S. Pipeline Network
After two years of wrangling, Daniel finally gave in to TransCanada, because he felt he had no other choice. He signed a contract, and in March 2010 accepted $14,000, which was a lot more than the $2,400 TransCanada had first offered him.
But around that same time, something happened that would help get Daniel some answers.
In July 2010, a pipeline carrying tar sands oil burst in Marshall, Mich., inundating 40 miles of the Kalamazoo River with heavy crude.
When Daniel heard these reports, he got scared.
"We didn't have to talk in hypotheticals anymore. We had a real-life example of what we thought could happen here," he recalls.
Daniel went to Michigan in search of answers.
How Clean Is Clean?
In Michigan, a cleanup worker turned whistle-blower named John Bolenbaugh helped answer one of Daniel's questions: If there's a spill, will they clean up all the oil?
Two years after the spill, Bolenbaugh takes an NPR reporter on a kind of treasure hunt for oil, crashing through jumbles of brush and chest-high grasses.
On the bank of the Kalamazoo River, Bolenbaugh sets up a video camera, because he videotapes everything he does. And then he hurls himself into the river.
A couple of minutes later, he walks out of the river, holding up a blue latex glove covered with tarry black stuff.
"It's like molasses but even a little thicker," Bolenbaugh says. "And it smells like asphalt, kind of. When it was fresh, it was a horrible, horrible smell, like they just paved your road, but they paved it on all four sides of your house, and you had to stay there for months. It was that bad."
Bolenbaugh is like a reality TV character. He talks a mile a minute, and he's prone to exaggeration. He sees himself as the Erin Brockovich of this disaster.
Bolenbaugh grew up in Michigan, and after a stint in the Persian Gulf with the Navy, and several years in prison for a sex offense, he started working on pipelines. So when the spill happened, he was called in to help clean it up.
As Bolenbaugh tells it, he and other cleanup workers were told to bury oil, which made him furious. So he started taking photos and videos with his cellphone on the sly.
Bolenbaugh was fired after he went to the Environmental Protection Agency and the media. But he sued the contractor he worked for and got a big settlement. Now he's suing Enbridge, the company that runs the pipeline.
He carries around some of the photos and tons of documents in a huge binder, which was part of the evidence for his lawsuit.
"If you notice in this picture, the oil is still there, but we're raking dirt over the top of it," Bolenbaugh says. "That's what we're ordered to do."
Bolenbaugh credits himself with getting Enbridge to redo cleanups. They dug up a two-mile stretch of creek for a second time, after Bolenbaugh showed reporters that a lot of oil was still under the replanted vegetation.
"I got 'em good. And I'm proud of myself for what I've done," he says.
Enbridge and the EPA dispute Bolenbaugh's interpretation of the role he's played, but they both confirm that it has taken far longer to clean up the oil than expected. Early on, the EPA gave the company a couple of months. Two years and $800 million later, the cleanup is still going on. The cost eclipses every other onshore oil cleanup in U.S. history.
What Is Tar Sands Oil?
Enlarge this image toggle caption John W. Poole/NPR John W. Poole/NPR
A major reason the cleanup costs so much and is taking so long is that lots of the oil sank to the bottom of the Kalamazoo River — but no one realized this at first.
Michigan State University professor Steve Hamilton is paddling down a stretch of the Kalamazoo that had just been opened to the public. For nearly two years, 37 miles of river and two miles of creek were closed because of the contamination from the spill.
In a shallow section, Hamilton sticks his paddle into the river and pokes the bottom.
"You can see just a little bit of sheen being produced here," says Hamilton, an independent science adviser for the cleanup. "It's starting to come up from this as I disturb it."
Hamilton says this tar sands oil sank to the river bottom because it's heavy — heavier than almost anything that's considered oil.
"It's not quite solid, and it's not quite liquid," he says. "You could pick it up and shape it into a ball practically. Tarry is another way to think about it."
Tar sands oil has to be diluted to make it liquid enough to flow through a pipeline. But once it's back out in the environment, the chemicals that liquefied it evaporate. That leaves the heavy stuff behind.
Cleanup crews didn't know what they were dealing with. They expected it to act like oil usually does and float on water. So they focused on vacuuming oil and skimming it from the surface.
But about a month into the cleanup, some fish researchers got a surprise. One of them jumped from a boat into the river. With each step he took, little globs of black oil popped up.
That kicked off a search for sunken oil.
"And everywhere they looked, they found it," Hamilton recalls.
EPA's Midwestern chief Susan Hedman says they had to develop new techniques to remove all of this submerged oil.
"The EPA staff that worked on this, that have responded to oil spills over many, many years, had never encountered a spill of this type of material, in this unprecedented volume, under these kinds of conditions," Hedman says.
Scientists say they're only beginning to study how tar sands behave after a spill, or even whether it might wear out a pipeline.
Will Companies Protect People In Pipelines' Paths?
The most important questions Daniel explored on his scouting trip were about his family's safety.
"If there's a spill and we have to leave, are you going to take care of us?" Daniel says.
On his Michigan trip, he got an earful on that one from Michelle BarlondSmith.
She and her husband lived in a riverfront trailer park, where trees still show oil rings about three feet up their trunks.
BarlondSmith says the sickening fumes from the oil lasted for months.
"Besides the splitting headaches and the dizziness — and we call it the crab walk, which is when you think you're walking straight but you look like a drunk walking down the street — you couldn't eat because you felt like you had two rocks in your stomach just pounding. And when you tried to eat, unpleasant things happened," BarlondSmith says.
Authorities didn't suggest they evacuate until 10 days after the spill; peak levels of toxic chemicals in the air had passed by then. Enbridge did pay for a couple of weeks at hotels for the couple. But after that, they had to go home.
The EPA measured high levels of benzene in the air after the spill. Benzene is a chemical in petroleum, and in high enough doses, it can wreak havoc on the nervous system.
The company did buy about 150 houses along the route of the spill, but not BarlondSmith's mobile home. Her husband says they felt abandoned by the company and the government.
"We were pretty much alone. They did not help us at all," says Michelle's husband, Tracy Smith.
David Daniel says he's haunted by their stories and what he saw in Michigan.
"I learned that this is a whole new monster than what folks in Texas are used to dealing with," Daniel says. "This is not a regular crude oil pipeline. This is something completely different. It's not being treated differently."
The Canadian pipeline company involved in the Michigan spill is not the same company David Daniel is dealing with; he's dealing with TransCanada.
TransCanada's representatives say their company is trying to learn as much as it can from the Kalamazoo spill, but they also stress that their Keystone pipelines should not be compared with the 40-year-old one that busted.
"The new pipelines we want to build are going to be the newest and safest pipelines ever built in the U.S.," says Grady Semmens, a spokesman for TransCanada. "They'll be a lot newer than that line that Enbridge operates. And we're quite confident that any incident even approaching that scale will be very quickly identified and responded to by TransCanada."
TransCanada studied the chance that its new Keystone pipeline system could rupture. It predicted, in a report to the U.S. State Department, that a big spill could come twice every 10 years somewhere along the length of the system, from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico.
Still, Semmens says pipelines are safer than transporting oil on ships, trains or trucks. He also stresses the benefits of getting petroleum from a friendly country like Canada.
"It's oil that's produced here in North America; it supports the millions of jobs in North America in the energy industry; and it can replace a lot of oil that's currently being imported from other countries," he adds.
Texas Landowner Prepares To Fight
Last week, TransCanada began construction on the southern section of the Keystone pipeline. It will go through about 1,000 private properties, including David Daniel's forest in East Texas.
But Daniel recently decided that given all he's learned, he can't let it happen without a fight.
He told TransCanada in a letter that he considers his contract void because of what he calls its lies and bullying. And he warned the pipeline company to stay off his property.
Daniel admits he still expects bulldozers to show up in his forest sometime in the next couple of months.
"For me, as a father, I have a duty and responsibility to protect my family. What I know about this project is they can break laws and put my family at risk. I'm not OK with any of that. If that means I'll have to stand in front of a bulldozer, I'll stand in front of a bulldozer." |
Democratic Rep. Paul Davis is surging ahead of Republican Gov. Sam Brownback in a new poll as both campaigns race against the clock for votes.
The poll, from Rasmussen Reports, shows Davis with 52 percent support and Brownback at 45 percent among likely voters. The poll shows only 1 percent preferring another candidate and 2 percent undecided. The poll’s margin of error was plus or minus 3 percentage points.
Among voters who say they "will definitely" vote, Davis’ lead increases to 53 percent. Rasmussen surveyed 960 likely voters Monday and Tuesday.
The Brownback campaign called the new results unreliable because the poll was conducted during the World Series involving the Kansas City Royals. Game 1 of the World Series took place on Tuesday in Kansas City, Mo.
Rasmussen’s new poll gives Davis the largest lead he has had in polling since an early August Rasmussen poll showed the lawmaker up 10 percentage points.
According to the Insight Kansas polling aggregation project, the race had been tightening in recent weeks. Three polls earlier in October gave Brownback either the lead or had the race as a tie. But a poll early this week from Monmouth University in New Jersey gave Davis a 5 percentage point lead. Additionally, a Gravis Marketing poll released Wednesday showed Davis ahead 49 percent to 44 percent.
Bob Beatty, a Washburn University political science professor who is part of the Insight Kansas project, said polling like this late in the race could have contributed to Brownback’s decision to run an ad this week injecting the Carr brothers — the Wichita pair who had the capital murder death sentences against them overturned by the Kansas Supreme Court — into the race.
Jonathan and Reginald Carr were convicted of killing four people in 2000 in Wichita. The Kansas Supreme Court overturned their death sentences in July.
"You might gain some voters, but you might turn off some voters, so you really don’t want to do that unless your polling is showing you may want to give it a try," Beatty said.
In response to the Rasmussen poll, the Brownback campaign released a memo from its internal pollster, Cole Hargrave Snodgrass & Associates. The document, dated Oct. 22, paints a more rosy picture of the race for the Republican candidate.
The memo says the internal polling shows the contest to be "statistically tied."
The memo, from Pat McFerron, the firm’s president, doesn’t contain actual internal polling numbers. Brownback spokesman John Milburn declined to provide the campaign’s internal polling percentages.
The memo does shed light on the campaign’s decision to make the Carr brothers an issue in the race this week. In a TV ad and during a debate this week, Brownback has sought to link the Supreme Court justices to Davis, claiming Justice Carol Beier hosted a fundraiser in her home for Davis.
While Beier’s husband did hold an event at their home, neither Beier nor Davis attended.
"Our polling shows that when voters are informed of Davis’ relationships with the supreme court justices and reminded of that court’s decision to overthrow the conviction and sentencing of the Carr brothers, they break against Davis by a better than five-to-one ratio," the memo says.
The Davis campaign blamed Brownback’s slip in the polls on the governor’s tactics.
"Kansans are deeply concerned about Sam Brownback’s failed experiment, and his ugly campaign tactics are clearly backfiring. That’s why, despite millions (of dollars) in disgraceful attacks on Paul, Brownback is trailing in recent polls," Davis spokesman Chris Pumpelly said.
This week’s Rasmussen poll is the fourth the firm has done of the race since April. |
The film industry’s protest against the proposed goods and services tax rate of 28% received a shot in the arm on Friday when actor, director and producer Kamal Haasan spoke out, seeking lower tax slab for the industry.
“We have been fighting this battle for four years. We have spoken to politicians from several states. We see this as a big punishment for our industry. We are requesting the government to reduce the tax slab,” said Haasan.
“Don’t club us in the ‘sinful industry’ bracket. Art is very important in a society. Film industry simply can’t afford 28% GST rate,” he added.
Taking an offence at the proposal to charge cinema the same tax rate as ‘sinful’ items like alcohol and tobacco products, he said, “Cinema is my life… I am offended that cinema has been put under sinful category.”
“We have had a Bharat Ratna from our industry. Can a sinful industry produce a Bharat Ratna?”
Haasan said it was a wrong idea to club Bollywood movies, which have a budget of crores of rupees, and regional cinema, often produced on shoestring budget, in the same tax slab.
He also reminded the government that it’s the regional cinema which brings India recognition at various international platforms. “When it comes to pride of India, it’s always regional cinemas that stands up for awards in international arena,” said Haasan.
“Regional cinema is the strength of Indian cinema. We need to maintain this diversity. We cannot bring monoculture. When industry cannot afford such high tax rate, it will collapse,” he warned.
“Even I will have to quit the industry if I am on the highest tax slab.”
Requesting Narendra Modi government to reconsider the tax slabs, Haasan said unsustainably high tax rates “could lead to more corruption and black money.”
“Demonetisation was introduced to curb black money, but this move will take us two steps back.” |
Movie producers across Europe, the Americas, Latin America, Australia and New Zealand — everywhere outside East Asia — have abandoned the People's Republic of China as a filming location.
Last year was a big bust for China's efforts to attract foreign productions, with only one major picture, Pacific Rim, shooting in China, and in that case only because it had to. Pacific Rim’s producer, Legendary Entertainment, is 100% owned by the Chinese real estate company Wanda Group, which wanted the production to shoot in its Wanda Qingdao Studios. The picture also had to shoot in China as a requirement for it to achieve official co-production status, which is essential for it to receive preferential release status in the Middle Kingdom's movie theaters.
This year will come and go without a single major Hollywood or Western movie going to the Middle Kingdom for shooting. One reason for the filming drought is that China’s film authorities stopped issuing filming permits between March and October when the Communist Party of China held its 19th Congress. In such hugely important political years as this one, cautious government bureaucrats typically shut down any activity in the PRC that could potentially cause embarrassing publicity for them.
More important, however, is the general antipathy toward China among producers.
China has a reputation as being a pretty terrible place to film, says American producer and China physical production expert Aaron Shershow. “Exactly zero Western productions are being planned for next year,” he told me. “None of the major Hollywood studios and none of the major independents have set up to film movies there."
That’s partly, he says, because producers arrive to shoot in China without proper planning or the right local partners, and in a country that is rife with business and cultural challenges for foreigners, that usually leads to disaster.
Shershow, a fluent Chinese speaker who has served as a production manager on Pacific Rim, Iron Man 3 and Keanu Reeves' Man of Tai Chi, explains the problems. “People get this romantic idea of doing things the Chinese way to save money. But the Chinese way is actually very expensive. It’s chaotic," he says. "
In China, crews tend to be inexperienced, financial controls are often lax, and the director is typically given far more control than on western-made films, without proper checks and balances.
“China can actually be a good place to shoot movies,” Shershow adds. “But you have to organize it properly. You can’t go in and assume it’s a regular production center like Prague, Budapest or Vancouver.”
China also lacks much of the financial sophistication, producing expertise, filming infrastructure, and specialized equipment that western producers take for granted in their home countries.
But even those major challenges pale in comparison to the obstacles China’s government puts in the way of foreign productions. An overwhelming raft of regulations, permitting requirements, censorship, stringent financial controls, and extreme bias against what some Chinese politicians call “foreign cultural pollution” make it a daunting location for filming, even for producers with decades of experience there.
“China has become the place to avoid,” says Shershow. Even Legendary is avoiding China now. With Skyscraper (the new Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson-starring action-thriller), they didn’t shoot a single day in China, even though the story is set in Shanghai.
There are powerful incentives for shooting in the PRC. Access to the market’s huge and lucrative movie-going audience is strictly controlled by the government, and it’s extremely difficult to screen foreign movies in Chinese theaters unless they’re made as official co-productions with Chinese producing and financing partners.
But the biggest co-production to date, Legendary’s early 2017 release The Great Wall, failed everywhere outside China, and crushed most Western producers’ interest in co-productions intended to serve audiences both in China and the rest of the world.
Apart from the brief presence of Pacific Rim, the $8 billion Wanda Qingdao studios have sat mostly empty. In July Wanda was forced to sell off its studio development to real estate rival Sunac, and now retains only a 9.3% interest in the facility.
Whether Sunac can make a profit on its investment will depend, at least in part, on whether it can lure Hollywood to film in its stages. As of now it's unclear how they can do that in a meaningful way. |
Close
Gaining a younger sibling can reduce a child's obesity risk before reaching first grade, a study has found. Children who gained a younger sibling when they were between the ages of 2 and 4 had better BMI (body mass index) when they reached first grade.
By contrast, same-aged children who didn't gain a younger sibling during the same time period had almost three times increased obesity risk by first grade.
"Research suggests that having younger siblings – compared with having older or no siblings - is associated with a lower risk of being overweight," says Julie Lumeng, M.D., the study's senior author. Lumeng is a behavioral and developmental pediatrician at the C.S. Mott Children's Hospital in the University of Michigan.
Lumeng notes that, at present, they have little data on how the younger sibling's birth affected the childhood obesity risk. In their study published in Pediatrics, researchers analyzed the data of 697 children from across the nation. It is the first one to examine the link between becoming a big sister or brother to succeeding escalations in BMI.
There could be changes in the way the older child is fed when a younger sibling is born, the researchers hypothesized. It is believed that children cultivate life-long eating habits at the age of 3. The change in this time period could have significant influences in the dietary habits at a later age.
Another speculation is that the older child can develop lesser sedentary time now that a younger sibling is in the picture. The older child could become more engaged in "active play." These lifestyle habits can contribute to the development of a healthier BMI.
"When a new child is introduced, parents may relax their preoccupation with the older child's eating behaviors," says University of Minnesota researcher Jerica Berge, who was not involved in the research. This change allows the older children self-regulate whenever they ear and respond to their internal satiety signals.
Lumeng adds that further research is needed to analyze the association. There are growing concerns about the increasing rates of childhood obesity. If having younger siblings early in life can reduce a child's obesity risk and set the tone for dietary habits later in life, it could become a pattern that some families can recreate to help children lead healthier lives.
ⓒ 2018 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. |
Property developers will have to pay money to NSW Fair Trading under a scheme designed to protect home buyers from builders that walk out on "dodgy or unfinished work".
The Strata Building Bond and Inspections Scheme is designed to provide a process to rectify defects during the early phases of construction.
The NSW government will require property developers to lodge a bond with Fair Trading to pay for unfinished or dodgy work. Credit:James Alcock
The NSW Minister for Better Regulation, Matt Kean, said the defect bond scheme was intended to reduce costs for both developers and buyers, cut time delays in rectifying issues and minimise expensive, time-consuming legal action.
"Developers will now be required to lodge a building bond, which is equal to 2 per cent of the contract price with NSW Fair Trading," Mr Kean said in a statement. |
The Romney campaign is ignoring the media and focusing on far right blogs
In case you hadn’t noticed, the Romney campaign is completely shunning the mainstream media, and yesterday Zac Moffat, Digital Director of the Romney Campaign, admitted as much in an interview with breitbart.com operative Larry O’Connor: Romney Campaign: Drudge, Breitbart Leading Rise of Center-Right Media.
My jaw hit the floor when I read this headline. “Center-right?” They have got to be kidding. breitbart.com has been busily promoting every lunatic far right conspiracy theory that bubbles up from the toxic Tea Party base, including Birtherism. And Drudge Report? You mean the site that has a permanent link to Alex Jones’ whacked-out conspiracy site and frequently features their insane stories? This is “center right” now?
These are the websites on which Mitt Romney is relying to get his message out — two of the craziest race-baiting, conspiracy-peddling sites on the web, with readers who frequently spew torrents of vile, gutter-level racism.
For example, the deranged, mindless hatred in this thread of comments at breitbart.com, about a speech given by Michelle Obama at a Nashville church: Michelle Compares Obama to Biblical Figures.
The headline is a blatant lie, first off. Michelle Obama never “compared Obama to Biblical figures” in this speech. Watch their own video — it shows exactly what a sick race-baiting lie this is.
And then, in response, breitbart.com’s readers filled up the comment thread with repulsive, hateful comments, drenched in racism and religious fanaticism, just like they do every single day.
Ladies and gentlemen — the new “center right.” And this selection is just a fraction of the hatred in this thread, of course. I didn’t quote the dozens of commenters calling Obama “the Antichrist” and “Satan.” |
I was recently in some discussions/debates online about the nature of God and whether the "Trinity" exists, or if God is purely singular and exists in different forms rather than different persons.
This idea that God has different "forms" or "modes" is what is known as Modalism (also sometimes called Sabellianism). This doctrine was condemned as heresy by Tertullian around 213 AD, and later by the bishop of Rome around 262 AD. A more modern sect of Christians, often called "Oneness Pentecostals", still hold to this heretical doctrine today.
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Now, to be clear: I do believe in the Trinity and accept that it is the orthodox position to hold. But that doesn't mean I've always fully grasped the concept. This is something Christians have struggled to define for centuries, hence the sometimes confusing and lengthy language of the creeds (see here, here, here and here for example).
So after reading this debate online with some Oneness believers, I decided to look more into the Trinity to try and get my head around it as much as possible.
On my searching and reading, I came across an article by Arnold Fruchtenbaum on the Jews for Jesus website. He had taken the time to really look into the Tri-unity of God from a Jewish/Hebrew perspective to bring some clarity to the issue.
I found the article to be very helpful for my own understanding, and very illuminating to see the plurality of God in oneness hidden within the Hebrew language, something that is often lost in translation to our English bibles.
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I'm no Hebrew scholar, so rather than try (and probably fail) to explain the language nuances to you, I sought permission to post a copy of the original article here. I hope that the information provided is as helpful to you as it was for me.
The original article begins below. Let me know your thoughts in the comments!
Jewishness and the Trinity
In a recent question-and-answer article, Rabbi Stanley Greenberg of Temple Sinai in Philadelphia wrote:
Christians are, of course, entitled to believe in a trinitarian conception of God, but their effort to base this conception on the Hebrew Bible must fly in the face of the overwhelming story of that Bible. Hebrew Scriptures are clear and unequivocal on the oneness of God . . . The Hebrew Bible affirms the one God with unmistakable clarity. Monotheism, an uncompromising belief in one God, is the hallmark of the Hebrew Bible, the unwavering affirmation of Judaism and the unshakable faith of the Jew.”
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Whether Christians are accused of being polytheists or tritheists or whether it is admitted that the Christian concept of the Tri-unity is a form of monotheism, one element always appears: one cannot believe in the Trinity and be Jewish. Even if what Christians believe is monotheistic, it still does not seem to be monotheistic enough to qualify as true Jewishness. Rabbi Greenberg’s article tends to reflect that thinking.
He went on to say, “…under no circumstances can a concept of a plurality of the Godhead or a trinity of the Godhead ever be based upon the Hebrew Bible.” It is perhaps best then to begin with the very source of Jewish theology and the only means of testing it: the Hebrew Scriptures. Since so much relies on Hebrew language usage, then to the Hebrew we should turn.
1. God Is A Plurality
The Name Elohim
It is generally agreed that Elohim is a plural noun having the masculine plural ending “im.” The very word Elohim used of the true God in Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth,” is also used in Exodus 20:3, “You shall have no other gods (Elohim) before Me,” and in Deuteronomy 13:2, “…Iet us go after other gods (Elohim)…” While the use of the plural Elohim does not prove a Tri-unity, it certainly opens the door to a doctrine of plurality in the Godhead since it is the word that is used of the one true God as well as for the many false gods.
Plural Verbs used with Elohim
Virtually all Hebrew scholars do recognize that the word Elohim, as it stands by itself, is a plural noun. Nevertheless, they wish to deny that it allows for any plurality in the Godhead whatsoever. Their line of reasoning usually goes like this: When “Elohim” is used of the true God, it is followed by a singular verb; when it is used of false gods, it is followed by the plural verb. Rabbi Greenberg states it as follows:
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“But, in fact, the verb used in the opening verse of Genesis is ‘bara’ which means ‘he created’—singular. One need not be too profound a student of Hebrew to understand that the opening verse of Genesis clearly speaks of a singular God.”
The point made, of course, is generally true because the Bible does teach that God is only one God and, therefore, the general pattern is to have the plural noun followed by the singular verb when it speaks of the one true God. However, there are places where the word is used of the true God and yet it is followed by a plural verb:
Genesis 20:13: “And it came to pass, when God (Elohim) caused me to wander [literally: They caused me to wander] from my father’s house…Genesis 35:7: “…because there God (Elohim) appeared unto him…” [Literally: They appeared unto him.] 2 Samuel 7:23: “…God (Elohim) went…” [Literally: They went.] Psalm 58:12: “Surely He is God (Elohim) who judges…[Literally: They judge.]
The Name Eloah
If the plural form Elohim was the only form available for a reference to God, then conceivably the argument might be made that the writers of the Hebrew Scriptures had no other alternative but to use the word Elohim for both the one true God and the many false gods. However, the singular form for Elohim (Eloah) exists and is used in such passages as Deuteronomy 32:15-17 and Habakkuk 3:3. This singular form could have easily been used consistently. Yet it is only used 250 times, while the plural form is used 2,500 times. The far greater use of the plural form again turns the argument in favor of plurality in the Godhead rather than against it.
Plural Pronouns
Another case in point regarding Hebrew grammar is that often when God speaks of himself, he clearly uses the plural pronoun:
Genesis 1:26: Then God (Elohim) said,”Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness.…”
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He could hardly have made reference to angels since man was created in the image of God and not of angels. The Midrash Rabbah on Genesis recognizes the strength of this passage end comments as follows:
“Rabbi Samuel Bar Hanman in the name of Rabbi Jonathan said, that at the time when Moses wrote the Torah, writing a portion of it daily, when he came to this verse which says, “And Elohim said, let us make man in our image after our likeness,” Moses said, “Master of the universe, why do you give herewith an excuse to the sectarians (who believe in the Tri-unity of God).” God answered Moses, “You write and whoever wants to err, let him err.”1
It is obvious that the Midrash Rabbah is trying to simply get around the problem and fails to answer adequately why God refers to Himself in the plural.
The use of the plural pronoun can also be seen in:
Genesis 3:22: Then the LORD God (YHVH Elohim) said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us…”Genesis 11:7: “Come, let Us go down, and there confuse their language…” Isaiah 6:8: Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?”
This last passage would appear contradictory with the singular “I” and the plural “us” except as viewed as a plurality (us) in a unity (I).
Plural Descriptions of God
One point that also comes out of Hebrew is the fact that often nouns and adjectives used in speaking of God are plural. Some examples are as follows:
Ecclesiastes 12:1: “Remember now you creator…” [Literally: creators.] Psalm 149:2: “Let Israel rejoice in their Maker.” [Literally: makers.] Joshua 24:19: “…holy God…” [Literally: holy Gods.] Isaiah 54:5: “For your Maker is your husband…” [Literally: makers, husbands.]
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Everything we have said so far rests firmly on the Hebrew language of the Scriptures. If we are to base our theology on the Scriptures alone, we have to say that on the one hand they affirm God’s unity, while at the same time they tend towards the concept of a compound unity allowing for a plurality in the Godhead.
The Shema
Deuteronomy 6:4: Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one!
Deuteronomy 6:4, known as the Shema, has always been Israel’s great confession. It is this verse more than any other that is used to affirm the fact that God is one and is often used to contradict the concept of plurality in the Godhead. But is it a valid use of this verse?
On one hand, it should be noted that the very words “our God” are in the plural in the Hebrew text and literally mean “our Gods.” However, the main argument lies in the word “one,” which is a Hebrew word, echad. A glance through the Hebrew text where the word is used elsewhere can quickly show that the word echad does not mean an absolute “one” but a compound “one.” For instance, in Genesis 1:5, the combination of evening and morning comprise one (echad) day. In Genesis 2:24, a man and a woman come together in marriage and the two “shall become one (echad) flesh.” In Ezra 2:64, we are told that the whole assembly was as one (echad), though of course, it was composed of numerous people. Ezekiel 37:17 provides a rather striking example where two sticks are combined to become one (echad). The use of the word echad in Scripture shows it to be a compound and not an absolute unity.
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There is a Hebrew word that does mean an absolute unity and that is yachid, which is found in many Scripture passages,2 the emphasis being on the meaning of “only.” If Moses intended to teach God’s absolute oneness as over against a compound unity, this would have been a far more appropriate word. In fact, Maimonides noted the strength of “yachid” and chose to use that word in his “Thirteen Articles of Faith” in place of echad. However, Deuteronomy 6:4 (the Shema) does not use “yachid” in reference to God.
II. God Is At Least Two
Elohim and YHVH Applied to Two Personalities
As if to even make the case for plurality stronger, there are situations in the Hebrew Scriptures where the term Elohim is applied to two personalities in the same verse. One example is Psalm 45:7-8:
“Your throne, O God, is forever and ever;
A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom.
You love righteousness and hate wickedness;
Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You
With the oil of gladness more than Your companions.”
It should be noted that the first Elohim is being addressed and the second Elohim is the God of the first Elohim. And so God’s God has anointed Him with the oil of gladness.
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A second example is Hosea 1:7:
“Yet I will have mercy on the house of Judah, will save them by the LORD their God, and will not save them by bow, nor by sword or battle, by horses or horsemen.”
The speaker is Elohim who says He will have mercy on the house of Judah and will save them by the instrumentality of YHVH, their Elohim. So Elohim number one will save Israel by means of Elohim number two.
Not only is Elohim applied to two personalities in the same verse, but so is the very name of God. One example is Genesis 19:24which reads:
“Then the LORD rained brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah, from the LORD out of the heavens.”
Clearly we have YHVH number one raining fire and brimstone from a second YHVH who is in heaven, the first one being on earth.
A second example is Zechariah 2:8-9:
For thus says the LORD of Hosts: “He sent Me after glory, to the nations which plunder you; for he that touches you touches the apple of His eye. For surely I will shake My hand against them, and they shall become spoil for their servants. Then you will know that the LORD of hosts has sent Me.”
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Again, we have one YHVH sending another YHVH to perform a specific task.
The author of the Zohar sensed plurality in the Tetragrammaton3 and wrote:
“Come and see the mystery of the word YHVH: there are three steps, each existing by itself: nevertheless they are One, and so united that one cannot be separated from the other. The Ancient Holy One is revealed with three heads, which are united into one, and that head is three exalted. The Ancient One is described as being three: because the other lights emanating from him are included in the three. But how can three names be one? Are they really one because we call them one? How three can be one can only be known through the revelation of the Holy Spirit.”4
III. God Is Three
How Many Persons Are There?
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If the Hebrew Scriptures truly do point to plurality, the question arises, how many personalities in the Godhead exist? We have already seen the names of God applied to at least two different personalities. Going through the Hebrew Scriptures, we find that, in fact, three and only three distinct personalities are ever considered divine.
1. First, there are the numerous times when there is a reference to the Lord YHVH. This usage is so frequent that there is no need to devote space to it.
2. A second personality is referred to as the Angel of YHVH. This individual is always considered distinct from all other angels and is unique. In almost every passage where He is found He is referred to as both the Angel of YHVH and YHVH Himself. For instance, in Genesis 16:7 He is referred to as the Angel of YHVH, but then in 16:13 as YHVH Himself. In Genesis 22:11 He is the Angel of YHVH, but God Himself in 22:12. Other examples could be given.5 A very interesting passage is Exodus 23:20-23 where this angel has the power to pardon sin because God’s own name YHVH is in him, and, therefore, he is to be obeyed without question. This can hardly be said of any ordinary angel. But the very fact that God’s own name is in this angel shows His divine status.
3. A third major personality that comes through is the Spirit of God, often referred to as simply the Ruach Ha-kodesh. There are a good number of references to the Spirit of God among which are Genesis 1:2, 6:3; Job 33:4; Psalm 51:11; Psalm 139:7; Isaiah 11:2, etc. The Holy Spirit cannot be a mere emanation because He contains all the characteristics of personality (intellect, emotion and will) and is considered divine.
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So then, from various sections of the Hebrew Scriptures there is a clear showing that three personalities are referred to as divine and as being God: the Lord YHVH, the Angel of YHVH and the Spirit of God.
The Three Personalities in the Same Passage
Nor have the Hebrew Scriptures neglected to put all three personalities of the Godhead together in one passage. Two examples are Isaiah 48:12-16 and 63:7-14.
Because of the significance of the first passage, it will be quoted:
“Listen to Me, O Jacob, and Israel, My called: I am He, I am the First, I am also the Last. Indeed My hand also has laid the foundation of the earth, and My right hand has stretched out the heavens; when I call to them, they stand up together. All of you, assemble yourselves, and hear! Who among them has declared these things? The LORD has loved him; he shall do His pleasure on Babylon, and His arm shall be against the Chaldeans. I, even I, have spoken; yes, I have called him, I have brought him, and his way will prosper. Come near to Me, hear this: I have not spoken in secret from the beginning; from the time that it was, I was there. And now the Lord GOD and His Spirit have sent me.”
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It should be noted that the speaker refers to himself as the one who is responsible for the creation of the heavens and the earth. It is clear that he cannot be speaking of anyone other than God. But then in verse 16, the speaker refers to himself using the pronouns of I and me and then distinguishes himself from two other personalities. He distinguishes himself from the Lord YHVH and then from the Spirit of God. Here is the Tri-unity as clearly defined as the Hebrew Scriptures make it.
In the second passage, there is a reflection back to the time of the Exodus where all three personalities were present and active. The Lord YHVH is referred to in verse 7, the Angel of YHVH in verse 9 and the Spirit of God in verses 10, 11 and 14. While often throughout the Hebrew Scriptures God refers to Himself as being the one solely responsible for Israel’s redemption from Egypt, in this passage three personalities are given credit for it. Yet, no contradiction is seen since all three comprise the unity of the one Godhead.
Conclusion
The teaching of the Hebrew Scriptures, then, is that there is a plurality of the Godhead. The first person is consistently called YHVH while the second person is given the names of YHVH, the Angel of YHVH and the Servant of YHVH. Consistently and without fail, the second person is sent by the first person. The third person is referred to as the Spirit of YHVH or the Spirit of God or the Holy Spirit. He, too, is sent by the first person but is continually related to the ministry of the second person.
If the concept of the Tri-unity in the Godhead is not Jewish according to modern rabbis, then neither are the Hebrew Scriptures. Jewish Christians cannot be accused of having slipped into paganism when they hold to the fact that Jesus is the divine Son of God. He is the same one of whom Moses wrote when he said:
“Behold, I send an Angel before you, to keep you in the way, and to bring you into the place which I have prepared. Beware of Him and obey His voice; do not provoke Him, for He will not pardon your transgressions; for My name is in Him. But if you indeed obey His voice and do all that I speak, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries. For My Angel will go before you and bring you in to the Amorites and the Hittites and the Perizzites and the Canaanites and the Hivites and the Jebusites; and I will cut them off.”
—Exodus 23:20-23
New Testament Light
In keeping with the teachings of the Hebrew Scriptures, the New Testament clearly recognizes that there are three persons in the Godhead, although it becomes quite a bit more specific. The first person is called the Father while the second person is called the Son. The New Testament answers the question of Proverbs 30:4: “…What is His name, and what is his Son’s name, if you know?” His son’s name is Yeshua (Jesus). In accordance with the Hebrew Scriptures, he is sent by God to be the Messiah, but this time as a man instead of as an angel. Furthermore, He is sent for a specific purpose: to die for our sins. In essence, what happened is that God became a man (not that man became God) in order to accomplish the work of atonement.
The New Testament calls the third person of the Godhead the Holy Spirit. Throughout the New Testament he is related to the work of the second person, in keeping with the teaching of the Hebrew Scriptures. We see, then, that there is a continuous body of teaching in both the Old and New Testaments relating to the Tri-unity of God.
Footnotes
Midrash Rabbah on Genesis 1:26, New York: NOP Press, N.D.
Genesis 22:2,12; Judges 11:34; Psalm 22:21; 25:16; Proverbs 4:3; Jeremiah 6:26; Amos 8:10; Zechariah 12:10
″Personal Name of God of Israel,” written in Hebrew Bible with the four consonants YHWH. Pronunciation of name has been avoided since at least 3rd c. B.C.E.; initial substitute was “Adonai” (“the Lord”), itself later replaced by “ha-Shem” (“the Name”). The name Jehovah is a hybrid misreading of the original Hebrew letters with the vowels of “Adonai.”—Encyclopedic Dictionary of Judaica, p. 593
Zohar, vol. III, 288, vol. II, 43, Hebrew editions. See also Soncino Press edition, vol. III, 134.
In Genesis 31 he is the Angel of God in verse 11, but then he is the God of Bethel in verse 13. In Exodus 3 he is the Angel of YHVH in verse 2 and he is both YHVH and God in verse 4. In Judges 6 he is the Angel of YHVH in verses 11, 12, 20, and 21 but is YHVH himself in verses 14, 16, 22 and 23. Then in Judges 13:3 and 21 he is the Angel of YHVH but is referred to as God himself in verse 22.
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PETALUMA (AP) — Police say a would-be burglar was sidetracked by snack and naptime Thursday afternoon, heating up some tater tots and then taking a snooze on the sofa of the house he broke into.
The San Francisco Chronicle reports a homeowner in Petaluma went downstairs to find the 44-year-old man sleeping on her sofa. The woman ran to her bedroom, called police and then ran out the front door while the man tried to flee through the back door of the house.
Officers parked on the next street picked him up, Tasing him twice before they were able to get him into the back of the cruiser.
The Placerville man is being held on a $30,000 bail, and has a criminal history including arrests for drug and weapons possession.
Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. |
"Sadly, Katy and I are ending our marriage. I'll always adore her and I know we'll remain friends," Brand said in a statement.
The British comedian spent the month denying rumours that the union was under strain but today cited "irreconcilable differences" in papers filed at a Los Angeles court.
There was no immediate reaction from Perry but celebrity website TMZ reported that she was shocked by the news.
The pair wed in a lavish ceremony in India in October 2010 but were almost immediately beset by claims that the marriage was struggling.
They spent Christmas 7,000 miles apart as he visited family in Cornwall and she spent the holiday with friends in Hawaii.
Brand, 36, was seen in London today without his wedding ring for the second day in a row.
Speaking on the Ellen Show earlier this month, he laughed off the rumours saying: "I’ve treated the whole Internet now like it’s a wicked little liar. I am really happily married.
"I am married to Katy perpetually. Until death do us part was the pledge. I am still alive."
Like Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore, who split up last month, both Brand and Perry are prolific members of the Twitter community.
Neither has yet commented on the divorce claims but last month Brand's mother, Barbara Elizabeth, wrote: "Spoke to Russell and Katy, they are so happy, it's lovely. We will all be together for Christmas." |
Every day in America there is a mass shooting where four people are killed or wounded.
Every single day.
So the body count has to be high for a US mass murder to make national or world news.
Mourners lay tributes to those that lost their lives while watching the Route 91 Music Festival. ()
Enter the latest name written in blood: Stephen Paddock. Who knows why he took aim at a crowd of concert-goers in Las Vegas but we can guess that he got what he wanted. His image and name will now be etched alongside the grim statistic - worst mass shooting in American history.
That is until some other lunatic armed with perfectly legal, military-grade weapons takes his place.
US President Donald Trump is now musing about gun laws.
The Guns and Guitars store in Mesquite, where Stephen Paddock is believed to have bought some of the weapons he used to kill 59 people in Las Vegas. ()
Paddock's body on the floor of the hotel room and a couch loaded with guns. (Supplied) ()
Believe there will be change when you see it. If American politicians were not moved to change the law after the massacre of innocents at Sandy Hook they will not change it just because the body count for a single massacre hits a new high.
And if any change does come it will likely be a legislative feint; some minor, meaningless tweak to apply the gloss of progress to a system that is so broken you can buy a semi-automatic weapon in a supermarket.
America’s gun laws are a profound failure of political leadership over generations.
President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania stage a silent tribute to the victims shot from the 32nd floor of the the Mandalay Bay Casino. ()
President Trump is just the latest in a long line of Presidents, Senators and Congressmen and women who refuse to tackle the all-powerful gun lobby. That lobby cites the second half of the Second Amendment as its sacred text: “... the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed".
But that amendment was penned when the people carried muskets, not automatic weapons that can kill dozens in a minute. And the first part of the Second Amendment makes it clear it was inserted to protect state rights from the new federal government: “A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a Free State…”
And if leadership is required on gun laws then there is little hope any will be found in President Trump.
President Trump denounced the gunman as 'sick and demented' and mused on changing gun laws in the United States. ()
Today in a visit to hurricane devastated Puerto Rico he complained that the disaster had “thrown our budget a little out of whack".
"Because we've spent a lot of money on Puerto Rico and that's fine, we've saved a lot of lives," he said.
He went on to say that the Hurricane body count in Puerto Rico paled beside “a real catastrophe like Katrina”.
'What is your death count?' President Trump asks the Puerto Rico governor. ()
"What is your death count?" he asked as he turned to Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rosselló. "17?"
"16," Rosselló answered.
"16 people certified," Trump said. "Sixteen people versus in the thousands. You can be very proud of all of your people and all of our people working together.”
President Trump does his bit for hurricane-hit Puerto Ricans by handing out paper towels. ()
So, in a perverse twist on body counts, 16 dead Puerto Ricans is a number that inspires the President.
The people of Puerto Rico are citizens of the United States of America. They are a proud people. No doubt they would like to be proud of their President.
It’s just a pity that the man they look to for comfort has only one real political skill: an innate ability to feed division, discord and hate.
© Nine Digital Pty Ltd 2019 |
A California man who dug up sensitive information belonging to U.S. service members on peer-to-peer networks, and then used it to order iPods, cameras, and even washing machines from an online store, was sentenced to 75 months in federal prison Thursday.
Rene Quimby, 42, had already pleaded guilty to fraud and identity theft charges in May. According to court filings, Quimby stumbled upon the scam four years ago after uncovering military rosters listing sensitive information online. His victim was the Army and Air Force Exchange Services (AAFES), the organization that does about US$10 billion in business annually, running the post exchange retail outlets on military bases.
"Quimby learned of the AAFES.com website when he downloaded a file that contained a service member's username and password for an AAFES account," reads a factual resume signed by Quimby in May when he entered his guilty plea. "He then learned that he could use service members' social security numbers and dates of birth to log into the site."
His next move was to chat with the website's customer support staff. Using the same stolen information to answer their security questions, he'd get them to tell him the victim's STAR credit card number, used to make purchases with the AAFES. He then would spend as much as he could in an online shopping spree, buying computers, cameras, iPods, even washing machines. He'd have the goods mailed to different addresses in California, where he'd pick them up and fence them.
In some cases, Quimby found digital images of victims' checks. Using the account and bank routing numbers visible on the checks, he'd set up online fund transfers and empty checking accounts to pay down the balances on his stolen STAR cards. Then he'd "'max-out' the military STAR credit cards over and over again," the factual resume states.
The scam ended when AAFES.com finally changed its policy and stopped handing out credit card numbers via online chat.
Investigators found more than 16,000 identities on Quimby's computer, and he'd compiled detailed dossiers on 650 victims, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a statement.
Data leakage on peer-to-peer networks has emerged as a serious problem for consumers and corporations. Often peer-to-peer users don't realize that they're sharing folders or files that they'd really prefer to keep secret. Apparently that is how Quimby was able to uncover all his data, using popular file-sharing programs such as Etomi Pro and Frostwire.
The problem got so bad that last year that the U.S. Federal Trade Commission sent out letters to about 100 U.S. companies warning them that they were inadvertently publishing customer information such as social security numbers and driver's licenses on peer-to-peer networks.
Quimby was sentenced in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas. He must also pay more than $210,000 in restitution to AAFES. His attorney, Carlton McLarty, did not return messages seeking comment.
Robert McMillan covers computer security and general technology breaking news for The IDG News Service. Follow Robert on Twitter at @bobmcmillan. Robert's e-mail address is [email protected] |
The massive crossover event between The Tithe, Think Tank, and (my personal favorite) Postal is finally here! Writers Matt Hawkins and Bryan Hill and artist Atilio Rojo stir the three franchises together into one explosive and far-reaching story.
Is it good?
Eden’s Fall #1 (Image Comics)
Observations
Since I don’t regularly read two of these titles, the extensive background pages are much appreciated.
After one page and two lines of dialogue, I already hate this Thorton guy.
Not sure about this tech, but I’ll roll with it.
Not sure if I’m supposed to like this Loren guy, but I really do.
Kind of weird seeing the town Eden from outside eyes. It somehow seems even more terrifying this way.
…and Mayor Shiffron is still a total badass.
HA! Gotta love Mark.
Dang. Sam isn’t just good with tech— she’s also an expert truth bomb dropper.
BOOM! Nobody messes with the Mayor!
Is It Good?
Hawkins and Hill had quite a challenge this first issue. Despite all the wonderful potential a crossover like this has, they still needed to establish the norms and characters from each franchise enough that their respective narratives mattered to the reader.
To the writers’ credit, they do a great job of it. Unfortunately, their efforts occasionally come at the expense of the story’s momentum, often halting or slowing things down when they’re just starting to get good.
That being said, Eden’s Fall #1 still a very good read. After one issue, I feel like I have a good grasp on all the players I didn’t know and a fresh perspective on the ones I did. We also have the groundwork laid for a supremely intriguing conflict that branches off from one very clear villain into multiple sides, all of which can be seen as good, bad, or both.
There’s not much action this issue, but Rojo does an outstanding job when it happens. He also augments Hawkins/Hills’ script by portraying each character with distinct personalities and reactions to what’s happening. That may seem like a simple/basic thing, but in a book like this with so many people (and readers like me who can lose track of things), it helps tremendously.
As a Postal fan, I loved getting to see my favorite characters from a different perspective. I also found myself enjoying the heck out of every scene that Loren was in…so if part of this crossover’s goal was to attract new readers to different titles, then mission accomplished ☺.
And now that the characters and the basic conflicts have been established, I can’t wait to see what happens next to everyone. |
ST KILDA skipper Nick Riewoldt has been at the centre of an eclectic array of storylines this year.
In Round 1 he skippered the Saints for the 200th time and the following week he celebrated his 300th game.
He’s been concussed, injured and also questioned for his post-match conduct after St Kilda defeated Essendon in Round 9.
And on Saturday night it was a Bulldogs fan who drew the six-time best and fairest’s attention.
After the ball trickled out of bounds in St Kilda’s forward pocket, Riewoldt was patted on the arm by a Dogs supporter.
His reaction indicated he was not too pleased, something Hawthorn legend Jason Dunstall sympathised with on Fox Footy’s coverage.
“It wasn’t malicious,” Dunstall said.
“But the problem is, if you start allowing fans to touch players we set a very dangerous precedent.
“We know where that will probably end up.”
Riewoldt went on to be one of the best players on the ground, booting four goals and clunking 10 marks in St Kilda’s shock 15-point victory. |
Preview | Recap | Notebook
Hawks-Magic Preview
By NOEY KUPCHAN
Posted Dec 12 2012 10:38AM After splitting meetings against two of the better teams in the NBA, the Atlanta Hawks have to be feeling pretty good about their chances of coming away with a winning record on their three-game trip with a visit to Orlando in store. The Hawks aim for an eighth consecutive victory over the Magic, who try to avoid losing four in a row at home for the first time in five years Wednesday night. Atlanta (12-6) beat Memphis 93-83 on Saturday but couldn't keep up two nights later in a 101-92 loss at Miami. Josh Smith scored 22 points while Al Horford posted his sixth consecutive double-double with 20 points and 11 rebounds, but the Hawks allowed the Heat to shoot a season-best 58.2 percent. "We faced two of the top teams in our league in Memphis and Miami and we came away with a split," coach Larry Drew said. "A great road trip would have been to go 3-0, a good road trip is to go 2-1, so our focus right now is to make this a good road trip and hopefully we can get that done (Wednesday) night." The Hawks have had their way with the Magic (8-12) of late, holding them to an average of 79.3 points during their seven-game winning streak - the longest by either team in the history of this series. Atlanta beat Orlando 81-72 on Nov. 19, scoring 24 points off 19 turnovers. "I thought we did a really good job of controlling the tempo (in that game)," Drew said Tuesday. "Same ingredient needs to be (there Wednesday) night. "This Magic team, they really play hard. ... Very capable ball club. We have to just come out and just focus on us and what we need to do." After going 3-2 on its own trip, Orlando returns home, where it's been outscored by an average of 13.0 points during its skid. The Magic haven't been handed four consecutive losses on their own court since December 2007. Orlando beat the Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State before falling to Utah and Sacramento out west. The Magic bounced back Sunday with a 98-90 win over Phoenix. They fell behind early but picked up the pace in the fourth quarter, going 11 for 17 (64.7 percent) from the field. "I really looked at this game as an individual game. This is a resilient team tonight," said coach Jacque Vaughn, whose club shot a season-high 51.9 percent. "To culminate with 3-2 on the road. A resilient group especially after our start. We could have easily packed it in and went home." Orlando matched a season best with 49 points off the bench Sunday. J.J. Redick scored 20 while rookie Andrew Nicholson posted season highs of 19 points, nine rebounds, four steals and three assists. "He is a scorer," Vaughn said of Nicholson, who could be in line for a bigger role going forward. "He can do that so we are going to continue to work on other facets of his game and make him the best player he can be." While the Magic continue to play without injured veterans Al Harrington and Hedo Turkoglu, Atlanta's Kyle Korver could return Wednesday following a five-game absence due to back spasms and the birth of his first child. Korver has averaged 17.0 points over his last four road games while going 15 for 20 from 3-point range.
Copyright 2012 by STATS LLC and Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Associated Press is strictly prohibited Copyright 2012 by STATS LLC and Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Associated Press is strictly prohibited
Hawks hold off late charge to beat Magic 86-80
By KYLE HIGHTOWER
Posted Dec 12 2012 10:54PM ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) Piecing together lineups has become the norm for Atlanta coach Larry Drew in recent weeks, with injuries consistently causing havoc for his roster. When his team has faced the Orlando Magic lately, though, just showing up seems to be enough. Josh Smith and Jeff Teague scored 16 points apiece, Al Horford added 13 points and 13 rebounds, and the Hawks held off a late charge by the Magic for an 86-80 victory Wednesday night. Atlanta extended its regular-season win streak against Orlando to eight and earned its second win over its division rival this season. Arron Afflalo scored 16 points and J.J. Redick added 13 for the Magic, who were able to dig out of a huge first-half hole, but couldn't overcome 16 turnovers that led to 24 points. "Orlando made us fight for it," Horford said. "Even when you thought they were out of the game, they just kept coming." Horford said he and Smith are slowly getting more comfortable taking the lead offensively in games without departed guard Joe Johnson to lean on. Johnson was traded to Brooklyn in the offseason. "Now with us having to carry a big part of the offense, I think it kind of forces us to be more aggressive offensively and just keep finding each other," Horford said. The Magic didn't do themselves any favors on offense, connecting on only 31 of 81 shots, in dropping their fourth straight home game. Orlando gets a chance to end the skid Friday against Golden State. It was the Magic's first home game since Nov. 30 following a five-game trip, but it hardly was a welcome return. Atlanta led by as many as 19 in the third quarter before a late Orlando run trimmed it to 12 entering the fourth. The Magic pulled within six late, but costly turnovers and their inability to get stops on defense helped the Hawks secure the win. The loss marked Orlando's fourth straight game with at least 15 turnovers. During its eight-game losing streak to Atlanta, Orlando is averaging just 79.4 points and shooting a paltry 39 percent. "Making shots helps, but it's not everything," Afflalo said. "On the road I think we played more focused, spirited basketball. I guess it's something ... The way we start the game has to be with more energy. One of us, next game, will take it upon ourselves to make sure that it happens." Atlanta played just eight players, but was clearly the livelier team early on, despite Wednesday marking the end of a three-game road swing and Drew deciding to rest forward DeShawn Stevenson's ailing knee. Drew said they likely would continue resting Stevenson for back-to-back games. Atlanta hosts Charlotte on Thursday. With Stevenson unavailable, the Hawks got help from reserves Lou Williams and Kyle Korver, who returned after missing five straight games with back spasms. Korver didn't show much rust at all, going 3 for 5 from 3-point range and finishing with nine points in 23 minutes. Williams was efficient from inside and out, scoring 11 points and stunting Magic runs with timely baskets. "They gave us a tremendous lift," Drew said. "Both Kyle and Lou are two guys we particularly rely on when we hit a bump in the road, when we need a basket. It's usually one of those guys we draw a play for." Drew also praised guard Devin Harris, who had 10 points after scoring seven combined in the previous two games against Memphis and Miami. Smith had 10 first-half points to help the Hawks take a 46-34 lead at the break. The Hawks hovered near 50-percent shooting for most of the half, scoring 20 points in the paint and turning several Magic turnovers into layups. Orlando didn't help its cause, shooting 34 percent (14 of 41) and committing eight turnovers in the opening 24 minutes. "In the games that we won (on the road trip) we took care of the basketball," Magic coach Jacque Vaughn said. "There was a stretch tonight where it was a four-point game and then we had three turnovers in a row, and the next thing you know it was a 12-point game." Smith said he likes temperament the Hawks are playing with right now. "We are playing together. I think we are very unselfish," Smith said. "We definitely play with a chip on our shoulders. No one gave us a chance when we lost Joe ... We are in this thing together and no one is playing selfish and we have a good cohesive unit." Notes: Drew said he didn't have a problem with backup C Zaza Pachulia becoming the first Atlanta player issued an official flopping warning for a play in the Hawks' win last week against Washington. "Obviously the league is taking a real close stance with that," Drew said. "I don't even remember the play, but if they say it happened, it happened ... Zaza is Zaza. He's a banger. He throws his body all over the place." ...The Magic's Friday night game against Golden State will begin at 7 p.m. It was originally scheduled for an 8 p.m. start. --- Follow Kyle Hightower on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/khightower.
Copyright 2012 by STATS LLC and Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Associated Press is strictly prohibited Copyright 2012 by STATS LLC and Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Associated Press is strictly prohibited
Notebook: Hawks 86, Magic 80
Dick Scanlon, for NBA.com
Posted Wed Dec 12, 2012 11:24 PM - Updated Wed Dec 12, 2012 11:24 PM THE FACTS: Josh Smith and Al Horford combined for 29 points and 24 rebounds to lead the Atlanta Hawks to their 10th victory in 12 games, an 86-80 decision over the Orlando Magic. The Hawks made eight of their first 11 shots and grabbed a 16-2 lead on their way to beating the Magic for the eighth straight time, including twice this season. Jeff Teague matched Smith's game-high 16 points for Atlanta while Arron Afflalo led the Magic with 16 points. QUOTABLE: "I think this year we're playing at our best together. And now with us being forced to carry a bigger part of the offense, it forces us to be more aggressive offensively and keep finding each other."
-- Horford on the success of his play in a tandem with Smith. THE STAT: In their last eight regular-season games, the Hawks have held the Magic to 79.4 points per game and a shooting percentage of .387. TURNING POINT: The Magic had chopped a 19-point Atlanta lead down to eight on a 4-point play Afflalo late in the third quarter when Devin Harris took a charge by Afflalo. Kyle Korver nailed a 3-pointer on the other end, launching a 10-2 charge that put the Hawks back in command. TURNING OVER: Six turnovers in the second quarter and six more in the third quarter stymied the Magic's chances of erasing their dismal start. QUOTABLE II: "It was another game where we defended well in the halfcourt, and we turned it over and gave them opportunities to score the basketball, made it easy on 'em. We are what we are right now; we're a high-turnover team."
-- Magic guard J.J. Redick. HOT: After missing five straight games due to back spasms, Korver drilled three 3-pointers in five attempts for the Hawks. NOT: Glen Davis had a rough night against the shot-blocking Smith, shooting 2-for-11. GOOD MOVE: Anthony Morrow started for the Hawks at small forward in place of DeShawn Stevenson, who rested his weary knees. Morrow did not put up big numbers, but the Hawks didn't need them in their eight-man rotation. BAD MOVE: In his last six games, all starts, rookie Maurice Harkless has produced a total of 10 points and 12 rebounds for Orlando. QUOTABLE II: "We will let this game kind of subside and think smartly, and watch the film and continue to diagnose what some of the problems might be. Never rush, be patient and come to a conclusion."
-- Magic coach Jacque Vaughn when asked if he was considering changes to the starting lineup. IN THE ARENA: The crowd of of 16,992 was the smallest ever announced at Amway Arena, now operating in its third season. FANTASY SPOTLIGHT: Horford (13 points, 13 rebounds, four assists) is one of only two NBA players averaging at least 16 points, 10 rebounds and three assists. (The other is Golden State's David Lee). ROOKIE WATCH: Magic rookie Andrew Nicholson came off the bench with eight points and seven rebounds, bringing his three-game totals to 37 and 21. UP NEXT: For the Hawks: Thursday vs. Charlotte, Saturday vs. Golden State, Tuesday @ Washington. For the Magic: Friday vs. Golden State. Saturday @ Charlotte, Monday vs. Minnesota. |
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April 26, 2016, 8:21 AM GMT / Updated April 26, 2016, 3:07 PM GMT By Cassandra Vinograd and Eva Gallica
There’s one thing that both anti-abortion and abortion-rights activists agree on. A shift is underway in Europe — in politics, prosecution and protest. Battle lines are drawn for what threatens to be a nasty fight, with both sides taking cues from the U.S. In Part 2 of a series, NBC News examines the debate.
***
WARSAW, Poland — The movement has a hashtag — they call it the #CoatHangerRebellion.
Activists for decades have decried the abortion laws in deeply Catholic Poland, which are among the most restrictive in Europe. Their anger has now boiled over.
A proposed law to ban abortion outright has sent thousands of Poles onto the streets, coat hangers held aloft and drawn on posters — a long-standing symbol of dangerous self-induced or back-alley abortions. The timing of the proposal and evocative imagery used by the protesters speaks volumes to a shifting battleground in Poland and beyond.
'Get Mad'
At 69 years old, Ewa Dabrowska-Szulc considers herself lucky to have come of age at a time when her three abortions were legal — a far cry from the current situation in her native Poland.
“We were lucky, we women �— as we call it — generations of The Beatles, meaning those who reached adulthood in the 60s, 70s,” she told NBC News. “We could enjoy the right to abortion ... It was just a part of our lives.”
That's a choice she would no longer have.
A woman places a coat hanger in front of the Polish Parliament during a demonstration against a proposal to tightening the country's abortion law on April 3 in Warsaw. Alik Keplicz / AP
A law introduced in 1993 made abortion legal only under three narrow exceptions — and she says the situation would be made worse by the proposal to criminalize abortion under all circumstances.
“I believe that we women of almost 70 years old should tell the truth,” the mother-of-two said while clutching a poster at a rally in Warsaw earlier this month. “We had the right to decide — do we have a child or not?”
That’s why she was out on the streets embracing the Coat Hanger Rebellion — fighting to restore the rights she had for today’s young women.
“I hope that ... in 2016, the new generation of women would get mad.”
An Outright Ban?
Abortion is illegal in Poland except under three circumstances: in cases of rape, incest or when there is a serious threat to the mother or baby’s life.
When the restrictions were passed 23 years ago, the law was billed as a compromise; there was pressure from then-Pope John Paul II to perhaps go further.
And anti-abortion groups with overwhelmingly Catholic roots have been fighting to extend the limits ever since.
The proposal that sparked this Coat Hanger Rebellion was the latest salvo.
It was drafted by prominent activist Mariusz Dzierzawski, who accuses supporters of abortion rights of wanting to “kill the children." He believes neither cases of rape nor a pregnancy endangering a mother’s life justify an abortion.
That's why his organization submitted the “Stop Abortion” proposal last month, which aims to criminalize abortion under all circumstances and suggests penalties of between three months and three years in prison.
The proposed law would see Poland trump the Irish Republic and neighboring Northern Ireland — which is part of the U.K. — as the most restrictive in Europe for abortion. It also would make Poland just one of just a handful of places in the world with an outright ban.
A giant coat hanger hangs in a tree during a protest against a proposal that could lead to the tightening of Poland's already strict anti-abortion law on April 9 in Warsaw. Czarek Sokolowski / AP
Dzierzawski told NBC News he believed the "Stop Abortion" draft law has a real chance of being approved and becoming a reality.
“Abortion is supported by the minority of the population in Poland,” Dzierzawski said.
“Stop Abortion” needs to collect 100,000 signatures in order for the proposal to be debated by lawmakers and given a parliamentary vote. Even abortion rights supporters concede they won’t be hard to come by in a country of 38 million people where 87 percent of the population is Catholic.
Related: You Can Be Jailed for Life for Getting Abortion in U.K.
After about two weeks, the proposal has gathered around 30,000 names.
"I'm not worried about the number of signatures," Dzierzawski said, predicting that all would go "very smoothly."
Church Walkouts
Poland’s influential Catholic Church was quick to urge its followers to back the “Stop Abortion” proposal.
A letter issued by the church dated March 30 heralded the need for the “full protection of human life." It was signed by two archbishops and a bishop.
“The protection of unborn life cannot stop at the current compromise expressed in the Act of January 7 1993, which in three cases permitted abortion,” the letter reads. “We ask people ... to take action aimed at the full legal protection of the unborn.”
The following Sunday — April 3 — priests across the country read the letter aloud during Mass.
Footage went viral of worshippers walking out in protest.
Poland's Prime Minister Beata Szydlo. KACPER PEMPEL / Reuters
But it was the backing of Prime Minister Beata Szydło, who said she would personally support the draft law, that set the sparks of a rebellion fully alight.
In addition, the leader of Szydlo's ruling Law & Justice Party — Jaroslaw Kaczynski — suggested that the majority of his lawmakers also would back a full ban on abortion.
The real possibility that such a bill could pass has sent Poles onto the streets in the thousands protesting a return to the “medieval ages” captured by their symbol of choice: The coat hanger.
Two Kids, Three Abortions
For Dabrowska-Szulc, joining the movement was a no-brainer.
“My story as a fighter for reproductive rights is long and very, very sad,” she explained.
One of her earliest childhood memories was hearing her grandmother plead for the death of one of her siblings. Dabrowska-Szulc's mother didn’t have enough milk to breastfeed the baby.
“[As] a six or seven-year-old girl, I was thinking, 'how could one pray for God to take a child,'” she recalled. But growing up, she saw how her parents struggled to take care of four children.
“So I decided that I should have only two — a boy and a girl,” Dabrowska-Szulc said.
When she first got pregnant, Dabrowska-Szulc was a student with “other plans.” It wasn’t the “right time” to have children, she said. But she had options.
“You could go to state clinics and have [an abortion] ... for free,” Dabrowska-Szulc explained. “Just go to a doctor and say you are pregnant and you have no chances to support a child.”
That’s what she did — once, twice, three times. She later gave birth to two children — now aged 44 and 50.
She said she’s been fighting for women’s right to get abortions since 1989, when the first moves were made to restrict access in her country.
“As a woman who has had abortions it is completely incomprehensible,” she said. “I know how important it is for a woman not to be pregnant, to be able to decide about it. Raped women should have a choice, mothers of terminally ill children should have a choice!”
'Always the Worst Solution'
There are plenty of people on the streets of Warsaw, though, who disagree.
Lawyer Magdalena Korzekwa-Kaliszuk, a member of the conference of the Polish Episcopate, is one of them.
"The amendment to the law on abortion is in the interest of women,” she told NBC News. “Abortion is not good for a woman, because it is bad for physical and mental health.”
She echoed anti-abortionists' claims in Poland that fetuses with abnormalities are “deprived of the right to life,” saying that adoption is “always a better option” than abortion.
"Abortion is always the worst solution, because it leads to suffering women," she said.
1960s America
Members of the Coat Hanger Rebellion point to the fact that there are currently only five places worldwide that completely ban abortion under all circumstances: Chile, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Malta and the Holy See.
“I hope that they will not do this to Polish women ... A total ban on abortion is just cruel,” said Katarina Wieckiewicz, a lawyer at the Polish Federation for Women and Family Planning. “It’s barbaric. It cannot happen in a civilized world.”
Poland's National Health Fund says there were more than 1,800 abortions in 2014 compared to around 1,350 in 2013. But women's rights groups in the country say up to 200,000 abortions are performed illegally or abroad each year, according to The Associated Press.
Rights groups warn that the new law will further drive women seeking terminations underground — a situation where their lives could be put in danger.
“This would potentially cause real harm to many women and girls who are already facing extreme obstacles to accessing abortion or reproductive health-care,” said Hillary Margolis, a researcher with Human Rights Watch.
That’s why the movement’s use of the coat hanger is particularly salient — it “quite powerfully” evokes images from the U.S. pro-choice movement in the 1960s, according to Margolis.
“What it says is that these women are saying we really would be setting our country back a good 60 years, that this is bringing us so far backwards,” Margolis explained. “We know that outlawing abortion doesn’t stop abortion. It doesn’t stop women from seeking solutions.”
'Backsliding'
If Poland’s abortion law has been contentious for decades, why is it boiling over now? A lot of it has to do with the recent and broader political shifts in Europe, according to experts.
"Unfortunately we are seeing some potential backsliding,” Margolis warned. “Poland is the clearest example of a case where the laws are already incredibly restrictive and potentially becoming even more so."
While she acknowledged the undeniable influence of the Catholic Church in the current debate, she said attributing the movement to faith alone would oversimplify the issue.
Related: Women Share Their Abortion Stories
“It sort of all goes hand in hand with a real move towards a more conservative ideology and this idea of conservative and traditional values,” Margolis said. “It’s also part of this movement across Europe where there has been a real rise in right-leaning political parties gaining ground.”
Poland has been showing signs of a shift to the right for years, well before the latest proposal to ban abortion.
Activists’ alarm bells, though, started going off with greater urgency with the recent election of Poland’s conservative ruling Law & Justice Party.
A supporter of the SOS Defense of Unborn Life Foundation protests against abortion in Warsaw on March 14. TOMASZ GZELL / AFP - Getty Images
The party came to power on a platform of change — “good change” — and a return to traditional values.
Since then, the Law & Justice Party has been criticized for new media laws that broaden state control and accused of trying to weaken Poland's constitutional court.
Lech Walesa was among prominent former Polish leaders who published an open letter Monday on the front page of the daily Gazeta Wyborca accusing the current government of destroying democracy and a "usurpation of power" with its constitutional-court moves.
And then there’s the “Stop Abortion” campaign.
Only the Beginning
“Get your rosaries off my ovaries!”
One of the loudest voices in the Coat Hanger Rebellion has been that of Marta Nowak, a member of the relatively new and left-leaning Razem political party.
She told NBC News that the backing of ruling-party politicians for the proposed ban spurred her party to act.
Nowak described a frantic effort to publicize the initial demonstration against the draft law.
Thirty-six hours after that rally was announced, an estimated 10,000 people were in the streets of Warsaw on April 3.
“This protest was impressive,” she recalled.
Since then, solidarity rallies have been held in Warsaw, London, Oslo and beyond. The hashtags around the movement — #CoatHangerRebellion and #popieramdziewuchy, or "I support women" — have been used more than 8,500 times in two and a half weeks.
"We see a trend in Europe currently as sort of a general assault on women’s rights"
Nowak said she hopes that the “scale” of the protests will convince ruling party lawmakers like Prime Minister Szydlo to withdraw their support.
“We believe that we can affect it,” Nowak professed. “We will continue to protest.”
London-based Razem member Aleksandra Wolek marveled at how the issue has mobilized Poles who previously weren’t interested in politics.
A solidarity protest the 23-year-old law student organized in the British capital this month drew more than 300 people. What was notable at the rally was the diversity among the protesters — men and women, the elderly, middle-aged and even children.
“Its outrageous how much of an influence the Polish church has on politics in Poland,” Wolek said. “It’s not supposed to be like this in a democracy.”
The protesters are acutely aware, though, that this isn’t just about Poland. Two years ago, Spanish women protested proposed changes to that country’s abortion law — though that ultimately failed. In Northern Ireland, a woman recently was prosecuted after taking abortion pills.
“We see the importance of these abortion protests in a larger context,” Wolek said. “We see a trend in Europe currently as sort of a general assault on women’s rights ... This is why we think it’s essential to go out on the streets and protest.”
U.S. Links
As many as 9,000 people attended the latest Warsaw pro-choice demonstration on April 9 — with many others at rallies in other cities around Poland.
The numbers show that “not only women but the society as a whole has had enough,” said Krystyna Kacpura, executive director of the Federation for Women and Family Planning.
“We awoke women,” Kacpura said. “We awoke a fight — I hope.”
Demonstrators protest the proposed tightening of abortion law in Warsaw on April 9. The posters read, from left: "I want choice!!!", "Abortion is my business" and "My body = my right." KACPER PEMPEL / Reuters
Every week her organization takes cases of women in need of legal abortions.
“The existing law is much more restrictive in practice than on paper,” Kacpura said. “We can say that right now we have almost total ban of abortion.”
She and others interviewed said doctors often will delay screening for medical anomalies, effectively running out the clock.
“They prolong the procedure to make it to be too late to perform legal abortion,” she said.
Kacpura is well aware of the evocative nature of the Coat Hanger Rebellion's imagery and is determined to make the voices of women heard.
“We will be screaming, we will be fighting as long as this law is existing," she said.
Complete Coverage: Europe's Abortion Fight
But Kacpura and abortion-rights activists suspect they might be battling a better-funded or at least better-organized competitor with roots thousands of miles away.
“Many many anti-choice organizations have started to act in this region — supported by huge Catholic organizations. Fundamentalist organizations with bases in the U.S.,” she said.
Kacpura said she recognized the U.S. influence in the language used by the anti-abortion activists in Poland. "But I can't prove it," she added.
It turns out, she’s right — but it’s no secret.
NEXT IN THIS SERIES: How an American Exports Anti-Abortion 'War' Strategy |
Image caption President Assad denies claims his forces have used chemical weapons
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has raised the possibility of Germany acting as a mediator to try to end his country's 30-month-long civil war.
Speaking to Germany's Der Spiegel magazine, Mr Assad said he "would be delighted if envoys came from Germany".
But he stressed that Damascus would not negotiate with rebels unless they laid down their weapons.
Mr Assad again denied claims that his troops had used chemical weapons, blaming the rebels instead.
In the interview to be published on Monday, Mr Assad said that US President Barack Obama had "not even a whisper of proof" that Damascus had used chemical weapons.
"He has nothing to offer other than lies."
He contrasted Washington's stance with that of Moscow, describing the Russians as "true friends".
'More questions'
The interview comes just days after a team given the job of eliminating Syria's chemical weapons said it had made "encouraging initial progress" after talks with government officials.
UN-backed experts from the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) said Syrian documents handed over last Wednesday "looked promising".
The team said analysis of technical diagrams would be necessary and "more questions remain to be answered".
Onsite inspections and arms disabling are scheduled to start next week.
Concerted international action to disarm Syria of its chemical weapons was agreed by the UN Security Council last month.
Its resolution was based on an earlier deal reached by the United States and Russia in Geneva.
The US had threatened military action to punish the Syrian government over a nerve agent attack in Ghouta on the outskirts of Damascus on 21 August.
The Americans said more than 1,400 people were killed. Russia and Syria believe rebel groups were responsible for the attack.
Syria's chemical weapons arsenal is believed to include more than 1,000 tonnes of the nerve gas sarin, the blister agent sulphur mustard and other banned chemicals stored at dozens of sites. |
New research has confirmed that cannabinoids - the active chemicals in cannabis - are effective in killing leukaemia cells, particularly when used in combination with chemotherapy treatments.
5 June 2017
Researchers also found that sequential use of an initial dose of chemotherapy first and then cannabinoids significantly improved overall results against the blood cancer cells. They found that combining existing chemotherapy treatments with cannabinoids had better results than chemotherapy alone, meaning that a similar level of effect could be achieved through using a lower dose of the chemotherapy. If this were translated to humans, this lower dose of chemotherapy would mean that the side-effects of chemotherapy could be lessened.
Dr Wai Liu led the study at St George’s, University of London, which was published in the International Journal of Oncology. He said: “We have shown for the first time that the order in which cannabinoids and chemotherapy are used is crucial in determining the overall effectiveness of this treatment."
“These extracts are highly concentrated and purified, so smoking marijuana will not have a similar effect. But cannabinoids are a very exciting prospect in oncology, and studies such as ours serve to establish the best ways that they should be used to maximise a therapeutic effect.”
Cannabinoids are the active chemicals in cannabis, known more specifically as phytocannabinoids. When extracted from the plant and purified, they have been shown to possess anticancer properties, especially in certain cancers of the brain.
Researchers looked at cancer cells in the laboratory, trying different combinations of cannabinoids against leukaemia cells. They tested whether existing chemotherapy treatments worked effectively alongside the cannabinoids, and whether using the drugs in a different order had an effect.
A number of clinical studies are underway that are assessing the full potential of cannabinoids in patients with cancer. Researchers say more trials need to be carried out to establish the veracity of the claims. |
Israel recently released 26 Palestinian prisoners , which Mahmoud Abbas demanded as a precondition for peace talks. These men were not political prisoners; they were in jail for murdering unarmed Israeli civilians (including women and children) without provocation.
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Upon their release, these Palestinian murderers were hailed as heroes by Abbas and Palestinian media outlets. These prisoners never contested their guilt, nor showed any remorse. They were proud to have murdered Israelis, and many Palestinians are now proud that they are free.
Undividable Capital? Jerusalem united in eye of beholder Yoaz Hendel Op-ed: Release of terrorists from east Jerusalem under claim that they are not 'Israeli' holds a glaring mirror to our face Jerusalem united in eye of beholder
How can anyone see this as a precondition for peace, and not a violation of every principle upon which countries like Israel and the United States were founded?
Mahmoud Abbas recently stated that there will never be peace until all such Palestinian "heroes" (those who murdered women, children, and senior citizens) are released from Israeli jails. And President Obama hailed the move as a positive step towards reaching a peace agreement. But how can Israel find peace with a country that celebrates the murder of innocent Israeli civilians (most of the victims were chosen simply because they were Israeli or Jewish)?
The problems are twofold.
First, this demonstrates that many Palestinians still see Israel as the "enemy." How else to explain that Palestinians who murdered Israelis are being celebrated as heroes?
Second, it speaks to the culture of violence embraced by the Palestinian leadership and a possible majority of Palestinians. What kind of culture embraces and celebrates people who kill innocent civilians – regardless of the victims’ religion or nationality?
Would America celebrate the release of American citizens who traveled to countries like North Korea and murdered innocent civilians? Of course not. In fact, when this happened in Vietnam, soldiers who committed such heinous acts were prosecuted and jailed. Can anyone imagine the United States welcoming such men back as heroes?
Shouldn’t the Palestinian people want cold-blooded murderers in jail – no matter who their victims were? How can Israel make peace with a people who see the murder of Israeli civilians as a matter of national pride?
And why are Palestinian leaders, media outlets, and the population at large allowed to call these men heroes without any foreign government or major media organization blinking an eye?
President Obama should be condemning the release of these murderers, not calling for Netanyahu to release even more of them. That the Israeli public has allowed its government to release these men is a sad day in Israeli history. That the world has remained silent is a sad reflection of the moral depravity of the 21st century. |
America and its allies have a long history of failing to change regimes successfully and now they want to do it again, by Jackie Pearson.
Iraq and Afghanistan have not, and may not, ever recovered from the Goerge W Bush brand of regime change and now the United States’ Ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, says the Trump administration wants Bashar Al Assad out of Syria. The words ‘regime change’ are firmly on the record and they change everything about the Syrian situation.
Remember when Obama, almost naively, determined that Assad was the enemy in Syria and started to back the rebels? Then the world discovered that the rebels in the Syrian civil war were dispirit and divided and, some of them, were potentially worse than the Assad regime. The leaders of the west, sensibly, took a step back and continued to work to find ways to avoid the chaos that ensued in Iraq when Hussein fell.
Six years down the track, millions of Syrians civilians displaced, no official death count, Assad is still in power with the backing of Iran and Russia and now America is talking about regime change. The use of chemical weapons against one’s own people is heinous, inexcusable and needs to be condemned by the international community but why do the events of the past few days, since the US airfield bombing, feel like GWB’s WMDs (George W Bush’s weapons of mass destruction) all over again? The International Criminal Court (ICC) has no jurisdiction over what is happening in Syria as Syria is not a member state.
Russia, China and Iran have condemned the actions taken by the US thus far. Iran has called for an independent, international inquiry into what has occurred in Syria and that sounds sensible. Meanwhile, on the morning of Monday, April 10, Russia, Syria and Iran have warned that any more attacks like the US bombing of the airfield will be met “with force”.
This is the world’s first taste of Trump as Commander in Chief. US guided missile destroyers and at least one super carrier are on their way into Korean waters and North Korea has labelled the US missile strike an act of “unforgiveable aggression”. US allies, including Australia, are ensuring their rhetoric falls into line behind the Trump regime. Turnbull and Shorten have both called for Russia to take responsibility for ensuring Assad does not use chemical weapons again. The UK’s Boris Johnson, due in Russia, has decided not to take the trip. Canada and a host of other reasonable nations have joined in the condemnation of Assad.
The problem is, the international community has been at this point before. Let’s take the fall of Saddam Hussein as the most recent of many historical examples of forced regime change and how, fundamentally, it fails the civilians it is done in the name of. Has Iraq had stable government since the fall of Hussein? How many Iraqi civilians have died or been injured since the Hussein regime was thrown out? How many generations will suffer through the decaying social and material structures that have been wrought from the power vacuum that the so-called liberators of the people of Iraq put in place of Hussein’s regime?
Humanity, right now, is suffering through its greatest displacement of innocent men, women and children since World War II. Let’s hope Trump has surrounded himself with enough experience to exercise some restraint in the days and weeks ahead. Putin and Assad may not. Now Trump has just taken the lid off a very big, shining toy box, let’s hope he takes the time to find out what each is capable of before putting them to use. |
Modern History Sourcebook:
The Passage of the 19th Amendment, 1919-1920
Articles from The New York Times The following document comprises a series of articles from the New York Times detailing the passage of the 19th Amendment to the US Constitution in Congress and the battle to get the Amendment ratified by the states. The Amendment was passed by Congress on June 4, 1919, and ratified on August 19, 1920. Thursday, June 5, 1919 Suffrage Wins in Senate; Now Goes to States Constitutional Amendment Is Passed, 56 to 25, or Two More Than Two-thirds Women May Vote In 1920 Leaders Start Fight to Get Ratification by Three-fourths of States in Time Debate Precedes Vote Wadsworth Explains His Attitude In Opposition - Resolution Signed with Ceremony
[See here for a picture of the New York Times Front Page, June 5, 1919 WASHINGTON, June 4 - After a long and persistent fight advocates of woman suffrage won a victory in the Senate today when that body, by a vote of 56 to 25, adopted the Susan Anthony amendment to the Constitution. The suffrage supporters had two more than the necessary two-thirds vote of Senators present. Had all the Senators known to be in favor of suffrage been present the amendment would have had 66 votes, or two more than a two-thirds vote of the entire Senate.
The amendment, having already been passed by the House, where the vote was 304 to 89, now goes to the States for ratification, where it will be passed upon in the form in which it has been adopted by Congress, as follows:
"Article-, Section 1. - The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex. "Section 2. - Congress shall have power, by appropriate legislation, to enforce the provisions of this article."
Leaders of the National Woman's Party announced tonight that they would at once embark upon a campaign to obtain ratification of the amendment by the necessary three-fourths of the States so that women might have the vote in the next Presidential election. To achieve this ratification it will be necessary to hold special sessions of some Legislatures which otherwise would not convene until after the Presidential election in 1920. Miss Alice Paul, Chairman of the Woman's Party, predicted that the campaign for ratification would succeed and that women would vote for the next President. Suffragists thronged the Senate galleries in anticipation of the final vote, and when the outcome was announced by President Pro Tem. Cummins they broke into deafening applause. For two minutes the demonstration went on, Senator Cummins making no effort to check it.
The Vote in Detail.
The roll call on the amendment follows:
FOR ADOPTION - 36. Republicans - 36. Capper, Cummins, Curtis, Edge, Elkins, Fall, Fernald, France, Frelinghuysen, Gronna, Hale, Harding, Johnson, (Cal.,) Jones, (Wash.,) Kellogg, Kenyon, Kayes, La Follette, Lenroot, McCormick, McCumber, McNaty, Nelson, New, Newberry, Norris, Page, Phipps, Poindexter, Sherman, Smoot, Spencer, Sterling, Sutherland, Warren, Watson.
Democrats - 20. Ashurst, Chamberlain, Culberson, Harris, Henderson, Jones, (N. M.,) Kenrick, Kirby, McKellar, Myers, Nugent, Phelan, Pittman, Ransdell, Shepard, Smith, (Ariz.,) Stanley, Thomas, Walsh, (Mass.,) Walsh, (Mon.)
AGAINST ADOPTION - 25. Republicans - 8. Borah, Brandegee, Dillingham, Knox, Lodge, McLean, Moses, Wadsworth.
Democrats - 17. Bankhead, Beckham, Dial, Fletcher, Gay, Harrison, Hitchcock, Overman, Reed, Simmons, Smith, (Md.,) Smith, (S. C.,) Swanson, Trammell, Underwood, Williams, Wolcott.
Paired. Ball and King, for, with Shields, against: Calder and Townsend, for, with Penrose, against; Gerry and Johnson of South Dakota, for, with Martin, against; Gore and Colt, for, with Pomerone, against.
Absent and Not Paired. Owen, Robinson, and Smith of Georgia. The vote came after four hours of debate, during which Democratic Senators opposed to the amendment filibustered to prevent a roll call until their absent Senators could be protected by pairs. They gave up the effort finally as futile.
Changes Defeated.
Before the final vote was taken Senator Underwood of Alabama, called for a vote on his amendment to submit the suffrage amendment to Constitutional conventions of the various States, instead of to the Legislatures, for ratification. This was defeated by a vote of 45 against to 28 in favor.
Senator Gay of Louisiana offered an amendment proposing enforcement of the suffrage amendment by the States, instead of by the Federal Government. Senator Gay said that from a survey of the States he could predict that thirteen States would not ratify the amendment, enough to block it. His amendment was defeated, 62 to 19. During debate, Senator Wadsworth of New York, who has been an uncompromising opponent of woman suffrage, explained his attitude as being actuated by the motive of preserving to the States the right to determine the question, each State for itself. "No vote of mine cast upon this amendment would deprive any of the electors of my State of any privilege they now enjoy," said the Senator. "I feel so strongly that the people of the several States should be permitted to decide for themselves, that am frank to say that, if this amendment, instead of being drafted to extend woman suffrage all over the country, were drafted to forbid the extension of the franchise to women in the States, I would vote against it. Even though one might be opposed on general principles to the extension of the franchise to women, one cannot logically object to the people of a State settling that question for themselves. "It seems to me that it is incumbent upon a Senator in considering his attitude on this matter to regard the nation as a whole and to give consideration to the wishes of the people of the various States which have expressed themselves from time to time."
Overriding State Votes Senator Wadsworth spoke of the results in Massachusetts, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio, Louisiana, Texas, Wisconsin, and other States where woman suffrage was defeated at the polls. "Now the question is," he resumed, "whether the people of these States are competent to settle the question for themselves. There is no tremendous emergency facing the country, no revolution or rebellion threatened, which would seem to make it necessary to impose on the people of these States a thing they have said as free citizens they do not require or desire. Is it contrary to the spirit of American institutions that they shall be left free to decide these things for themselves? "My contention has been, with respect to an amendment to the Constitution, that, if it be placed there, it should command the reverence and devotion of all the people of the country. The discussion here yesterday makes it perfectly apparent that, in part at least, in a certain section of this country, this proposed amendment will be a dead letter. No pretense is made that it will be lived up to in spirit as well as in letter. That same attitude has been manifest in the discussion of the last amendment to the Constitution, ratified last Winter. Today there are thousands of people all over the United States who are attempting to contrive ways by which the prohibition amendment can be evaded. This attitude shows an utter lack of appreciation of the Constitution as a sacred instrument, a lack of realization of the spirit of self-government." Senator Smith of South Carolina opposed giving women the right to vote, he said, because to allow it would induce "sectional anarchy."
Signing of the Resolution Immediately after its passage by the Senate the Suffrage Amendment was signed. In appreciation of the fifty-year campaign of the National American Woman Suffrage Association, the guests were limited to representatives of that association and members of Congress, and the gold pen used was presented to the national association. The women chosen to represent the national association were Mrs. Wood Park of Massachusetts, who for two years has been in charge of the association's Congressional work: Mrs. Helen Gardener of Washington, D. C.; Mrs. Ida Husted Harper of New York, Mrs. Harriet Taylor Upton of Ohio, Miss Mary G. Hay, and Miss Marjorie Shuler of New York. Besides Speaker Gillett, who signed the bill, the members of the House present were Frank W. Mondell, majority leader; Champ Clark, minority leader and ex-Speaker, under whom the amendment first passed the House, and John E. Raker, Chairman of the committee which won the suffrage victory in the House last year. The Senators present at the signing of the bill for the Senate were Albert B. Cummins, President Pro Tempore, who signed the measure; James E. Watson, Chairman of the Suffrage Committee; Charles Curtis, Republican whip; A. A. Jones, Chairman of the Suffrage Committee in the last Congress; Thomas J. Walsh of Montana, Morris Sheppard, Joseph E. Ransdell, and Reed Smoot. To celebrate the passage of the amendment the national association will give a reception next Tuesday evening at its Washington headquarters to the members of the House and Senate who voted for the resolution and to their wives. These will be the only guests. Miss Paul, Chairman of the National Woman's Party, issued a statement, in which she said: "There is no doubt of ratification by the States. We enter upon the campaign for special sessions of Legislatures to accomplish this ratification before 1920 in the full assurance that we shall win." "The last stage of the fight is to obtain ratification of the amendment so women may vote in the Presidential election in 1920," said Mrs. Carrie Chapman Catt, President of the association. "This we are confident will be achieved. The friends of woman suffrage in both parties have carried out their word. In the result we can turn our backs upon the end of a long and arduous struggle, needlessly darkened and embittered by the stubbornness of a few at the expense of the many. 'Eyes front', is the watchword as we turn upon the struggle for ratification by the States."
Prospects of Ratification Suffrage leaders say quick ratification is assured in twenty-eight States in which women now have full or Presidential suffrage. These States are Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, Idaho, Washington, California, Kansas, Arizona, Oregon, Montant, New York, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Michigan, Illinois, Nebraska, Rhode Island, North Dakota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Indiana, Maine, Minnesota, Missouri, Tennessee, Arkansas, Nevada, and Texas. Legislatures now in session are: Illinois, will adjourn late in June; Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, adjourn end of June or first of July; Wisconsin, Florida, in session until June 1, cannot ratify, because an election must intervene between submission of amendment and ratification. Legislatures to meet comparatively soon, or with prospects of meeting soon, are: Michigan and Texas, extra sessions called in June; Georgia, to meet this month; Alabama, to meet in July; Louisiana, possibility of extra session before September; New Jersey, movement for extra session soon; Maine, special session in October; Iowa, special session in January; Kentucky, South Carolina, and Mississippi, meet in January; Virginia, meets in February; Maryland, meets during 1920; Ohio, meets in June. Today's victory for suffrage ends a fight that really dates from the American Revolution. Women voted under several of the Colonial Governments. During the Revolution women demanded to be included in the Government. Abigail Adams wrote her husband, John Adams, "If women are not represented in this new republic there will be another revolution." From the time of the Revolution women agitated for suffrage by means of meetings and petitions. In 1848 a woman's rights convention was held at Seneca Falls, N. Y., arranged by Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton as the first big suffrage demonstration. From 1848 to the civil war efforts were made to have State laws altered to include women, and Susan B. Anthony became leader of the movement. For five years after the civil war suffragists tried to secure interpretation of the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments which would permit them to vote. In 1872 Miss Anthony made a test vote at the polls, was arrested, and refused to pay her fine, but was never jailed. In 1875 Miss Anthony drafted the proposed Federal amendment, the same one that was voted on today. In 1878 the amendment was introduced in the Senate by Senator Sargent of California. It has been voted on in the Senate five times, including today. In 1878 the vote was 16 yeas to 34 nays; in 1914 it failed by 11 votes, in 1918 it failed by two votes, and on Feb. 10, 1919, it failed by one vote. It has been voted on three times in the House. It failed there in 1915 by 78 votes. In 1918 it passed the House with one vote to spare. On May 21, 1919, it passed the House with 14 votes more than the necessary two-thirds. Foreign countries or divisions of countries in which women have suffrage are: Isle of Man, granted 1881; New Zealand, 1893; Australia, 1902; Finland, 1906; Norway, 1907; Iceland, 1913; Denmark, 1915; Russia, 1917; Canada, Austria, England, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Poland, Scotland, and Wales, 1918; Holland and Sweden, 1919. Copyright 1919 The New York Times
Sunday, February 15, 1920
Booms Mrs. Catt for Presidency Minnesota Delegate's Suggestion Rouses Furor in Suffrage Convention Praise Hays and Cummings League Takes the Place of Old Association That Won the Fight
CHICAGO, Feb. 14 - The National American Woman's Suffrage Association today came to the defense of Will Hays, Chairman of the Republican National Committee, who has been attacked by anti-suffragists for aid rendered to the suffrage cause, and congratulated the Republican Party "for having a Chairman who is astute enough to recognize the certain trend of public affairs and to lead his party in step with the inevitable march of human progress." The resolution was adopted by a vote of 190 to 22, which was later made unanimous. Democratic women then introduced a resolution thanking Homer Cummings, Democratic National Chairman, for help he rendered their cause, and it, too, was adopted by unanimous vote. Delegates at the ratification banquet tonight were brought to their feet with a cheer when Mrs. Carrie Chapman Catt was proposed for President by Mrs. Peter Olsen of Minnesota. Mrs. Catt waved the suggestion aside with a smile. Commenting on the fact that the convention program contained the advertisements of two candidates for President, Mrs. Olsen said: "Mrs. Carrie Chapman Catt for President. That is what I would put on the program Others are starting booms. Why can't we? I say this in all seriousness. It is time we did honor to our living leaders." Mrs. Olsen also was applauded when she predicted: "The League of Women Voters will see to it that the saloon is out to stay out." Elected permanent convention Chairman of the Congress of the League of Woman Voters, Mrs. Catt today outlined the policies of the new organization and declared women should affiliate with the political parties. Mrs. Catt's keynote address came at the conclusion of the first session of the new league, at which the work of organization was begun. Today's meetings were concluded with a ratification celebration banquet tonight at which prominent suffrage workers addressed the delegates.
Deplores League Criticism "There seems to be some misunderstanding regarding the League of Women Voters," Mrs. Catt declared, in addressing the new body. "There is evident opposition, largely political. "Persons interested in enrolling members in their political parties are making rather cutting criticisms. They think the league will keep women out of politics. That must not be. For sixty years we have waited for political parties to give us the vote. No State has given it until the political parties had consented.
"The only way to get things in this country, is from the inside of the political parties. More and more the parties have become the agencies through which powerful things have been accomplished. It is not a question of whether it is right for us but rather a realization of the fact. They are powerful. "Why have the Governors in the West acted so independently of the women voters? We expected that they would c all special sessions immediately after the amendment had passed. The reason is this: That the women voters have been a sort of ladies' auxiliary. There has been no common body to exert an influence. "Women must get into the parties. Without, we should continue to be auxiliaries. We've been sixty years urging men to confide in the abilities of women. Prove your capacity from within the parties. "You have a struggle ahead. There are inner circles in the parties where you will not be wanted, but it is just there that you must go. There is a danger, too, that you will be too timid, too conservative. If you are going to trail along five years behind the parties, it would be better that you never take up politics. Be five years ahead."
To Direct League Affairs of the league, it was decided today, would be in charge of ten National Directors elected for one year. Seven of the Directors would represent divisions of the country and three would be elected at large. The Board of Directors would elect a Chairman, Vice Chairman, Secretary, and Treasurer, and would meet annually in each of the seven districts. A national manager also will be chosen by the board, "at a sufficient salary to get the best available talent in the country." An Executive Council also was provided for, to be composed of the Presidents of state auxiliaries and chairmen of standing committees. The association decided to establish a foundation for the study of politics at Bryn Mawr and to establish a chair in the Women's Medical College of Pennsylvania, both as a memorial to the late Anna Howard Shaw. Mrs. George O. Miller of Pennsylvania, was appointed chairman of the memorial fund. Mrs. Grace Howard Lewis of Buffalo, a close friend of the late suffrage President, announced a gift of $1,000 to the memorial fund. Evidence of partisan activity was given repeatedly today. Four women, although declared out of order by the chair, rose to insist that the word "nonpartisan" be kept in sight, and another delegate asked that "unpartisan" be used in the permanent name of the Voters' League, which is yet to be chosen. Following the morning session Democratic adherents, especially delegates from the Southern States, complained openly that the convention had been packed with Republicans. Copyright 1920 The New York Times
Saturday, February 14, 1920
Suffragists Press Governors to Have Amendment Passed Demand Prompt Ratification by States Which Have Not Adopted It 2,000 Rejoice at Chicago Delegates Join in 30-Minute Demonstration Over Their Coming Victory Associations to Dissolve League of Women Voters Also Will Be Organized as an Independent Body
CHICAGO, Feb. 13 - Governors of the various States that have not ratified the Federal suffrage amendment will receive telegrams demanding immediate consideration and prompt action by the Legislatures as a result of action decided upon today at the opening of the fifty-first annual convention of the National American Woman Suffrage Association. Delegates to the convention numbering more than 2,000 wish ratification to be completed so that all women of the country can participate in the Presidential election. Demand on the various State executives for a changed attitude toward woman voters followed the receipt of a telegram indicating that a special session of the Oklahoma Legislature would be called Feb. 23 to consider ratification of the amendment. Particular attention was directed by the convention against Governor Hart of Washington, the only equal suffrage State where no move has been made to call a special session. Mrs. Carrie Chapman Catt, President of the association, was directed to send to the Governor the following telegram: "Washgton is now the only enfranchised State which has not taken action toward ratification of the Federal Suffrage amendment. Thirty-five ratifications are assured in the immediate future. The nation has been informal for many years that Washington approved woman suffrage. It therefore looks to yu to call an immediate session of your Legislature, and once more announce Washington's endorsement of woman suffrage by ratification of the Federal amendment."
Condemn Washington Governor The message was dispatched following receipt of a telegram from the Washington League of Woman Voters saying: "We were a pioneer suffrage State, the fifteenth State to be enfranchised. Therefore we resent the disgraceful humiliation put upon us by the stubborn refusal of our Governor to listen to our united demand for a special session to ratify the suffrage amendment." With the reading, amid enthusiastic cheering of a telegram of congratulation from President Wilson, the convention became a victory jubilee patriotic celebration and political rally rolled into one. For thirty minutes the delegates assembled in the Gold Room at the Congress Hotel and each supplied with a horn, indulged in a wild demonstration of joy. A din of horns resounded. The delegates lined up by States and marched up and down the aisles waving banners. Women stood on chairs and led State cheers and songs, and the whole assemblage united in singing "America" and "The Star-Spangled Banner."
Mrs. Catt Reads Message During a lull in the cheering Mrs. Catt read this telegram from President Wilson: "Permit me to congratulate your association upon the fact that its great work is so near its triumphant end, that you can now merge it into a league of women voters to carry on the development of good citizenship and real democracy, and to wish for the new organization the same success and wise leadership." Mrs. Stanley McCormick of Massachusetts, First Vice President, moved that a reply be sent conveying the association's gratitude for President Wilson's "constant co-operation and help, with deep regret for his recent illness." Mrs. Grace Wilbur Trout, Chairman of the Committee on Local Arrangements, in her address of welcome expressed the hope that the ratification campaign would "make future conventions unnecessary." Mrs. Catt then asked Mrs. Stanley McCormick to take the chair and began her address. "We have no official proclamation announcing that our amendment has been ratified by the necessary thirty-six States," she said, "but the ratifications already completed and the special legislative sessions already called for ratification bring us within a very few of the required number. There is no earthly power that can do more than delay by a trifle the final enfranchisement of women.
Nevada Sends Official Word "Thirty-one States have ratified. Our able assistant, Mrs. Helen S. Gardener, has been camping on the doorstep of the Legislature to see that the certificates are rushed to Washington as soon as they are issued. I had a telegram from Robert Lansing, Secretary of State, today announcing that he had received the certificate of ratification from Nevada, which ratified the amendment on Feb. 7. "I have just received a message from the Governor of Arizona announcing the ratification by that Senate. You read it in the newspapers this morning, but we do not take the newspapers for our authority. "Here is something that hasn't been printed in the newspapers. I have just received word from the Governor of New Mexico saying he is going to call a special session of the Legislature on Monday. The Governor of Oklahoma calls his session on the 23d. Five other State Legislatures have asnnounced their readiness to ratify. That will make thirty-eight States altogether, but only three of the five Governors have promised to call their sessions in the near future, and that makes the necessary thirty-six." Mrs. Catt laid the failure of the suffrage amendment to pass the Sixty-fifth Congress at the doors of Senators Pomerene and Hitchcock, Democrats, and Senators Borah and Wadsworth, Republicans, and blamed them for the necessity of calling special sessions of the Legislatures. The Executive Council at the night session recommended that the association dissolve as the object of many years' endeavor, the obraining of the vote for women, was about to be attained. Another recommendation, which was approved, was that the League of Women Voters, now a section of the Suffrage Association, be organized as a new and independent body. It also was recommended that the auxiliaries of the association retain their relationship to the Board of Directors to be elected by this convention, but that they change their names, objects, and constitutions to conform to those of the National League of Women Voters.
Copyright 1920 The New York Times
Friday, February 13, 1920
Suffragists Split By Party Politics Mrs. Bass Attacks Republican Women Who Spread Propaganda at Convention May Break Out On Floor Mrs. Catt Predicts Speedy Success of Amendment on Eve of Chicago Session
CHICAGO, Feb. 12 - Party politics overshadowed all other issues on the eve of the fifty-first convention of the National American Woman Suffrage Association. Party lines were being so tightly drawn tonight that the most skillful leadership will be necessary to hold the gathering to a strictly non-partisan course. The powder was touched off by the Democratic women, who promise to liven several issues that will come up on the floor. Mrs. George Bass, member of the Democratic Executive Committee, and referred to as the "spokeswoman for the Administration," issued a statement sharply criticizing the Illinois Republican Women's Executive Committee for placing a full-page paid advertisement in the program of the convention. Mrs. Bass's remarks were chiefly directed against the first sentence printed in heavy type at the head of the advertisement, which read: "To the Republican Party you owe the passage of the Federal suffrage amendment, and it will be responsible for the ratification soon to come." "In regard to this advertisement I will say I was greatly shocked." said Mrs. Bass. "The Democratic Party in Congress and in the States has done more to give the women in the United States suffrage than any other party, and President Wilson is the only President who has lifted his voice and his influence in the cause of suffrage." Earlier in the day Mrs. Bass had issued a reply to the statement made on Wednesday by Will H. Hays, Republican National Chairman, in which she declared the "mere act of giving women suffrage does not automatically give them all the privileges of party management." "Some changes in party rules and election and primary laws are necessary to give women equal representation with men," she said.
Republican Women Stand Firm Mrs. Fletcher Dobyns, Chairman of the Illinois committee which inserted the advertisement, declared that the Republican women refused to be drawn into a controversy concerning it. Miss Mary Garrett Hay of New York, speaking for the Republican Women's National Committee, said: "The advertisement was not inserted by the national organization. It was paid for by the State organization. It seems to me it rather shows the alertness of the Illinois women and their progressiveness. I would call it something of a business coup." That the matter probably will find its way to the convention floor was intimated by one of the Republican delegates, who said such a matter "could best be handled by the convention itself by resolution." Another question in which party lines may crop out is that of the merger of the suffrage association with the National League of Women Voters, the first congress of which will be held on Saturday. The Democrats look upon it as a superfluous organization. The Republican women speak of it tolerantly as a sort of innocuous organization, probably helpful, if anything, to the Republican Party. The "neutrals," those who are waiting final ratification of the suffrage amendment before declaring party allegiance, declare that the league will serve both as a school of citizenship for women and as a nonpartisan lobbying organization to support the enactment of laws in which both Democratic and Republican women are interested. But while politics hummed up and down the corridors of the Congress Hotel, it was strictly barred from the six preliminary conferences which were in session all day and ended tonight at half a dozen dinners, following which the most prominent speaker delivered addresses. Mrs. Catt, Miss Hay, and other prominent suffragists spent the entire day hurrying from one conference to another and back to the meeting of the Board of Directors of the association, which was in session all day behind closed doors.
Copyright 1920 The New York Times
June 4, 1920 Western Women Active Begin Work for Early Ratification of Suffrage Amendment
CHICAGO, June 4 - Illinois women tonight were jubilant as a result of passage of the equal suffrage amendment by the United States Senate. Some of the leaders were roubtful that ratification by thirty-six states could be obtained in time for the women to vote in the next Presidential election. Mrs. Catherine Waugh McCulloch, Evanston lawyer, said there was no doubt about Illinois, and that an effort would be made to have the Legislature the first in the country to ratify. INDIANAPOLIS, Ind., June 4 - No sooner was the word flashed here that the Senate had passed the Woman Suffrage Amendment than the Indiana Woman's Franchise League had its President on the way to the State Capitol to urge Governor Goodrich to call a special session of the Legislature to ratify the Federal amendment. Although not fully satisfied with the answer of the Governor, the women have not given up hope of a special session. Governor Goodrich said that he was heartily in sympathy with the cause, and if it became necessary to call a special session to hasten woman suffrage he would do so.
Copyright 1919 The New York Times Wednesday, June 9, 1920 Suffrage Pickets Get Little Notice March Up and Down Before Convention Hall with Banner, but Are Lost in Hurrying Crowds CHICAGO, June 8 - The tamest feature of the convention's opening was the picketing by the National Woman's Party in protest against the refusal of the Governors of Connecticut and Vermont to call special sessions to ratify the suffrage amendment, already ratified by thirty-five of the requisite thirty-six States. The women were there. They carried their purple, white and gold banner, which sought, in a variety of slogans, to place responsibility for failure to ratify the amendment squarely upon the Republican Party, and to set forth all the bad things 17,000,000 women could and would do to that party next November if it did not get busy right away and make national enfranchisement an accomplished fact. Silently the women moved along the curb on Wabash Avenue or backed up against the Coliseum walls. But they made no demonstration of any sort - were, in fact, forbidden to speak to any one - and a vast majority of the hurrying thousands did not even notice them. There was no attempt to enter the building or to molest the delegates. Copyright 1920 The New York Times
Sunday, August 29, 1920 EDITORIAL: The Woman of Thirty
It is almost cruel to recall the nineteenth century wit who offered to solve the suffrage question. It would suffice, he said, to permit all women to vote after thirty - the sly inference being that none would qualify. If the author of this merry jest is still alive, even he must find his taunt somewhat faded. Women in fighting for the vote have shown a passion of earnestness, a persistence, and above all a command of both tactics and strategy, which have amazed our master politicians. A new force has invaded public life and it is wielded by leaders who, whatever their foibles, perforce admit their three decades. A world that has hitherto recognized only the power of feminine youth and beauty is on its knees - no less - before the woman of thirty. What is to be the upshot? It is doubtless true that women will divide much as men have done among the several parties. There will be no solid "woman vote." Having individual opinions and preferences, they will be individually swayed by them in respect to any given political issue or personality. But this is only half of the story. Even the democratic franchise cannot quite unsex either men or women. Hitherto the distinctively feminine instincts and aspirations have centered in winning the right of suffrage; but now that it is won, a vast, united force has been let loose. That political issues and leaders should continue to be merely man-made is inconceivable. It is a fair guess, and indeed a fact already exemplified, that one distinctive interest of the woman politician will be in what is called welfare legislation - the regulation of the conditions of life and of industry with reference to the health and vigor of the nation, for the present and especially for future generations. Such issues should rouse all the powers of sisterly and motherly instinct; but as yet they have not developed an intensity, and especially a skill in leadership, at all comparable to that displayed in the suffrage campaigns. Perhaps it is because the feminine strength was divided between Albany and Washington; all may be well, now the great victory is won. Yet there is another possibility. Unlike suffrage, questions of human welfare can seldom be answered by a categorical yes or no. If we legislate an eight-hour day for women, we are subject to unexpected repercussions. Seasonal industries like canning and millinery are crippled and their employees deprived of much valued overtime pay. If we legislate against night work, we hear from elevator girls and ticket choppers, who suffer a serious loss of employment. So the women welfare workers are confronted by others of their sex who demand in the name of freedom that they be permitted to work as they choose. It is not a question of black or white, but of delicately shaded values and the interplay of a thousand nicely adjusted forces, economic and social. The talents required are openness to evidence, accurate foresight and wise tolerance. Women are beginning to have a sense of this, and they are developing a flexibility of mind and a capacity for compromise that make political discussion a thing very different from what it has been. Again, in the current campaign both parties are appealing to the feminine abhorrence of bloodshed, and especially to the desire to protect brothers and sons; but, while one party declares that the League of Nations will end all wars, the other, with equal assurance, declares that it will ceaselessly embroil us. Once more there is need of openness of mind and accurate foresight - the exercise of which is adding a new talent to the woman of thirty. By degrees the bickerings of politics as practiced by men are developing a really vital view of the situation. Women who are fit to be mothers of the nation know that there is no sovereign remedy against death in any form, and that the one sure way to make life honorably safe is to face its responsibilities with a clear mind and a high heart. True citizenship means service and sacrifice, the giving as well as the taking. Truly, we live in a new day and are blessed with new manners. Time was when it seemed a baffling fact that the decade of the feminine struggle for freedom was the decade when hobbles became tightest and heels most toppling. Now we know: it was necessary to convince men that even in politics women can still be feminine. With victory assured, the woman of thirty is already dressing more sedately. Once, at the most intellectual dinner tables, the departure of the ladies was a signal for the men to duck beneath the mahogany for things which, like Desdemona's handkerchief, were not lost but only mislaid. That also was the prerogative of the unenfranchised, and is also a vanishing ceremony. Some men still linger over their cigars, but only at debutante dinners, where the lure is callow youth. In circles dominated by the woman of thirty, cigars are laid aside half smoked and the men clamor at the drawing-room door to know how soon they may be admitted.
Copyright 1920 The New York Times
Source: All the text files here are from edition of The New York Times, 1919-1920. Under US Copyright law, copyright does not extend beyond 75 years and these are now in US public domain. The situation may be different in other countries
This text is part of the Internet Modern History Sourcebook. The Sourcebook is a collection of public domain and copy-permitted texts for introductory level classes in modern European and World history. Unless otherwise indicated the specific electronic form of the document is copyright. Permission is granted for electronic copying, distribution in print form for educational purposes and personal use. If you do reduplicate the document, indicate the source. No permission is granted for commercial use of the Sourcebook. (c)Paul Halsall September 1997 |
The Rojava revolution’s economic plan is called a “People’s Economy” to differentiate it from traditional market and socialist (i.e. state) economies. But though it posits itself as an alternative to the dualism of capitalism and communism, it is really not a fully formed model as of yet. There are three major concepts in the People’s Economy: commons, private property based on use, and worker-administered businesses. The Rojava economic experiment is less an implementation of a single concept than a jury-rigged system that must respond to the needs of a war and a crippling economic embargo.
In 2010, a year before the Arab Spring exploded in Syria, the Rojava region provided over 40% of the country’s GNP and 70% of its exports despite only about 17% of Syria’s population living in the region. And yet people in Rojava made well below the median income of the country.
The Rojava region sits on the famous Mesopotamian Plain, between the Euphrates and Tigris rivers, and is the oldest agricultural center in the world. Until 2011, northern Syria exported grain, cotton, and meat to its neighbors and Europe and was the country’s largest producer of oil. Plentiful water from the region’s rivers allowed for cement factories and other medium industrial plants to be built in the area in the 1970s and 1980s. However, since the start of the Syrian civil war, the infrastructure required to support these economic activities has been falling apart.
Power, communications, roads, and railways have all been seriously compromised. Failed infrastructure, constant war, and a strictly-enforced embargo (most notably by Turkey, which shares Rojava’s only stable border), have ruined the traditional economy of the area. In 2012, the PYD launched what it originally called the Social Economy Plan, which would later be renamed the People’s Economy Plan (PEP). The PEP was based on the writings of Öcalan and the lived experiences of Kurds in North Kurdistan (southern Turkey).
Traditional “private property” was abolished in late 2012, meaning all buildings, land, and infrastructure fell under control of the various city councils. This did not mean people no longer owned their homes or businesses, however. The councils implemented an “ownership by use” sovereign principle, a principle that could not be overturned by any council. Ownership by use means that when a building like a home or a business is being used by a person or persons, the users would in fact own the land and structures but would not be able to sell them on an open market. Öcalan wrote that use ownership is what prevents speculation and capital accumulation which in turn leads to exploitation. Aside from property owned by use, in principle any other property would become commons. This abolishing of private property did not extend to commodities like automobiles, machines, electronics, furniture, etc. but was limited to land, infrastructure, and structures.
The commons encompasses land, infrastructure, and buildings not owned by individuals but held in stewardship by the councils. Councils can turn over these public goods to individuals to be used. Commons are conceived of as a way to provide both a safety net for those without resources and a way to maximize use of the material resources of the community. Commons also include the ecological aspects of the region including water, parks, wildlife and wilderness, and even most livestock.
According to Dr. Ahmad Yousef, an economic co-minister, three-quarters of traditional private property is being used as commons and one quarter is still being owned by use of individuals. The economic plan (PEP) posits that the commons are robust enough economically that there is no need for taxes, and since the beginning of the Rojava revolution there have been no taxes of any type.
Worker administration is the third leg of the stool of the economic plan. Workers are to control the means of production in their workplace through worker councils that are responsible to the local councils. According to the Ministry of Economics, worker councils have only been set up for about one third of the enterprises in Rojava so far. Worker councils are coordinated by the various economic ministries and local councils to assure a smooth flow of goods, supplies, and other essentials.
The PEP also calls for all economic activity in the cantons to be ecologically sound. It is unclear who has responsibility for this, whether it is the workers’ councils, the local councils, the City Councils, or the Peoples’ assemblies. Throughout the various statements from the economic ministries, one sees mention over and over again about the primacy of ecologically sensible industry—but details are lacking.
The PEP is also vague when it comes to its relationship with other economies inside and outside of Syria. A substantial amount of the current economic activity in the region comes from black market oil being sold outside the region. In Autumn, 2014, representatives of Rojava travelled around Europe looking to create “trading partners” and seemed to be suggesting a standard free market policy, while at the same time eliminating banks and other financial institutions inside Rojava. The Rojava canton principles also clearly state that the region will not produce its own money or bonds, so it is unclear how such trading relationships between other governments would actually come to pass even if the embargo is lifted.
The strength of the PEP seems to be in how it humanizes economics for local people. It achieves this by both having commons available to the community to provide for those in need and by creating small-scale limited ownership to promote and meet local needs and markets. Worker administration increases and expands participation in the local economy and makes the economy more accountable to those directly affected by it. The PEP seeks to create a self-sufficiency that is aligned with ecological stewardship that actually puts people and the planet before profits.
In short, the PEP is trying to create localized participatory economics to match the localized participatory governance.
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The idea seemed brilliant in its simplicity: Combine all the credit cards in your wallet into one slick, card-sized gadget with a chameleon-like magnetic stripe that could be swiped anywhere. All-in-one cards promised the end of bulging wallets forever.
Coin, the first well-funded entrant into the category, made a huge first impression thanks to a slick social media campaign and viral videos — one was seen 10.2 million times on YouTube. Imitators like Plastc and Swyp jumped in on the excitement and into the fray.
Frank Barbieri, a tech enthusiast and investor, was among the first to spot and share an ad for Coin.
“I was excited about the promise,” said Barbieri, who paid $50 on the spot to get in line to be among the first Coin customers.
The company said it wanted to raise $50,000 via pre-orders when it opened the doors on Nov. 13, 2013. It reached that goal — theoretically, 1,000 orders — within 47 minutes.
But minutes have turned into hours, days, and years … and those early enthusiasts are still waiting for their one card to rule them all. Coin has come and gone. Its wearable payments technology was sold to FitBit in May, and the company stopped producing its flagship product. What’s left of the category seems little more than Facebook pages where frustrated consumers beg for the status of their pre-orders.
Failure to Launch
Plastc, which was considered a close competitor to Coin when it launched in October 2014, is currently taking orders for its $155 product but has yet to ship a product. In a Facebook Live post in September and in an e-mail sent to customers*, the company said it has 80,000 pre-orders and has raised $9 million in revenue since its launch (*Updated on May 2, 2017: This has been updated to reflect the source, which was a Facebook Live video posted on the now-defunct Plastc Facebook page and also an e-mail sent to Plastc customers from Plastc CEO Ryan Marquis on Sept. 13, 2016). But it has repeatedly disappointed consumers with delays. Earlier this year, the ship date was bumped from April to August or September, according to a message attributed to CEO Ryan Marquis and posted on several online venues, including Reddit. The message offered consumers an opportunity to get a refund, but Marquis urged folks to be patient.
“I hope you stick around. Plastc Card is going to be an AWESOME product,” he wrote.
In July, the company announced another delay, blaming a typhoon that wreaked havoc with its parts suppliers in Asia. The release date was pushed into the fourth quarter of 2016.
When we reached out to Plastc, the firm said it was shipping orders “in late Q4 (Nov/Dec) of this year.” But separately, CEO Ryan Marquis said on a Facebook video released in late September that only a small group of buyers would receive their cards this year, as part of a test group, and the rest wouldn’t be shipped until next year.
“Stop lying to your (way too) loyal customers about when this outdated product is going to ship,” wrote Steve Bierfeldt on the firm’s Facebook page. Bierfeldt, a 30-something who lives in the New York City area, told me he ordered the product more than a year ago. After this latest delay, he requested a refund.
“I hope you stick around.”
“They’ve missed 3 or 4 public deadlines, and there is nothing to indicate they have a working prototype, much less a finished product,” Bierfeldt said. “It certainly seems they are stringing along customers and hoping the bottom doesn’t drop out. I hope they can pull it together because the idea of the product is a good one.”
Plenty of Plastc consumers aren’t convinced the product will ever arrive, and aren’t shy about complaining. On Plastc’s Facebook page, the firm is currently offering a T-shirt giveaway, leading another buyer to write, “Want my card not a damn T-Shirt.”
Plastc did not answer additional questions about the consumers’ frustration.
Michigan-based Stratos card got a lot of attention when it launched and began shipping some all-in-one cards in May 2015, but in another sign of how tough the market is, the firm nearly went under less than a year later. At the 11th hour, Stratos sold to Ciright One, a Pennslyvania-based firm working on a similar product. Ciright’s “One” card will pitch a slightly different angle, promising to help consumers keep track of their gift card balances, while also allowing use of credit cards. The firm’s website says its One Card will ship in 2017.
Bad Timing and Mixed Results
Why are all-in-one cards, and their elegantly simple idea, such a dud? There are plenty of reasons.
The key technology involved, which predates Coin, is called “dynamic magnetic stripe.” Installed on a gadget like Coin, it would theoretically allow consumers to load multiple cards onto the same device. Then it would change, chameleon-like, so it would look like the original bank-issued piece of plastic to any point of sale terminal. Fine so far.
But Coin and its ilk had bad timing. Barbieri was lucky enough to get an early version of Coin, but he found he could hardly use it anywhere. Just as Coin arrived, stores began abandoning the magnetic stripe in favor of EMV chip debit and credit cards. Coin had no way to deal with that.
“So it was a complete bust. [I] had to carry cards anyway,” Barbieri said.
But the chip issue is just the beginning of the problem faced by all-in-one card makers, says James Wester, a payments analyst at IDC Financial Insights. He’s not surprised that gadget makers shipwrecked while trying to change the way consumers spend money. Many tech firms have run aground before.
“Trying to participate in the payments space is very hard,” Wester says. “A lot of folks who try, find out the hard way.”
For starters, Coin and its imitators had to do the near-impossible: compete against a product that’s free and simple. Bank plastic doesn’t cost anything and works pretty much immediately. Cards like Coin cost money and have to be loaded and maintained.
“Is [carrying too many cards] a problem worth paying $50 to solve?” Wester asks. “When your largest competitor is a free product, that’s going to be really hard.”
As is clear from the continuing angst over conversion from magnetic stripes to chips — not to mention the fits and starts suffered by giant entrants Apple Pay and Google Wallet — old consumer payment habits die very hard. People don’t want to have to think about how they spend money; they just want it to work.
Coin, which had shipped two versions of its product, gave up earlier this year and sold its technology to Fitbit. A message sent to CEO Kanishk Parashar wasn’t returned.
Silver Linings
Swyp shipped its first batch of long-awaited cards this summer after prolonged delays. Users are already complaining about the card’s major flaw: it is not EMV chip-enabled.
Not that all all-in-ones are giving up. Swyp, which promises a similar product it calls the “smart wallet,” shipped a batch of cards this summer to consumers who pre-ordered them. But these cards suffer from the same problem as Coin’s first batch: they only work as magnetic stripe cards, and can’t be used to complete EMV chip transactions.
Swyp is no longer taking pre-orders for them. The firm says on its website that the cards will go on sale next year. It also says Swyp will support both EMV and NFC in the future, but doesn’t say when.
Wester, who comes across as very cynical of all-in-one cards, thinks that firms like Plastc might actually have a window of opportunity created by the current chaos in payments. Consumers are still frustrated by the clunky changeover to chip credit and debit cards, and the associated slowdowns at checkout. Adoption of mobile phone payment or other schemes using wireless Near Field Communication (NFC) tap-and-pay technology has been sluggish too.
NFC-enabled plastic allows “contactless credit cards,” which are popular in Europe, but are nearly unavailable in the U.S. And that could be an opening for a card like Plastc. (On its site, the firms says it will support NFC, but not chips, at launch). Tap-and-pay NFC transactions can be nearly instantaneous, which might attract consumers and create a value proposition, Wester said. And if they are integrated into wearable devices, which is Fitbit’s master plan, they could give runners an easy way to grab a bottled water without slowing them down.
Still, Wester repeated many times, creating a brand new form of payment is among the most challenging areas of technology innovation. It’s so challenging that he offers his entrepreneurial friends this advice:
“If you have money to burn on a smart idea, don’t go into payments,” he said. And if you have money to burn on a product, consider spending it on something other than a pre-order for a payments gadget.
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I was interviewed by Sierra Bien of Ryerson’s independent student newspaper The Eye Opener concerning free speech on campus in context of the upcoming event sponsored by the Canadian Association for Equality, which will feature men’s advocate and YouTube sensation Karen Straughan (aka GirlWritesWhat).
I have reported extensively on CAFE events thus far, and especially over the last few days. Here are the relevant articles if anyone needs a recap:
I was glad to see that the piece was more balanced than I expected. My interviewer decided to interview several people from both sides, rather than just one men’s advocate and many Feminists, as some publications do when they are writing a hit piece.
Some information in the article was incorrect. I commented on the article, but at present it is stuck in moderation. Just in case, I have copied and pasted it below. But first, here is The Eye Opener’s article, titled “The CAFE came back”:
The Canadian Association for Equality (CAFE) will be sponsoring a speaker to come to Ryerson Feb. 6, but will be charged $1,800 for hosting their event, “Are Men Obsolete?” Ryerson is charging CAFE a security fee after chaotic protests broke out at past events at the University of Toronto.
CAFE focuses on raising awareness to men’s issues on university campuses, trying to show an alternative perspective to gender inequality.
In the past, CAFE has been accused of promoting hate speech towards women. The group has been charged security fees before at the University of Toronto, according to Iain Dwyer, a spokesperson for CAFE and a Ryerson graduate.
“Obviously we’re not happy to pay for security when we’re not the ones causing trouble,” Dwyer said. Dwyer understands Ryerson’s stance but says that there haven’t been protestors at their past two or three events.
This will be CAFE’s first event at Ryerson, but Dwyer says it has a goal to create a group at Ryerson sometime in the future.
The event will feature Karen Straughan (commonly known by her online username Girl WritesWhat), whom was also a regular on an American-based website, A Voice For Men (AVFM). “It seems rather one-sided and unfair,” said Jonathan Taylor, founder of AVFM.
According to Taylor, protestors in the past created human barricades around the building where the event was held and have pulled fire alarms, forcing people to exit the building.
Last year, the RSU changed their policies for campus groups before a similar gender equality group could be formed at Ryerson. There were claims that the group had affiliations with CAFE and AVFM.
“It’s unfortunate that they’ve been given space on campus,” said Melissa Palermo, Ryerson Students’ Union (RSU) president. Former RSU president Rodney Diverlus was concerned the organization was a hate group and led the unanimous decision to block its official recognition.
The CAFE event will take place at 7 p.m. at the G. Raymond Chang School of Continuing Education in the Peter Bronfman Room.
And here is my response:
Thanks to The Eye Opener for the interview and for this article. I should let the editors and readers know that I am not the founder of A Voice for Men, however. Paul Elam is. I’m the founder of the website A Voice for Male Students (AVFMS).
If readers would like to observe the string of criminal activity on the part of protesters (most of whom were Feminists), I have prepared a compilation of sorts in both article and video format, linked here:
Article: http://boysmeneducation.com/the-university-of-toronto-cradle-of-a-revolution/
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GEm8XaV8rY
The Ryerson Student Union also blocked the formation of a men’s issues group led by women on the grounds that – ironically – the group did not “center women’s voices in the struggle for gender equality.” Of course, the voices being censored were indeed the voices of women, so that was not their real offense. No, their true offense was using their voices as women to advocate the well-being of men and boys, something the “champions of tolerance” in the RSU couldn’t find room to tolerate.
The Eye Opener wrote an article about it here: http://theeyeopener.com/2013/03/new-rsu-policy-challenges-new-mens-issues-group/
It is something we find all too common among Feminists and their friends: they claim to advocate for women’s voices, but are often themselves the quickest to silence, negate, and suppress women’s voices when they do not conform to narrow-minded and often extremely biased Feminist politics.
It was once understood by those who call themselves progressive (in the true sense of the word) that in a pluralistic society we are not always going to hear opinions we agree with. If the RSU leadership actually practiced the values they preach, they would not be the reactionary, intolerant, narrow-minded zealots we know them as today.
The RSU leadership attempts to rationalize its actions by claiming that freedom of speech and intellectual diversity should be stamped out of existence when it veers into advocating hatred. They then misguidedly assume they have a monopoly on deciding what hate is, while also assuming they are immune from those negative qualities themselves.
But there is significant room to question whether the narrow-mindedness, intolerance, and hatred is coming from organizations like CAFE – as the RSU falsely assumes – or whether it is coming from the RSU leadership itself.
I send this message to the RSU leadership, and those who think like them: if you are so concerned about what others have to say, then voice your own ideas in opposition. Oppose bad speech with better speech of your own.
If your ideas are so much better than those you disagree with, then yours should win the day. If you simply cannot do that, however, then it begs the question as to whether your ideas and worldview actually have as much credibility as you think, or whether your ideas and worldview are as consistent with the values you claim to advocate.
Remember: the event starts at 5PM central time, 7PM local time for attendees.
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Netflix added over 60 movies on January 1, 2014, effectively offering a few weeks worth of material to your Instant Queue.
The line-up of new Netflix movies is as follows. The list spans a wide array of years and is sorted in alphabetical order:
– 3 Women
– Amelie
– American Psycho
– The Amityville Horror
– The Apartment
– Assassination Tango
– Battle Beyond the Stars
– Big Trouble in Little China
– Blue Hawaii
– The Brady Bunch Movie
– Breakfast at Tiffany’s
– Bull Durham
– Carrie
– Catch-22
– Changing Lanes
– Children of a Lesser God
– The Chinese Connection
– Day the Earth Stood Still
– Days of Thunder
– Death Race 2000
– Dexter 5-8
– Dillinger
– Escape From Alcatraz
– Ghost
– Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai
– Good Burger
– Grand Canyon
– Grand Theft Auto
– Grapes of Wrath
– Harlem Nights
– High Anxiety
– Humanoids From the Deep
– Jacob’s Ladder
– Journey to the Center of the Earth
– Juice
– The Keep
– The Longest Yard
– Love Ranch
– Mommie Dearest
– Mouse Hunt
– Narc
– The Ninth Gate
– Novocaine
– Penelope
– Planes, Trains & Automobiles
– Play It Again, Sam
– Racing with the Moon
– Raging Bull
– Red Dawn
– Reindeer Games
– Rock ‘n’ Roll High School
– Sailor Who Fell From Grace
– Saved!
– Some Like It Hot
– Spaceballs
– Star Trek
– Stealing Beauty
– Tadpole
– Talented Mr. Ripley
– Thelma & Louise
– Three coins in the Fountain
– Tora! Tora! Tora!
– An Unmarried Woman
– The Virgin Suicides
– The Wash
– West Side Story
– What’s Eating Gilbert Grape
– Year of the Dog
The additions come as Netflix recently pulled many movies from its Instant Streaming service due to year-end contracts.
What new Netflix movie will you be watching this weekend?
Source: Reddit. |
Transgender activist Nachacha Kongudom was arrested in June of last year for protesting against the military junta. She was sent to a men’s prison, despite her request to go to a female prison for fear of being harassed for being transgender. The authorities countered her request with the reply that, according to the law, she remains a man and there is no document in Thailand that can identify a trans woman as female.
Despite her pleas, the student activist was sent to a male prison. In just the few short hours before she was released, two officers demanded that she reveal her body during a physical examination, and she was verbally harassed by other inmates.
“I asked [the officials]: What happens if I’m a trans[gender] here? They replied that [there] would be a small place for me in prison, but I couldn’t go to the garden because my presence would be too shocking for the other inmates,” explains Nachacha.
The activist ended up not serving time and was released the same day on bail, but her case raised concerns in the LGBT community about the harassment that she could have faced if she remained in jail.
The Department of Corrections has recently announced that Min Buri prison, on the outskirts of Bangkok, will be used as an LGBT facility under a pilot program designed to prevent possible abuse of transgender inmates. It’s an initiative that has been met with approval by some gender activists. It has also aroused controversy because “it could encourage exclusion.”
LGBT activist Phongsathon Chankaew said he strongly agrees with the launch of the project to reduce prison abuse cases, but he is concerned, at the same time, about the selection process.
Phongsathon believes that going to this prison, “should be an option, not an obligation.” He also voiced concern that “other abuse could be added if the authorities do not show an in-depth understanding of [gender] issues.”
According to the Department of Corrections, out of the total prison population of approximately 300,000 people, there are currently 4,448 prisoners in the Thai corrections system that identify as LGBT. Among them, 2,258 identify as women; 2,156 identify as men; and 34 as transgender. Transgender prisoners are already separate from male inmates in the Pattaya men’s prison following regular reports of abuse suffered at the hands of cis male inmates. Transgender women and men do, however, spend time together doing work assignments at that prison.
In other countries, especially in parts of Latin America such as Paraguay, Argentina and Mexico, they have adopted similar initiatives to those proposed by Thailand, although these are special units within larger institutions, and not stand-alone LGBT prisons, explained Jean-Sébastien Blanc, detention advisor at the Association for the Prevention of Torture, a Swiss NGO that focuses on these issues.
In a prison of Paraguay, explained Blanc, there is a special wing for trans women that was created with the express purpose of protecting them from other inmates. “But their situation is reportedly horrendous. Worse than that of the general prison population. They are all held together in a very small space, without beds, health services, or activities.”
There is also a wing for LGBT prisoners in a federal prison in Buenos Aires, Argentina, as well as in Mexico City. “Some of the prisoners report that they prefer to stay in such wings because of their extreme exposure to violence within the general prison population, but their living conditions are extremely poor. Staying in such wings is often a matter of life and death for them, but this is not a long-term satisfactory solution,” says Blanc.
On the creation of the LGBT prison in Thailand, and taking into account the experiences of trans prisoners in other countries, Blanc believes that Thailand has a duty to protect all people in prison, but that protection should not mean exclusion.
There is the risk of going to this prison and having it negatively impact family relations of prisoners or even forcing them to disclose their sexual orientation or gender identity. “Furthermore, placing all detainees identified as LGBT in the same prison does not take into consideration the place of residence of their respective families, or the city in which the judicial hearings are to be held,” says Blanc.
Creating LGBT prisons, he said, “doesn’t tackle the problem of violence at its root but rather, runs the risk of shifting violence towards other vulnerable detainees [in the general prison].” With regards to trans detainees, he believes they should be given the ability to choose their allocation [male or female prison] on the basis of their self-perceived gender.
“Generally speaking, LGBT organizations should be involved in the discussions around such projects,” he added.
Jesse Lerner-Kinglake, Communications Director for Just Detention International NGO, explains that, in one U.S. county, a judge ordered the jail to create a separate wing for LGBT prisoners, determining that it was the best way to keep this population safe.
“In this case, all other options had been exhausted, and steps were taken to ensure that the LGBT prisoners had access to services and were not isolated,” he explained.
According to Lerner-Kinglake the segregation of LGBT prisoners, however, “does not guarantee security, as some LGBT inmates may also commit sexual abuse.”
Thailand has a reputation as an oasis for LGBT people. However, there is still a long way to go: the society tolerates them, but does not accept them.
Same-sex marriages, civil unions and domestic partners are not yet legal or recognized. Also, a large number of Thais that identify as LGBT have suffered physical and verbal harassment by peers.
One of the biggest problems for transgender people in Thailand is that they can’t change their sex on their identity card, even after undergoing complete sexual reassignment surgery. This inability to officially change their gender leaves them continually open to abuse for the rest of their lives. |
According to Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld, free agent big man Hassan Whiteside is drawing interest from several teams which includes the New York Knicks, Milwaukee Bucks and Miami Heat. Although Whiteside hasn’t appeared in an NBA game since April 2012, his 7-foot, 260-pound frame warrants attention from teams desperately seeking size.
Whiteside broke the single-season record of most blocked shots with 182 during the 2009-10 season playing for Marshall University. This is how Whiteside got national spotlight attention and eventually was persuaded to join the 2010 NBA Draft. The Sacramento Kings drafted Whiteside with the third pick in the second round, but only played him 19 games during the two years he was on their roster, mostly due to injury that ended his rookie season. While playing for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, Whiteside only averaged 6.6 ppg and 5.6 rpg, but only averaged 11.8 mpg as well.
Even with Whiteside’s low NBA and D-League averages, the Heat could use the youth and size underneath the rim. Whiteside would see little-to-no playing time, considering he is behind Chris Bosh, Chris Andersen, Udonis Haslem and likely Greg Oden on the roster. His minutes would be very sparing, unless injury occurred to a crucial role player or starter.
Still, having a 7-foot player on your roster is never a bad idea, especially in a conference that is stacking up on size. If Whiteside wants the taste of playing on a championship team, signing with the Heat (if given the opportunity) is a no-brainer.
Jared Doyle is a Miami Heat writer for RantSports.com.
Follow him on Twitter @outofboundsjay, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google. |
By Alexa Sue Amore
Young women listen to Hillary Clinton in Portsmouth, N.H., in early February. (Jacquelyn Martin / AP)
February has been a tumultuous month for feminism. Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright damned young women who prefer Bernie Sanders to Hillary Clinton, and Gloria Steinem dismissively attributed what she perceives as an irrational preference for Sanders among young women to their raging hormones. The following day she apologized “for what’s been misrepresented as implying young women aren’t serious in their politics” but failed to acknowledge the blatant sexism of her remarks, sinking her reputation as a feminist in the minds of many. Albright eventually published her own mea culpa in The New York Times.
Meanwhile, the popular trivialization of Sanders’ supporters as “Bernie bros” and “Bernie-splainers” perpetuates Steinem’s misrepresentation of Sanders’ supporters as “boys” followed by brainless female groupies. Both Albright and Steinem accuse young women of treachery and abandonment for having their own political opinions, encouraging them to reverse their position out of a sense of shame and guilt.
Little surprise: The recent eruption of comments belittling young women’s mental faculties emanates directly from Clinton herself.
Whenever Sanders confronts her about her record, Clinton casts herself as the victim of a sexist brand of male condescension. Her defensive, faux-feminist tone derails meaningful conversation about the factual political differences between the two candidates, undercutting young women’s ability to meaningfully participate in the political process.
During the Feb. 4 MSNBC debate in New Hampshire, Clinton claimed that Sanders’ criticism of her taking Wall Street money was, “by innuendo, by insinuation,” “a very artful smear”; she framed his perfectly sound criticism as a personal, rather than political, attack. Clinton bets that female viewers will find Sanders condescending if she reacts to him as if he were being condescending to her—even though he is not. In response to Sanders’ point that she claims to be a progressive on some days and a moderate on others, she characterized Sanders as “the self-proclaimed gatekeeper of progressivism” and “the only person who I think would characterize me, a woman running to be the first woman president, as exemplifying the establishment.”
By cultivating an underdog persona, Clinton sends a harmful message that women in politics are too weak to participate in meaningful debate, and that female viewers will be too caught up in the glorious prospect of a female president to notice her reluctance to discuss the objectionable parts of her record.
As the self-proclaimed victim of a smear campaign, she wallows in, rather than overcomes, the male-dominated political establishment, insensitively invoking women’s shared experiences of sexism to avoid talking about issues.
Clinton and her supporters frequently downplay Sanders’ progressive agenda as too idealistic, while touting the conviction that the symbolic act of electing a female president will substantially improve women’s lives across the country. Many young women simply aren’t buying into this propaganda.
Far from signaling women’s triumph over a patriarchal establishment, Clinton’s election to the presidency would symbolize that a woman can only win the general election by compromising her integrity in compliance with a rigged campaign finance system that serves the same corrupt political forces that have subordinated women and people of color for generations.
Perhaps women and society in general are skeptical of the glass-ceiling argument for electing Clinton because we have seen how that worked out with the first African-American president. The election of Barack Obama did not magically elevate the status of blacks in this country. It did not result in better education in black neighborhoods or end mass incarceration or keep the lead out of the water in Flint, Mich. The appeal of symbolic victories just does not hold up against reality.
By supporting Sanders, many young women are seizing an opportunity to dismantle a racist, sexist, classist political establishment that until recently may have seemed unalterable. These radical, independent-minded young women want to reclaim their ability to bring about real change through the democratic process. They refuse to have their voices drowned out by so-called political pragmatism, passivity—and shaming by rich and powerful women.
Young, female progressives are perfectly aware that while Clinton paints herself as the target of a smear campaign, we are in fact the ones being patronized and condescended to by Clinton and her prominent female supporters.
The 2016 presidential election is not about helping one woman win. It’s about helping all women improve their lives, and it’s about empowering women to dig deep into each candidate’s positions in order to determine who can accomplish our common goals. Women are intelligent enough to make informed political decisions and to resist peer pressure and manipulation, even from our fellow feminists.
The next step for feminism is to stop allowing anyone, male or female, to tell any of us, of any gender, that we have to vote and make decisions according to our bodies.
Alexa Sue Amore is a graduate student in medieval studies at Fordham University. She previously wrote “Levi’s Labor’s Loss” for Truthdig. |
Guillermo Varela is expected to return to training soon. Alex Grimm/Bongarts/Getty Images
Guillermo Varela, on loan at Eintracht Frankfurt from Manchester United, has suffered another injury setback.
Varela, who had undergone surgery to remove a screw left in his ankle following surgery in September, had to undergo a further operation earlier this week.
He is expected to return to training soon having struggled in the two matches he played after the screw was removed.
"It caused him problems repeatedly. He gave it his all, but he was in a lot of pain," Frankfurt coach Niko Kovac told reporters.
"It shows his character that he wanted to give it his all for team and club.
"The wound must now heal, and then the stitches will be removed. This takes eight to 10 days."
Varela will be one of several players missing when Frankfurt travel to leaders Bayern Munich on Saturday.
Mexico international Marco Fabian and defender Jesus Vallejo will also be missing for a team that has now lost four matches in succession. |
Loser Leaves Reddit
The Loser Leaves Reddit Prediction Challenge is a Wrestling prediction challenge created by the Redditor known as YourBuddyChurch where people get together and present their predictions for the match outcomes of a certain WWE, NJPW, or Indy PPV. The General Managers and their assistants run individual shows and divisions. ThePruef runs RAW, Mundar_Abagooby runs the NJPW division, LMonkA7X runs Smackdown Live, and Bahamas_is_relevant runs the Indy Division.
There are nine championships contested in this promotion: the Undisputed World Heavyweight Championship, the Intercontinental Championship, the United States Championship, the X-Division Championship, the Pacific Championship, the Tag Team Championships, the Trios Championships, the Total Warfare Championship and the Hardcore Championship.
Many major LLR shows also feature the Loser Leaves Reddit Free For All where anyone may compete for a number one contendership, which can be used for a title match against any champion of their choosing except for the World Champion.
The LLR Observer is a weekly report that allows all users to catch up with the weekly news.
The subreddit itself.
Championships
OVERALL CHAMPIONSHIP STATS PAGE
LEGACY SCORE & RANKINGS
Active:
Note: The Intercontinental Championship was originally on Raw, and the United States Championship on Smackdown; however, the two switched brands in the 2018 LLR Draft, as United States Champion danchester_united was drafted to Raw, and Intercontinental Champion YourBuddyChurch was drafted to SmackDown.
Retired:
Championship Final champion Reign Event Previous champion Division United Kingdom Championship King-Of-Zing 1 Bulletproof (2017) N/A (Inaugural champion) UK
Other Accomplishments
Accomplishment Most Recent Winner Last held Created Notes Loser Leaves Reddit Free For All Sinch_ Elimination Chamber (2019) Backlash (2016) The trademark match of LLR. All competitors battle each other, with the loser being forced to leave Reddit and the winner becoming #1 Contender to any championship except for the World Championship. Tag Team Battle Royal Qualifier Bow to None (ImmortalIronTyrant, LMonkA7X & VacantForHOF) NXT TakeOver: Phoenix NXT Takeover: San Antonio Multiple teams compete to become the #1 contender to the Tag Team Championships or Trios Championships. NXP: Nxperienced Predicting NXP: El_Primo_Smash* NXP 2.0: AurumVocem NXP Season 2: MidKnightDreary Autumn (2018) Autumn (2017) This is a competition game show where contestants are paired up with more experienced predictors and compete in various competitions to earn points. The winning contestant will earn a 1 on 1 Championship Match.
Annual Accomplishments
Accomplishment Most Recent Winner Last held Created Notes Royal Rumble SlowbroJJ Royal Rumble (2019) Royal Rumble (2017) Special prediction match. Held every Royal Rumble event. The winner enters the main event of Wrestlemania, with the exception of the Greatest Royal Rumble winner. YourBuddyChurch Battle Royal Mundar_Abagooby Wrestlemania 34 Wrestlemania 33 Match held across multiple events during WrestleMania weekend. The winner earns a world title shot at Dominion. Money in the Bank ThePruef Money in the Bank 2018 Money in the Bank 2017 Ladder match for a Money in the Bank open contract. Held every Money in the Bank event.
Tournaments
All Raw and SmackDown Shows - This is a list of all weekly Raw and SmackDown Shows hosted by their respective GMs.
LLR Draft - This is about the LLR Brand Split Draft, which takes place twice a year.
List of Special Match Types - This is a list of all special match types and their unique rules.
Technical Pages - This is a list of special technical pages with guidelines for wiki upkeep.
The Predicty Awards - This is a record of the Predicty Awards, LLR's yearly awards as voted by predictors and staff.
LLR Hall of Fame - The LLR Hall of Fame, where legends and icons of LLR are recognized for their achievements.
Prediction Challenges
2016
Pay-Per-View Name Division Date Held Main Event Backlash WWE September 11, 2016 Loser Leaves Reddit Match for the for the Undisputed World Heavyweight Championship Clash of Champions WWE September 25, 2016 Loser Leaves Reddit Match for the for the Undisputed World Heavyweight Championship No Mercy WWE October 9, 2016 PeefRimgarPSPW (c) vs desuroku for the for the Undisputed World Heavyweight Championship Hell in a Cell WWE October 30, 2016 PeefRimgarPSPW (c) vs desuroku vs cartrman for the Undisputed World Heavyweight Championship Survivor Series WWE November 26, 2016 cartrman (c) vs PeefRimgarPSPW vs TheFalconArrow for the Undisputed World Heavyweight Championship TLC: Tables, Ladders, and Chairs WWE December 4, 2016 TheFalconArrow (c) vs cartrman for the Undisputed World Heavyweight Championship Roadblock: End of the Line WWE December 18, 2016 TheFalconArrow (c) vs the_bedstealer12, sharingbody5, and ryrylloyd for the Undisputed World Heavyweight Championship
2017
2018
2019
Key
Event: WWE NJPW WCPW* PROGRESS PWG CZW ROH Impact Other promotions
*For the sake of record keeping all of the WCPW events are considered to have been under the semi-independent LLR-UK division and as a result are not counted among the standard challenges.
Division: Raw SmackDown Live NJPW Indy UK None (not division-exclusive)* |
Miller Park from above (Image: CHS) The crowd at a recent Miller Park neighborhood meeting to discuss the HALA proposals (Image courtesy Andrew Taylor)
Some Miller Park residents are not happy with the proposed zoning changes for their neighborhood in the city’s Housing Affordability and Livability Agenda.
Those residents will get an opportunity to voice their thoughts in small group discussions following a presentation on HALA, Urban Villages, and the Mandatory Housing Affordability proposal at a Community Design Workshop at 6 PM on Tuesday at the Miller Community Center.
Spencer Williams, a legislative assistant to City Council member Rob Johnson, said the input collected from community members at the workshop as well as from open houses the city has hosted and online and elsewhere will be analyzed by the Office of Planning and Community Development.
“The meeting is happening many months prior to there being a final proposal before the council,” Williams told CHS. “We are really trying to stay engaged early.”
Zoning along Madison between 14th and 23rd is proposed to be pushed to 75-feet for mixed use with 7% affordability. Starting near 23rd and E Pine, there are several blocks of single family zones that are slated to become new low-rise zones, allowing for medium-sized apartment projects. Meanwhile, the area surrounding TT Minor Playground and the Seattle World School is proposed to get a max height of 40 feet with 7% affordability.
Chief among the HALA principles is that denser housing should be built around major transit centers. Several low-rise zoned blocks east of the Capitol Hill Station would go to midrise zones and be required to have a second-tier (M1) level of affordability. But Madison’s isn’t slated for a similar up-zone even with plans for a new Madison Bus Rapid Transit line. The low-rise zones just off Madison are only slated for the standard HALA bump instead of an M1 level of affordability.
As part of Seattle’s “Grand Bargain,” Mandatory Housing Affordability will link the creation of affordable housing with market-rate development by requiring all new multifamily buildings to make 5-11% of their units affordable or require developers to pay into an affordable housing fund. That part of the program has already been approved by City Council. Over the next year the city will hammer out how to handle the zoning.
This summer, a draft Environmental Impact Statement, which will analyze the proposed MHA program, will be released and the public can provide additional feedback at that time.
“There’s a lot that can happen; there’s a lot of process left,” Williams said, adding that there’s space for flexibility.
Here is how the city describes Tuesday’s meeting:
The goals of this workshop are to support Madison-Miller’s community members to learn more and weigh in on changes proposed for the neighborhood as well as to help inform the Office of Planning and Community Development and City Council about your community’s vision of how our Urban Villages should look, feel, and function in support of important citywide goals for increased affordability, design quality, and housing options in neighborhoods throughout the city.
Debrah Walker, an architect involved with the recently rejuvenated Miller Park Neighbors group thinks the workshop will be the neighborhood’s best opportunity to have its say but isn’t sure their ideas will really be considered.
“I don’t know if we have any ability to influence this to tell you the truth,” Walker told CHS.
Late summer or early fall, when the final EIS is released, will be when people start to see their comments potentially reflected, Williams said.
Last month, CHS reported on a split on Capitol Hill — those living in already dense areas generally support the proposed upzones and changes, while those living in less dense areas generally, well, don’t. That fault line is especially apparent around the Miller Park neighborhood where the area around the Miller Community Center is slated for a boost to mostly 40-feet for townhouses, row houses, or apartments with 7 to 10% affordability. Near the southeast corner of the Miller Playfield, a 50-foot zone and 11% affordability is proposed.
“The challenge at Madison-Miller is going to be unique because their development pattern is a little different,” Williams said. “They tend to have smaller lots and have rich and robust diversity in their neighborhood. … They also have a lot of people that want to live there.”
While Miller Park Neighbors has been rallying area residents to show up and provide their thoughts on proposed changes to the neighborhood, Walker said the city wasn’t very good about notifying affected areas, so the group is late learning about the proposed plans and getting organized.
Walker thinks with the lack of direct public notification and Meany Middle School under construction, the city should hold off on approving any proposed changes to see how reopening the school impacts the neighborhood.
“It feels like there’s too much too fast and it’s too complex,” Walker said.
The Miller Park Neighbors held a meeting earlier this month to discuss the upzoning proposals with neighborhood residents. Andrew Taylor, who was active with the neighborhood group back in its earlier years and is somewhat involved with the new group, said he thought the meeting last week was good at getting information about proposed changes to area residents but didn’t provide a clear consensus for the group to take direction on.
The meeting brought together single family homeowners who have been longtime residents of the neighborhood and had a lot of concerns about parking and ensuring the neighborhood stays livable for families as well as millennial renters with concerns about affordability.
“Their hope with HALA is that if there is more development that prices will go down,” Walker said.
The need for more affordability is something most people agree with Walker, who went apartment hunting with her daughters that are in their mid-20s and early 30s.
“They’re trying to figure out where’s the affordability for them in HALA,” Walker said. “… They make too much (to qualify) and they don’t make that much,” she said.
According to the city’s website, the workshops are an opportunity to comment on a variety of related topics:
We welcome a lively interchange of ideas and opinions on the recently proposed zoning changes for your neighborhood, including where the boundary for urban villages should be drawn, what mix of zones best support the context and conditions of local areas, and how to encourage more housing options and elements of livability (including neighborhood amenities such as frequent and reliable transit, community-serving businesses, parks and schools).
A large turnout is expected on Tuesday, so the city is encouraging residents to RSVP.
UPDATE: Can’t make the meeting? Here is more from Williams on how to participate: |
Post written by Leo Babauta.
Are you ready to participate in the mad shopping frenzy that we partake in every year, not only on Black Friday but all holiday season long?
Are you ready for an incredible burst of spending, for racking up credit card debt, for the stress of buying things for everyone on your list?
Are you ready to consume an insane amount of resources, to have a huge impact on the environment, to work long hours to pay for all that?
Yep, it’s the holiday season again, and with it comes the worst season for consumerism ever.
I say, let’s opt out.
My family and I are issuing a challenge to all my wonderful readers, to the world: The No New Gifts Holiday Challenge.
What is this crazy challenge? It’s simple — follow all these rules:
Buy no new gifts during the holidays.
Wait, whaaat? Don’t fret, there are alternatives:
Make gifts, like crafts or construction type gifts.
Bake or cook consumable gifts like cookies.
Give the gift of your service — wash cars, give a massage, babysit, clean a house, mow lawns, etc.
Buy used gifts at thrift stores.
Donate to charity, as a group.
Volunteer at a charity together.
Have a shared experience together.
Create something, together, instead of consuming.
Give to others things you don’t need (a good sewing machine, etc.).
Find gratitude for what we already have.
Are you in? Take the challenge! It’ll be fun, you’ll save a ton of money, and your family will get creative. Read on.
The Tradition of Traditions
Many people will scoff, and say they love giving gifts. It’s a tradition, after all!
Well, sure. But new traditions can be made if the old ones aren’t working out. And I’d argue the tradition of buying gifts is broken. Read: The Case Against Buying Gifts.
Do we really want to teach our children that giving is really all about buying? Do we want to teach them that to show love, you must buy something? Do we want to set an example of consumerism instead of creativity? Are we saying that the only way a family or friends can get together is if we spend a crapload of needless money?
No. Let’s be more creative. Let’s create new traditions.
What kind of traditions? What if families got together and played games? Built things? Went outdoors to hike, play games, swim, play in the snow, camp out? What if families taught each other how to make things?
What if families got together to help others? Volunteer at a soup kitchen, help others build houses, clean up a neighborhood? Show that giving can be amazing, but it doesn’t have to involve consumerism.
Get creative. Get healthy. Get constructive. Get compassionate.
But teh sales! All the money I’ll save!
I think you know this already, but it’s worth reminding ourselves that when you shop during a sale, you aren’t saving money. You are spending it.
The best way to save money is by not buying at all.
Sure, there are some necessities that we need, but holiday sales are not about necessities. They’re about convincing you that all these TVs, iPads, Kindle Fires, iPods, video game systems, clothes, power tools and more are necessities. You can’t escape buying all this stuff, because it’s Christmas dammit! So come down and save some money, and sign up for store credit while you’re at it.
When retailers offer you a major sale, this is a good time to run in the other direction. They’re trying to trick you into buying something you don’t need. When you see an advertisement for something, anything, it’s a good time to shut off whatever you’re watching, or go to another website. You don’t need it. Opt out of Black Friday, at the very least. (We’ll talk about next year later.)
But … my family won’t!
First, your whole family doesn’t have to do this. Just you. You’ll be an oddball, and some people won’t understand, but you’ll be leading by example. Send them a link to this post, and tell them Leo made you do it. Just because everyone else is doing massive consumerism, doesn’t mean you have to.
Second, don’t be fatalist. Your family might be willing to change, if you at least start the discussion. Again, send a link to this post. Ask them what they think. Challenge them to get creative.
This could save your family thousands of dollars, and be incredibly gratifying in the process. Instead of spending hours of shopping apart from each other, you could be spending hours together, doing things. Celebrate the holidays simply.
Talk about the benefits of changing, and the problems with the way things have been done.
These holidays weren’t always about massive shopping. What did people do before department stores and malls and online retailers? How did they ever survive? Let’s try to remember.
Dealing with Difficult People
Some friends or family members absolutely won’t join you. That’s OK. You don’t need to force this on anyone.
Remember that everyone will change at their own pace, and not everyone will embrace changes like this. They’ll feel threatened, or criticized. You need to try not to come off as critical of others, but more positive.
Tell them that they are not required to join you, but that you want to do this for your own sanity. You are trying to save money, but mostly you want to move away from consumerism. Ask only that they respect this.
Others might insist on getting you presents. Politely ask that they don’t, but if they do, don’t be ungrateful. It can be awkward — for years I’ve asked family not to buy me presents, only to have some of them buy me stuff anyway. I don’t buy them anything, so it’s weird. But these days I just smile, and say thank you, and appreciate the effort. It’s a long education process, trust me.
In the meantime, you can still suggest starting other traditions, like playing games or going outside or volunteering.
Be patient. Others don’t like to be forced into change, so just be the change you want to see in the world. |
Disclaimer: This my personal account of the history of the making of Darkfall. I have tried to tell the story as accurately as possible. There are enough details to fill a book, so I have selected the parts that are important to me. This is not an official Aventurine SA document. The opinions expressed here are the views of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the view and opinions of Aventurine SA.
What is Darkfall?
Darkfall is a massively multiplayer online (mmo) game with a strong focus on player-versus-player interaction. One of the most popular forms of interaction within this genre is fighting, and Darkfall is aimed at encompassing this interest, amongst many others.
Darkfall allows players to undertake a wide range of activities as a solo experience, but the game comes into it’s own when players organize themselves into parties, clans and alliances in order to fight over control and ownership of resources and cities.
Character progression within Darkfall is skill-based, which means that whatever activity you perform will improve you characters ability in that specific action. Using your sword in combat increases the sword skill, letting loose a volley of arrows from your bow increases archery skills and so on. This in itself differentiates Darkfall from most other current MMOs which tend to utilize a level-based model.
Darkfall was conceived as Ultima Online on steroids, with more races, more skills and more content, but also more directed gameplay by embracing players natural urge to want to fight each other in games.
How we made Darkfall and what happened along the way is the focus of this article. So let’s get started.
The beginning (1997-2002)
Darkfall was conceived by Claus Grøvdal in 1997. He and Bjørn Tore Øren worked on fleshing out a design document. Early on they had an opportunity to pitch the project to some corporate investors, but didn’t yet have a name for it. So in a smoky canteen with 15 minutes to brainstorm before presenting the project, they named it Darkfall.
I first heard of Darkfall in 1998 when working for the same company as Claus and Bjørn Tore. I had been nurturing a dream of making games since I was a kid, and hearing about Darkfall made me want to turn that dream into reality. From the autumn of 1998 we started getting all the pieces into place, and after a couple of false starts we founded Razorwax in May 2000, and had seed funding secured by July that same year.
We were very happy about quitting our regular jobs to go to work for our own company. The first year or so was a flurry of getting the design organized, getting basic systems working, and trying to get an alpha version up and running so we could secure enough funding to complete the project.
Technically Darkfall is a very strange creature compared to most other games at that time. It is a mix of Java and C++. I had been programming Java since 1999 and liked the simplicity of the language, especially the fact that it avoided a lot of the memory & pointer issues that its big brother C++ has. Java was still pretty slow back then but was getting faster with each new release of the platform.
In the July 1999 issue of Game Developer Magazine there was an article called “Dirty Java: Using the Java Native Interface Within Games” which argued that using Java as a script-engine in a game could be an excellent choice. The article included a quote from John Carmack about Quake3 where he says: “If I did want to go off and start fresh, I would likely try doing almost everything in Java”. This inspired us to test the possibility of using Java for the game logic in Darkfall, with the engine and other performance-critical code running in C++.
By the spring of 2000 we had done some prototyping and testing and settled on a solution where Java would wrap C++, calling functions in native dlls to do rendering, physics, network and sound. Java would control all the game logic and have a very strict interface through Java Native Interface (JNI) calls to the native functions. We did a redesign in 2001, but kept the same Java/C++ relationship, and the game when it shipped in February 2009 still had working framework code from the 2001 redesign.
After starting the company and securing seed funding in July 2000, we had enough money to cover running costs for 1 year, within which we expected to raise enough cash to complete the game. This did not happen. The dot com bubble burst around the same time we were getting funded so Norwegian investors were very wary of new investments, especially in new-economy companies. Most investors agreed that an online game was an interesting concept, but no one offered us the money to make it happen. By July 2001 we agreed with our original investor that we would be funded until January 2002 on the condition that we got a working online “alpha” version running.
In August 2001 we opened the official forums and sent out a press-release announcing the development of Darkfall. This lead to interviews and quite a bit of interest. The forums started growing fast. Alas, this didn’t mean that investors were calling us.
Two days before Christmas 2001 we got the alpha version up and running, and let a few of the most active forum users try it out. Initially, there wasn’t much to do except run around in a small world, but at last we had something online to show off. Great success, or so we thought..
Fast forward to April 2002. Our original investor told us we weren’t going to receive any more money from them, but since our offices were in the investors building they would let us stay there a while longer so we could try a last-ditch effort to get proper funding.
Determined to keep going, the next few months saw a flurry of attempts to contact publishers, local Norwegian investors and anyone else that showed any interest in Darkfall. Most of us were out of money and at least one us had to live off bottle-return money for a few weeks. Luckily we had saved all the bottles from our soda-fueled development sessions earlier!
By the end of the summer of 2002 most of us were contemplating calling it quits and doing something else. We had given the project an honorable run for the money. Somehow we still kept going, hoping that this day or the next would be the one when we found someone willing to fund us.
Then, in July, Claus got a mail from a friend he had been playing with online for several years who had a contact that was interested in hearing more about Darkfall. This guy was in Greece and they wanted to come and visit us to see who we were and what we had done so far. After a lot of discussions online and over the phone the Greek investors finally visited us in Oslo. By this time they already knew enough about Darkfall that the main objective was to find out if we would be capable of completing the game.
The meeting in Norway went fine. The only hindrance was the cost of living and running a company in Norway compared to Greece.
As a solution, we finally agreed to move to Greece and bring with us a few extra Norwegians. We were 10 Norwegians in total that ended up moving to Greece to work on Darkfall.
Greece part 1 (2003 – 2006)
In November 2002 we moved to Athens, Greece and our new offices situated literally opposite the soon-to-be-finished Athens Olympic Games area.
We had to wait a couple of weeks before the machines we had ordered got to the offices, and ADSL was almost an alien concept in Greece at the time, so after a few weeks we got the whole office on a double-isdn line. We quickly learned the greek word “avrio” which means “tomorrow”. Whenever there is a problem that needs to be fixed asap, the natural greek reaction is “avrio… avrio”. Luckily most of the Norwegians quickly adapted and accepted this nuance of greek culture.
January 2003 we were ramping up production and hiring more people. We concentrated on creating the ingame world map, fleshing out city designs, designing monsters, and making props and buildings to prepare for building the Darkfall world.
The engine and game logic framework were taking shape and we focused on getting the worldbuilder tools ready for building the world. These were good times.
The world map was created by generating a height map of a high-resolution version of a Darkfall 2D world map. The height map was then dissected into square tiles and exported as 3d-meshes, which then were further modified by 3D artists to make areas for building on. This meant that every one of the around 670 land-tiles had to be customized by hand.
We designed a module-system where instead of having ready-made houses, the 3D artists made modules that the worldbuilders would assemble into prefabs in the Worldbuilder. This would in theory give us a lot of possible variation for housing.
The Worldbuilder got to a usable state at the end of summer of 2003, and from then on it was “full steam ahead” and the game world was being built.
In early 2004 we had the first set of racial characters modeled and ready for animation. Due to miss-communication and an internal deadline the characters were created within a rather brutal deadline, which ended up making them suffer visually. This would cause us headaches in the future.
We worked through most of 2004 and 2005 getting the game to a playable state. The technical pieces were falling into place and the world building was grinding a long. Large portions of the game world (named Agon) had been built by the end of 2005.
In mid-December 2005 we moved to bigger and better offices. This was a pretty big occasion for us, since moving meant we would have space for more people, but we also had a big deadline that coincided with the moving. This deadline meant that we now had a playable version of Darkfall and all the character and armor sets were animated and in the game. Everything was ready for making a video showing off Darkfall gameplay, and ramping up interest around the game.
Greece part 2 (2006 – 2009)
Come January 2006, we setup a test-server and started making the first actual gameplay video. It entailed a bit of stopping and starting because some features weren’t working as intended, especially server stability. Despite this we ended up having a lot of fun battling each other and riding around capturing footage.
That video ramped up interest and kept our fans insured that the game was moving forward, albeit slower than we originally planned.
May 2006 brought us to E3, with the opportunity to show off what we had to potential publishers and game media. We got a lot of positive feedback from going to E3, even though we didn’t have an official booth. We met a lot of interesting and interested people.
2006 was a year where we did a lot of PR for Darkfall which massively increased the fanbase and interest further.
Then came two years of crunch time, where we basically hammered the code into a releasable state. We finalized existed features, and added quite a few new things (i.e. warhulks) to the game.
Upon reaching this stage, we took a thorough look at the game world and found out the most of what had been built wasn’t good enough. By now we knew a lot more about the capabilities of our game engine, which had been optimized and improved constantly since 2002. Further to this, hardware advances (mostly graphics cards developments) over the years meant also that things had changed. Houses built with modules turned out to be too expensive and had to be replaced. Also, the Worldbuilder and the guys building the world had improved quite a bit since starting in 2003. We made the decision to rebuild the entire world, starting from scratch on a lot of the areas. The rebuild was a great move for the game, but put a lot of extra pressure on the world builders.
By the end of 2007 we were very sure that we would be releasing Darkfall in Q3 or Q4 2008, and no later. We ended up releasing Darkfall the 25th of February 2009.
Darkfall release
The release of Darkfall was postponed many times. Our first estimate on arrival in Greece was Q1/Q2 2004. It turns out (of course) that we didn’t know enough about the size of the project or the nature of large projects to do any kind of accurate estimate. Consequently we set and missed quite a few deadlines the first couple of years, but as time passed our ability to estimate deadlines got better.
We had been running a test server off-site since 2006 and most of the features were getting close to finished.
By late 2007 we knew we were getting very close and we had an internal target for Q3/Q4 2008. Unfortunately, we missed that last target by 2 months, but we were happy to finally release the game on the 25th of February 2009.
Like most other MMOs, the actual release had it’s issues. The biggest one was our payment handler not being able to handle the traffic, and thus forcing us to throttle sales. When we fixed that, we still had to throttle sales to accommodate the fact that players weren’t dispersing from the main spawn points as fast as we had predicted, causing massive lag for some people.
There were a few other issues, but most of these were fixed within a week of release. All in all a rocky, but acceptable release from a small indie games developer.
Lessons learned
Darkfall took 12 years from concept to release. Full blown development didn’t really start until 2003, but it still took 6 years from that point. Most of us lacked experience in making games, even though there was an abundance of skill, talent and dedication within our small team.
Looking back at what we achieved with Darkfall fills me with great pride. We were told by some people that what we were trying to do was impossible, and even now some people are amazed by what we pulled off. We built our own company and an mmo platform, and then we built Darkfall on top of that mmo platform.
One of the blessings of being inexperienced and young is that you have this naive concept that you can rule the world if you just try hard enough. We set ourselves lofty goals, and went ahead and made them come true.
We learned that given enough time and effort even a small team can pull off something of this magnitude, if the right skill-sets are present.
What now?
Darkfall is now 2 years old, and still going strong. It is one of the most controversial MMO’s released, and has a knack of polarizing people. You either love or hate Darkfall. That is ok, we made a niche game for a select audience, namely the experienced MMO players that don’t need hand-holding and nannying to have fun in a game.
You might be logged on playing Darkfall, get harassed by someone, fight him, and then get killed. All your stuff is looted and you want to rage-quit. But then you remember that Darkfall is one of the few games where you CAN actually try to kill the guy that is harassing you. And also, next time you might succeed, and then you will be happy with the fact that you can.
I am not involved in the day to day development of Darkfall anymore, so what lies in the future of Darkfall isn’t privy to me. What I can say is that the Darkfall team is listening to player feedback, and has been adding new features and expanding existing features at a great rate. The game has become even better since release 2 years ago.
I hope this quite long Darkfall development story has entertained you.
Signing off,
Ricki Sickenger
Facts:
Team size at start: 3
Team size at release: 35
Time from concept to release: 12years
Time from full production to release: 6 years
Lines of code at release: Around 2million.
Thanks to Jon Hughes and Henning Ludvigsen for proof reading and editing suggestions! |
Human rights group Amnesty International said in a report published Tuesday that Israeli restrictions prevented Palestinians from receiving enough water in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
The report said Israel's daily water consumption per capita was four times higher than that in the Palestinian territories.
"Water is a basic need and a right, but for many Palestinians obtaining even poor-quality, subsistence-level quantities of water has become a luxury that they can barely afford," said Amnesty official Donatella Rovera.
A spokesman for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed Amnesty's statement that Israel was depriving the Palestinians of water as "preposterous."
Israel says it has met its obligations under the 1993 Oslo agreement while Palestinians have failed to meet their own requirements to recycle water and were not distributing water efficiently.
"Israel supplied Palestinians 20.8 million cubic liters above and beyond what it is obliged to do under the water agreement," said Netanyahu's spokesman, Mark Regev.
Israel, itself facing unprecedented water shortages and rising tariffs, controls much of the West Bank's supplies, pumping from an aquifer that bridges Israel and the territory.
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Israel sells some water back to the Palestinians under quotas agreed in the Oslo accords that rights groups say have not been increased in line with population growth.
The report said Gaza's coastal aquifer, its sole fresh water resource, had been polluted by infiltration of seawater and raw sewage and degraded by over-extraction.
Israel and Egypt maintain a blockade of the Gaza Strip, an area taken over by the Islamist Hamas movement, which ousted Palestinian forces loyal to President Mahmoud Abbas in a bloody 2007 coup.
Israel's water authority called the report "biased and incorrect, at the very least" and said that while there was a water gap, it was not nearly as big as presented in Amnesty's findings.
Amnesty said water consumption in Israel was 300 liters a day per person and 70 liters a day in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Israel's water authority said those numbers were misleading because they took into account internal distribution and did not compare total water consumption. It said the total figures were 408 liters per day for Israelis and 287 liters for Palestinians.
The Amnesty report described how Palestinians in the West Bank relied on water from tankers that were forced to take long detours to avoid Israeli military checkpoints and roads off-limits to Palestinians.
The situation had led to steep increases in water prices, the report said. |
(written from a Production point of view Real World article
With history itself at stake, Sisko must risk all to see that the Bell Riots reach their inevitable conclusion, even if it means sacrificing his life...
Contents show]
Summary Edit
This article or section is incomplete This page is marked as lacking essential detail, and needs attention. Information regarding expansion requirements may be found on the article's talk page. Feel free to edit this page to assist with this expansion.
Teaser Edit
After moving the hostages into the Sanctuary Processing Center, Biddle Coleridge tells his friends to shoot any hostage that moves. Posing as the late Gabriel Bell, Benjamin Sisko takes control of the volatile hostage situation in the Sanctuary District by convincing Coleridge that they need the hostages alive as a bargaining chip. Suddenly, Vin bursts into the room holding a gun. Coleridge is about to shoot him when Sisko tackles Vin against a wall. In the chaos, a shot is accidentally fired and Bashir calms a frightened Lee. Then, Coleridge wants an access code to the net and tries to get it from Vin. Bernardo Calvera agrees to help to calm Coleridge down, just wanting to get home.
Sisko says they need to block the windows, so he and Bashir start doing so. Meanwhile, Bashir expresses his concern about Sisko posing as Gabriel Bell because Bell historically died when guards stormed the building. Sisko says that he is not Bell, but everyone will treat him like so.
Act One Edit
Michael Webb arrives and Sisko introduces him to Coleridge. Sisko enlists his help to recruit gimmies, people that he trusts to guard the hostages and to watch over the volatile ghosts as well. Meanwhile, Jadzia Dax sees news coverage of the event at Chris Brynner's apartment and realizes that she must get into the District to help save Sisko and Bashir, despite Brynner's insistence that she could be hurt.
On the USS Defiant, Kira Nerys and Miles O'Brien have narrowed the possible time periods to 10 possibilities but due to the limited number of chroniton particles they have a finite number of trips they can take, not enough to cover all of the possible timeframes. Kira feels ridiculous that she has to wear a bandage on her nose to disguise her Bajoran heritage, and O'Brien advises her to say nothing and let him do all the talking. On their first attempt, they land in 1930 and find no evidence of the team's presence. Before they can leave, they run into a couple leaving a party who looks at them and then runs off.
Coleridge is outraged that gimmies are guarding the hostages, but Sisko emphasizes the importance of having people they can trust. Coleridge tells Sisko and Webb that he intends to trade the hostages for freedom – amnesty, credit chips and the ability to go anywhere they want. Coleridge wants to go to Tasmania, the birthplace of Errol Flynn. However, Sisko says that they must think of the other 10,000 people as well and that they would not make it far before they were caught. Webb supports Sisko and they agree to campaign for the closure of Sanctuary districts, jobs for the residents and the reinstatement of the Federal Employment Act.
Sisko convinces Webb to act as a representative of the District to speak to the outside world. As they try to get their position across, though, their connection is broken by the police as per department policy in these situations. However, Detective Preston, a police negotiator from the SFPD, contacts them. First, she asks to see the hostages. Coleridge immediately drags Lee to the screen and threatens Preston, revealing the instability of the situation.
Act Two Edit
Preston calmly asks to talk to Webb again, and so he gently pushes Coleridge and Sisko leads him away. She offers to meet in person by the main gate. Sisko accompanies Webb to the meeting and states their demands. Preston agrees to relay them to Governor Robert Chen and also agrees to do her best to supply the residents with breakfast.
Bashir finds out that Lee is hypoglycemic and offers to help her find treatment. Lee realizes that Sisko (posing as Bell) initially gave her a false name and Bashir explains that "Bell" had run into some trouble. Lee reveals that she processed a woman with a warrant on her for abandoning her child because she could not take care of him and left him with a family she worked for. Lee felt sorry for her and did not log her into the system which would have alerted the police, instead letting her disappear into the Sanctuary. Lee's supervisor almost fired her when the incident was revealed. Lee does not know what happened to the woman but she thinks about her all the time. Bashir explains that it's not her fault the way things are.
Later, while most of the guards are sleeping, Vin gets up and almost gets his hands on a weapon when Coleridge alerts everyone and holds a gun to him. However, Sisko intervenes by pointing his gun towards Coleridge and prepares to shoot him, determined not to let the hostages die.
Act Three Edit
Coleridge sees that Sisko is serious and puts his gun down. Sisko takes Vin aside and threatens him not to do anything stupid again, but he is unmoved. Vin asks him to let the hostages go. Sisko impatiently says that Vin and the others who work at the Sanctuary just don't get it – even though they work here and see the injustices suffered by the people every day. It would be a start for Vin and the others just to acknowledge what is going on.
Meanwhile, on another attempt to find Sisko and the others, Kira and O'Brien end up in 1967 surrounded by a flowered Combi van and loud rock music. Two stoned hippies come out of the van and give flowers and a peace sign to a perplexed Kira and O'Brien, who then awkwardly give back the sign. Just then, they are transported away and the male hippie simply says "wow".
True to her promise, Preston has supplied muffins and fruit juice for the residents, and Sisko makes sure Coleridge shares. Danny comes inside to find his father to be with him. Webb agrees he can stay for a while but says that Danny must go when he says so without question. Meanwhile, Bashir has managed to find some glucogen in the clinic and provides treatment for Lee. Bashir also tells Calvera (who is worried about his family) that something good will come from all of this.
A short time later, Preston returns with the Governor's response: he'll reduce the charges against Bell and Webb if they release the hostages. Sisko and Webb ask whether the Sanctuary will be closed and jobs offered and Preston says the Governor intends to form a committee to look into the matter and that change takes time. They both reject this offer.
Dax manages to find her way into the Sanctuary District through some underground pipes through the San Francisco Department of Sanitation. Soon, some dims alert her presence to those at the processing center and, in the process, her combadge is stolen by one of them named Grady. Meanwhile, Sisko and Bashir try to get past the lockout to the Net without luck. In the previous past, a way was found to get past this lockout and many people were able to tell their stories to the world. Bell must have found a way, so now they must do the same. Coleridge then brings Dax inside, and she is reunited with Sisko and Bashir.
Act Four Edit
Sisko and Bashir explain that they can not leave because history must be allowed to run its course. He initially orders Bashir and Dax to head to a beam-out location using Dax's combadge, however, Dax says she can get help to circumvent the lockout. Dax successfully recovers her combadge from Grady with Bashir's help and heads back through the sewer.
Dax returns to Chris Brynner for his help. He initially has doubts about helping the residents as he would lose his interface operating license for turning the channel over to criminals. Dax responds that Brynner would be giving the residents a voice, and people have the right to know their situation. When the Government storms in, the Sanctuary residents will die and those deaths should not be for nothing. Brynner agrees to help restore the processing center's computer link because, although he will lose his license, he will get great ratings. Once this is done, the residents are given the chance to tell their stories to millions around the planet through the network.
Unfortunately, despite pleas from Preston, the governor is unmoved by their plight and orders to send in troops at 0500.
Act Five Edit
Kira and O'Brien return to the Defiant and from 2048. They realize that the team arrived before then as it was drastically different to the 2048 of unaltered time. Using this information, they narrow the possibilities to 3 dates, but have only enough chroniton particles for one more attempt. O'Brien makes a guess and they materialize at the corner of Polk Street and California Street. They realize they hit the correct time period when they contact Dax on her combadge, and she comes to meet them.
In the meantime, the hostages are calmer and talking sports when Coleridge reports movement outside. Sisko and Webb try to keep the hostages safe as SWAT teams move in without regard to their lives. Webb sends away Danny and Coleridge gives Danny his hat. Soon, the troops barge in and open fire. Coleridge and Webb are killed along with a number of others while Sisko takes a bullet protecting Vin, who is trying to stop the shooting. The lead SWAT team member calls the area secure. Vin berates them, as they were reckless. The SWAT team give Vin and Calvera weapons while they go to secure other areas. Bashir examines Sisko and, fortunately, he will live. Sisko pulls Vin in and berates him for not staying low, but Vin understands, finally trusting his motives.
Vin and Calvera lead the group outside, and are shocked by the bodies lying on the street outside. As the National Guard takes control of the situation, the grateful Vin allows Sisko and Bashir to escape by switching their ID cards with two of the dead. So it appears, as before, that Gabriel Bell died while trying to save the hostages. As he leaves, Sisko asks Vin to tell everyone the truth about the incident. Vin responds that he had planned to anyway.
Soon Sisko, Dax and Bashir are returned to the 24th century with history now having following its correct course. As Sisko recovers from his gunshot wound in his quarters on the Defiant, Bashir visits and shows him one unexpected consequence of their visit to the past... Federation historical records which now show Benjamin's portrait in an entry regarding Gabriel Bell. Julian asks him, from having seen the 21st century, how the people of that time could have let things get so bad. Sisko tells him "That's a good question. I wish I had an answer."
Log entries Edit
Memorable quotes Edit
"It's not your fault things are the way they are."
"Everybody tells themselves that. And nothing ever changes."
- Julian Bashir and Lee
"This is great! We're on every channel. I bet they're watching this in China!"
- B.C., on the news coverage of the riots
"I knew this was a waste of time. They don't care. No one cares about us."
"Why should they? You're all a bunch of losers."
"What did you say?'"
"He didn't say anything."
"You heard me. I called you a loser because that's what you are. And this time, you're going to lose big."
- B.C., Vin and Bernardo
"You really going to shoot me, Bell? I don't think so."
"Think again."
"I thought we were on the same side here!"
"We are, but you get on my nerves... and I don't like your hat."
- B.C. and Benjamin Sisko as Gabriel Bell
"You don't know what any of this is about, do you?! You work here, you see these people every day, how they live, and you just don't get it!"
"What do you want me to say? That I feel for them? That they got a bad break? What good would it do?"
"It'd be a start! Now, you get back in that room and you shut up!"
- Benjamin Sisko, as Gabriel Bell, and Vin
"Wow!"
- Hippie guy, after witnessing O'Brien and Kira beam up
"Woosh! I'm invisible."
"If you say so."
"You can see me?"
"Just barely."
- Grady, Jadzia Dax, and Julian Bashir
"Freeze!"
"I'm a hostage, you idiot!"
- SWAT officer and Vin
"You know, Commander, having seen a little of the 21st century, there is one thing I don't understand: how could they have let things get so bad?"
"That's a good question. I wish I had an answer."
- final lines, spoken by Julian Bashir and Benjamin Sisko
Background information Edit
Story and script Edit
According to Behr, the presentation of the character of B.C. in this episode is the key to the overriding theme. In " Past Tense, Part I ", B.C. kills Gabriel Bell in cold blood, but in Part II, it is never mentioned that he is a murderer. The reason for this, according to Behr, is that B.C. would never have killed Bell if society hadn't forced him into that position. B.C. was not inherently a killer, and Behr was determined that the episode not become all about Sisko and Bashir trapped with a cold-blooded murderer. Behr says he is especially proud of the character of B.C., who he feels illustrates the notion that "if you treat people like animals, they become animals. If B.C. had not been homeless, what would he have been? We created his backstory, stuff that would never appear on the screen, and decided he probably would have been a garage mechanic or something. Even though he's obviously a threatening, scary character, and he's on-the-edge-crazy all through both shows, we didn't define him as a murderer." (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion)
Production Edit
Reception Edit
Trivia Edit
Video and DVD releases Edit
Main cast Edit
Guest stars Edit
And
Uncredited co-stars Edit
Stunt double Edit
Unknown stunt performer as stunt double for Dick Miller
References Edit
alternate timeline; American history; amnesty; automobile; Bajoran; barricade; baseball; battalion; Bay Land Garden; Bell Riots; Blue Zone; Bokai, Buck; Burke, Helen; brewery; California; California Street; catcher; cellular phone; Channel 90; Chen, Robert; ChemTech Industries; China; chocolate; chroniton particles; combadge; concussion bomb; corner; credit chip; Defiant, USS; DefTech 37 mm launcher; detective; dim; distress signal; District Police; doctor; Earth; e-mail; electrostatic charge; Enfield L85A1; Federal Employment Act; fired; Flynn, Errol; football; gesture; ghost; gimmie; glucagon; governor; guest list; Heckler & Koch MP5; helicopter; Jimi Hendrix Experience, The (Jimi Hendrix); Hess, Julie; "Hey Joe"; historical database; home plate;hypoglycemia; Identification card; incitement to riot; interface; interface operating license; interface terminal; jazz; jeans; London Kings; M35 series 2.5 ton cargo truck; Marina; National Guard; net; New York Yankees; Packard Custom Eight Roadster; peace sign; penthouse; Peterson family; plant manager; police department; Polk Street; Processing Center; quadcycle; ration card; Red Zone; Remington Model 870; riot; San Francisco; Sanctuary District; Sanctuary District A; Sanitation Department; SFPD; Second Street; sewer; shirt; shotgun; silk; Singapore; slang; sniper; soccer; speakeasy; Starfleet Command; SWAT; tackle; Tasmania; temporal displacement; tennis; time travel; Trill; truck; United States of America; van; Volkswagen Type 2; Webb, Jeannie
Other references Edit |
The first official project to be announced for Local Comic Shop Day® 2018, is Dark Horse’s LCSD exclusive cover of William Gibson’s Alien 3 – The Unproduced Screenplay,
This is the official adaptation of the original screenplay for Alien 3, written by William Gibson, the award-winning science fiction author of the cyberpunk cult classic Neuromancer. You’ll see familiar characters and places-but not all is the same in this horrifying Cold War thriller!After the deadly events of the film Aliens, the spaceship Sulaco carrying the sleeping bodies of Ripley, Hicks, Newt, and Bishop are intercepted by the Union of Progressive Peoples. What the U.P.P forces don’t expect is another deadly passenger that is about to unleash chaos between two governmental titans intent on developing the ultimate cold war weapon of mass destruction. o Based on the original screenplay by Neuromancer’s William Gibson! o Adaptation and art by Johnnie Christmas-co-creator of Margaret Atwood’s Angel Catbird and creator of Image Comics’ Firebug. o Featuring some of the most famous characters in the Alien film canon: Hicks, Bishop, Newt, and Ripley.
If you’d like to buy this comic, it will be on sale at your participating Local Comic Shop on Local Comic Shop Day®, November 17, 2018.
Tell your local comics retailer you want them to be a part of Local Comic Shop Day®
Have them sign up here: www.comicspro.org/lcsd2018
Deadline to sign up is September 14th.
Local Comic Shop Day® calls attention to locally owned independent comic book specialty stores, celebrating their vital role in being the primary fire-starters of pop culture. Each comic shop will mark the Local Comic Shop Day® occasion in its own unique way. With exclusive, unique and limited items created just for the event on Saturday November 17, LCSD is a great time to pop into your Local Comic Shop to begin your holiday gift buying. |
There are a lot of challenges within responsive web design, and one that that has constantly been a pain is triggering JavaScript based on the current CSS media query breakpoint. The problem is that the breakpoints are in CSS, which JavaScript has no native way to access. Many solutions (including window.matchMedia(), and Enquire.js) involve declaring your breakpoints in both CSS and JS, or require IE10+. The problem with these solutions is that when you change a breakpoint value, you have to change it twice. However, it doesn't need to be like this.
A Simpler Solution
A quick and easy solution to this problem is to have your JS import the breakpoints directly from the CSS values in the DOM. This solution brings the current breakpoint variable into your JS in a way that's
Simple & Lightweight
DRY
Compatible with all browsers that support media queries (IE9+)
To see where we're going with this, check out this fully functioning codepen. Now, let's get started!
Declare your breakpoints
For simplicity, this code is straight CSS and can easily be abstracted to Sass or Less.
/** * These values will not show up in content, but can be * queried by JavaScript to know which breakpoint is active. * Add or remove as many breakpoints as you like. */ body:before { content: "smartphone"; display: none; /* Prevent from displaying. */ } @media (min-width: 700px) { body:before { content: "tablet"; } } @media (min-width: 1100px) { body:before { content: "desktop"; } }
Note that I have to hide the ::before pseudo-element so it doesn't show to the user.
Importing the Breakpoints into JavaScript
This is the magic that queries the property for the current breakpoint. In this combination of jQuery and javascript, I'm using an object to store the value.
var breakpoint = {}; breakpoint.refreshValue = function () { this.value = window.getComputedStyle(document.querySelector('body'), ':before').getPropertyValue('content').replace(/\"/g, ''); };
There's a couple things going on here. I'm querying the content property on the ::before pseudo element using this method popularized by David Walsh. I can't attach the content property directly to the body tag, because Internet Explorer 9 will return a value of "normal" when querying. IE10 and IE11 work fine. Ugh!
Firefox and IE return the value with double quotes, while other browsers do not. To get consistent values I'm using replace() with regex to strip those out.
Trigger on resize and page load
Breakpoints change based on your browser's viewport width, so I need to update the value when the browser is resized. I also trigger a resize event on the initial page load to get the first value.
$(window).resize(function () { breakpoint.refreshValue(); }).resize();
In use
This is a simple if-else statement that queries the current breakpoint, and runs code based on the result.
if (breakpoint.value == 'tablet') { console.log('Tablet breakpoint'); } else { console.log('Some other breakpoint'); }
Sample Use Case
While redeveloping the website for Syfy.com, I had an interesting problem where I needed to inject a 728x90 leaderboard advertisement within the second row of tiles. The difficult part of this is that the number of tiles per row changes depending on the current breakpoint.
Below is a simplified example of how I handled this.
1. Get the current breakpoint
/** * Global: Get current CSS breakpoint */ var breakpoint = {}; breakpoint.refreshValue = function () { this.value = window.getComputedStyle(document.querySelector('body'), ':before').getPropertyValue('content').replace(/\"/g, ''); };
2. Function to pass the number of columns to leaderboardMoveHelper()
/** * Pass the number of columns to leaderboardMoveHelper() to do all the work */ var leaderboardMove = function() { if (breakpoint.value == 'tablet_narrow') { leaderboardMoveHelper(2); } if ((breakpoint.value == 'tablet_wide') || (breakpoint.value == 'normal')) { leaderboardMoveHelper(3); } if (breakpoint.value == 'wide') { leaderboardMoveHelper(4); } }
3. Helper function to move the leaderboard to the appropriate location within the DOM
/** * Move the leaderboard to the second row */ var leaderboardMoveHelper = function(columns) { var $tileView = $('.tile-container', context), $leaderboard = $('.ad-leaderboard.processed', $tileView), // Move the leaderboard $('.tile:nth-child(' + (columns+1) + ')', $tileView).after($leaderboard); // Indicate it's moved $leaderboard.addClass('js-leaderboard-processed'); $tileView.addClass('js-leaderboard-processed'); };
4. Run the JS on browser resize and page load
/** * Execute */ $(window).resize(function () { breakpoint.refreshValue(); leaderboardMove(); }).resize();
Conclusion
This is a simplification of a very useful technique. The same logic can also be used to pass breakpoint states of elements by modifying pseudo-elements of any element within the DOM. For example, if you have an element that has a CSS change between multiple breakpoints, you can pass and query the pseudo-element, or can even query for the changing CSS property itself. Feel free to hack around and fork this over at Codepen. |
If your browser does not support playing the MP3, download it to listen.
Or just read the text below.
Starting January 1st, I’ll have a new job. While that’s a good thing, it also means a lot more work.
So more work plus wanting to spend time with my family now and again means less time for the podcast. Right now, I’m doing a show a week, and I’m spending pretty much a whole day on each show.
I will not be able to keep going at this rate. So long story short: There’ll be a lot less podcasts next year. I’m sorry, I know it’s important to keep posting regularly, but I just won’t be able to do it any longer.
I hope you guys understand, keep watching the podcast and keep posting me your questions, suggestions, stories, anything!
Bye,
Christian |
Government awards contracts to monitor social media and give Whitehall 'real-time' updates on public opinion BelfastTelegraph.co.uk Ministers yesterday slipped out an announcement that, amid all the spending cuts, agreement has just been reached for the first ever cross-Whitehall contract to monitor what people Tweet, post and blog about the Government. https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/business/technology/government-awards-contracts-to-monitor-social-media-and-give-whitehall-realtime-updates-on-public-opinion-31278951.html https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/world-news/article30469811.ece/ddfc0/AUTOCROP/h342/twitter.jpg
Email
Ministers yesterday slipped out an announcement that, amid all the spending cuts, agreement has just been reached for the first ever cross-Whitehall contract to monitor what people Tweet, post and blog about the Government.
Weekly Business Digest Newsletter
Under the terms of the deal five companies have been approved to keep an eye on Facebook, Twitter and blogs and provide daily reports to Whitehall on what’s being said in “real time”.
Ministers, their advisers and officials will provide the firms with “keywords and topics” to monitor. They will also be able to opt in to an Orwellian-sounding Human-Driven Evaluation and Analysis system that will allow them to see “favourability of coverage” across old and new media.
The Government has always paid for a clippings service which collated press coverage of departments and campaigns across the national, regional and specialist media.
They have also monitored digital news on an ad hoc basis for several years. But this is believed to be the first time that the Government has signed up to a cross-Whitehall contract that includes “social” as a specific media for monitoring.
The Cabinet Office, which negotiated the deal, claim that even with the extended range of monitoring by bringing individual departmental contracts together they will be able to save £2.4m over four years whilst “maximising the quality of innovative work offered by suppliers”.
One of the successful bidders, Precise Media Monitoring, said it was able to provide ministers with an “automated sentiment” analysis.
“We use advanced text analytics to generate automated analysis for all mainstream and social content. This includes analysis of the key topics being discussed, and hashtags being mentioned and the sentiment of conversations. The results can quickly enable a Contracting Body [such as a Government department] to get an idea of sentiment towards a subject and can act as an alert to potential issues at an early stage.”
Under the new deal the contracting companies have also agreed to step up their work in times of “crisis”. Potentially it could allow Downing Street to monitor public dissatisfaction with ministers.
“The Supplier shall provide increased monitoring, coverage, resource and support to the Contracting Body in the event of heightened public interest or crisis situation,” the contract documents state.
“An example... is an unforeseen event which has a significant impact on the volume of media coverage that is relevant to the Contracting Body.”
The contracts also stipulate that successful contactors should also monitor a “range of daily news broadcasts, including radio, TV and web broadcasts”.
The providers will then provide email alerts between 5am and midnight within an hour of a “keyword being identified on broadcast”.
A Cabinet Office spokeswoman said the contract was about getting better value for money. “We monitor digital, social and traditional media so we understand what people are saying, identify their concerns and shape policies accordingly,” she said.
“Departments have always monitored social media but this agreement means they can find the most appropriate way of doing this at the best price, ensuring good value for money for the taxpayer.’
Source: Independent
Further reading
Freedom Act: US law limits snooping as UK gears up to make its spies far more powerful
UK government rewrites surveillance law to get away with hacking and allow cyber attacks, campaigners claim
Net police: Plans to allow cops to vet internet communications
Snoopers' charter set to return to law as Theresa May suggests Conservative majority could lead to huge increase in surveillance powers
FREAK security flaw: Apple and Google users being spied on for a decade
Sim card maker Gemalto says it was hacked by GCHQ and NSA but claims encryption keys are safe
Edward Snowden: NSA still collecting everybody's information including your d**k pics
'Prosecute spies who abuse powers'
Wikimedia Foundation sues NSA over mass surveillance programme
Mass surveillance of UK citizens on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Google is legal, says government’s top anti-terror chief Charles Farr
Facebook status updates and Twitter posts intercepted by UK Government
Vodafone: governments use secret wires to listen to all conversations on mobile network
Snooping tools GCHQ could use to hack your phone's microphone, camera and keypad
52% wary of expressing their views online, one in three do not feel free from government surveillance
GCHQ ‘using online viruses and honey traps to discredit targets’
GCHQ given access to US 'Dishfire' system that reads hundreds of millions of text messages
NSA can spy on computers not connected to internet using radio waves
BT 'refuses to deny data handover'
GCHQ 'harvested webcam images'
GCHQ ‘using online viruses and honey traps to discredit targets’
Spymasters swoop on Angry Birds
US bid to stop spying on its spying
Obama vows NSA phone data reform
GCHQ given access to US 'Dishfire' system that reads hundreds of millions of text messages
Internet founder hails Snowden
Snowden gives TV Christmas message
NSA and GCHQ agents acted as elves and gnomes to spy on gamers
Wikipedia's Jimmy Wales: Edward Snowden is a hero
NSA spied on pornography use and ‘online promiscuity’ to discredit those with radical views
GCHQ ran hotel surveillance ring to spy on diplomats and delegations
GCHQ set up fake LinkedIn pages to spy on mobile phone giants using using 'Quantum Insert' technique
Google engineers on NSA and GCHQ surveillance: "F*** these guys"
Germany demands explanation from British ambassador over GCHQ's 'secret listening post in the heart of Berlin'
Britain’s GCHQ has ‘secret listening post in the heart of Berlin to eavesdrop on the seat of German power'
Civil liberties groups claim British spy agency GCHQ broke European laws by hacking millions of citizens’ internet data
Independent News Service |
- Fixed a bug which made it impossible to sell an abandoned teammate's items.- Fixed a bug with broadcaster audio in DotaTV.- Fixed Riki’s Tricks of the Trade missing the last attack.- Fixed Rubick’s talents showing up incorrectly after stealing a spell.- Fixed the talent names not appearing in ability draft- Fixed an issue where network disconnection error messages would not be displayed in the dashboard correctly.- Fixed an issue where the loading screen was dismissed too early when playing back a replay. Now it is shown until loading is finished and the versus screen is displayed.- Fixed the sell item menu sometimes not accepting clicks.- Improved some tooltips for buffs granted by items, buildings and neutrals.- Fixed a bug with loaded control groups.- Fixed a bug with adding and removing units from control groups via clicks on portraits.- Fixed voice volume slider not working correctly.- Improved audio dynamics on player and caster voice.- Improved the bots' use of backpack slots.- Fixed the workshop tool crashing when trying to upload bot scripts. |
Brown dwarfs (the small green dot in the middle) are detectable by NASA [CC - NASAblueshift]
Rutland, United Kingdom - Our galaxy, the Milky Way, is composed of billions of stars and planets, dust and gas. According to school textbooks, everything works like clockwork; stars are born from clouds of gas (known as nebulae) and the disk of gas and dust surrounding newborn stars agglomerate to build the planets.
But, like any scientific field, our understanding of the galaxy gets reshaped and modified whenever we send a new space telescope into orbit or attach new optics to a monster observatory. And last month, the well-established idea that a planet needs a star to exist was turned upside-down. What's more, by removing the necessity for a star, we may have stumbled on an interesting solution to interstellar travel.
In February, a fascinating paper was published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society detailing calculations on how many "nomad planets" the Milky Way must contain after estimating our galaxy's mass from how much gravity it exerts on surrounding space. Scientists from the Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology (KIPAC) had uncovered something surprising - there are likely many more planets in the Milky Way than stars. In fact, this may not sound surprising at all; NASA's Kepler space telescope has uncovered many multi-planetary systems not too dislike our Solar System - logic dictates that if most stars have planets orbiting them, many will have multiple planets orbiting them. But Louis Strigari and his Kavli team calculated that there must be 100,000 planets for every star in the Milky Way. That's a lot of planets!
Frost over the World - The future of space travel
But how can this be? Every star can't have tens of thousands of planets ranging from Pluto-sized to Jupiter-sized. This planetary "excess" actually suggests the existence of planets that were born without a star - nomad planets. These planetary vagabonds somehow went through the planet-forming process in interstellar space, not in the dusty proto-planetary disk surrounding a young star.
This astonishing number was calculated by extrapolating a dozen "microlensing" events of nomad worlds passing in front of distant stars. When these nomad planets drifted in front of distant stars, they briefly focused the starlight with their gravity, causing the star to brighten. This brightening was captured by astronomers and the microlensing events could be analysed to reveal the characteristics of the nomad planets.
But that's not all that lurks in interstellar space. The nomad planet's massive cousin, the brown dwarf, is also out there. And fortunately, they're easier to detect.
Not a star, not a planet
Brown dwarfs underwent star formation processes but didn't get massive enough to allow nuclear fusion to be sustained in their cores. Nuclear fusion is maintained by the constant inward gravitational force of a star's mass, crushing elements like hydrogen and helium together. The atoms fuse, generating vast amounts of energy, making a star (like our Sun) shine. However, in the case of a brown dwarf enough mass to form a massive ball of churning gas was accrued, with some of the characteristics of a star, but it didn't get massive enough to allow sustained fusion in its core. It is therefore stuck in a stellar hinterland - it can't be described as a star, and it can't be described as a planet. It's therefore a "failed star". (Or an "overachieving planet", depending on which way you look at it.)
To astronomers, brown dwarfs are a fascinating piece in the stellar evolution puzzle. At what point does a planet, like Jupiter, need to grow before it triggers fusion in its core to become a star? As it turns out, Jupiter would need 13 times more mass before its gravity can be strong enough to start a small amount of deuterium fusion (deuterium is a "heavy" isotope of hydrogen), at which point it can be considered to be a small brown dwarf. The largest brown dwarfs are thought to weigh-in at around 80 Jupiter masses - the point at which sustained nuclear fusion in the core will ignite the birth of a small star.
Although brown dwarfs are stellar failures and do not shine brightly in huge quantities of radiation like our Sun, they do generate heat and therefore produce infrared radiation. These glowing objects can be spotted by powerful space telescopes like NASA's Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) that is currently surveying the skies for infrared objects. As it turns out, there are many brown dwarfs floating around in interstellar space.
Interstellar stepping stones?
So far, the closest brown dwarfs orbiting other stars are 12 light-years from Earth. But in 2011, two more "close" brown dwarfs were spotted floating in interstellar space, approximately 15 and 18 light-years away. These discoveries have sparked some interesting ideas for interstellar travel. As the discoveries of cooler brown dwarfs increase, it is looking increasingly likely that "ultracool" brown dwarfs could be scattered between our Sun and the next-nearest star, Proxima Centauri, some 4 light-years from Earth.
Nasa plans for history's most powerful rocket
As discussed in a previous Al Jazeera English article, we need all the help we can get if we are to venture to another star, so these ultracool brown dwarfs could become much-needed "stepping stones" for future starships to refuel on their light-years of journey time. There may be the possibility that these sub-stellar objects may even become more desirable targets for interstellar travellers. After all, there may be dozens of these invisible objects between here and Proxima just waiting to be uncovered by the sophisticated infrared telescopes of the future; they'd certainly make for more accessible scientific curiosities.
What of the huge excess of interstellar nomad planets? As they are a lot smaller than brown dwarfs, they will be harder targets for infrared telescopes to detect, but there are likely more planets between here and Proxima than ultracool brown dwarfs. So one of the first tasks of NASA's Wide-Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST) - due for launch in the mid-2020s - will likely be to take a headcount of these nomad worlds.
Perhaps in the future, we'll discover that our galaxy doesn't just contain stars with planets orbiting them. Perhaps the majority of planets actually roam through interstellar space with no star to call "home" and brown dwarfs, far from being failed stars, could become starship rest stops.
Even more profound than that, perhaps nomad planets hold the key to finding out how diverse life can be. As hypothesised by Louis Strigari: "If any of these nomad planets are big enough to have a thick atmosphere, they could have trapped enough heat for bacterial life to exist."
Ian O'Neill is Space Science Producer for Discovery News. He is also the founder and editor of space blog Astroengine.
Follow him on Twitter: @astroengine |
I remember the first Cape Cod vacation house we were in and how special that first summer was. It was an old farmhouse, down a dirt road, and it had very low ceilings, tilted pineboard floors, and horsehair plaster walls. It was like being on an old ship. That old house was dim, yet inviting and comfortable with its pale palette and exposed wood everywhere; the trees were bright green and the bugs sang you to sleep at night.
Dominic Casserly
I keep seeing that first summer vacation, joined by my brothers and sister, my aunt and uncle, my mom and my cousins, as flashes of memory: beach days, ice cream, watching the nighttime bats catching bugs, wiffle ball, seafood dinners, the discovery of new places, swimming in the ocean and in the Cape’s clear lakes and kettle ponds, riding your bike with grownups (a new one for me) … It was the humble beginning of what would become our blessed summer-vacation tradition, the first I’d known of a dedicated yearly vacation and the discovery of the magic of summertime on Cape Cod.
And our family vacation just keeps going. Each year we pick up where we left off, as if time on the Cape is a vacation time warp, where nothing changes. We do the same things each summer. We swim at Coast Guard Beach, Nauset Light, or Nauset Beach; our favorite ice cream is at Emack & Bolio’s; we play mini-golf and grill out for our dinners in the backyard; we make beach sandwiches and lug them in the cooler to the ocean, along with the same snacks I’ve come to expect; we bike the Rail Trail and have our traditional annual beach bonfire at Coast Guard or Race Point Beach, complete with s’mores; and we always spend an afternoon in P-town, seeing the same things, doing the same things, as last year and the year before. We even use the very same boogie boards and kayaks that my Uncle Joe bought more than 15 years ago.
Aunt Laurie spends the whole year adding to the Cape Cod “Book Bag,” an overflowing tote of books to read at the beach. And we do read. As a family, we often all sit around and silently read our books—on the beach, on the porch, before breakfast, late into the night. It amazes me: What is this transformation? We don’t do this at home or in our regular lives! We don’t sit and enjoy the sunset every night at home. We don’t take hours out of a day to go to the beach, and we certainly don’t sit around reading in the evenings.
Maybe that’s why I treasure our time on the Cape: It’s a special time with special rules. I’ve never brought friends along on this trip (aside from significant others); we keep this trip for family. My big, confusing Italian family started when my grandpa and his brother married my grandma and her sister. Two brothers marrying two sisters has created a massive Italian family in which I call everyone older than me an aunt or uncle and everyone my age or younger a cousin. And that’s how the vacation started—with these two families renting a house in Orleans or Eastham as we were growing up. It’s been the longest tradition that I can remember in my life—something to look forward to every year. No matter life’s circumstances, no matter where I go in the world, I know where I’ll be in late July and early August—and I know there’ll always be a place for me.
Dominic Casserly
Dominic Casserly
Dominic Casserly
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Dominic Casserly
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Summer on Cape Cod | Photographs By Dominic Casserly |
I didn’t want to be standing on the railroad tracks in White Rock on a hot sunny day. I would have much rather been playing with my daughter or going for a hike. But as I stood with 12 colleagues on the rail tracks in front of a coal train transporting U.S coal bound for China, I knew I was in the right place.
No matter how much you think about it in advance, nothing prepares you for the moment the handcuffs synch shut.
As the RCMP pulled my hands behind me and ratcheted the thick plastic handcuffs tight on my wrists, all I could think of was a quote from Winston Churchill, "It is no use saying, 'We are doing our best.' You have got to succeed in doing what is necessary."
As I stood in front of that coal train on May 5th surrounded by RCMP, for the first time in a long time I felt I was doing what was necessary. I was the last of the 13 British Columbians arrested for engaging in civil disobedience by blocking coal exports on the Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) railway line to the Westshore coal terminal at Delta Port. British Columbians would be shocked to know the Jimmy Pattison-owned Westshore Coal terminal adjacent to the Tsawwassen ferry terminal is the second largest exporter of global warming pollution in North America.
The arrest itself was somewhat anti-climactic. As I was escorted along the tracks, for some reason I counted my steps all the way to the police car. As I walked I reminded myself to hold my head up with pride to avoid looking like a perp on a perp walk. I’m not sure if I succeeded. It’s hard to look dignified in handcuffs even if you are wearing a tie and sports coat.
I was exhausted, but each of the 235 steps I took to get the police car reminded me of my daughter’s life and why I was there.
My journey to those railroad tracks actually began 233 weeks (4 years, 5 months, 21 days) earlier when my daughter was born four months prematurely. She weighed a bit more than a pound and her odds of living weren’t good.
As I watched my daughter fight to live, fight to breathe, I made a pledge: if she lived, I would do everything possible to ensure the world she inherited was one where she had a fair shot of living on a planet hospitable to life.
I was stopping coal trains for her. Standing on railway tracks in front of a coal train was not something I ever thought I would do. I chose to be arrested because I believe if we don’t stop burning coal the world my daughter will inherit will be so fundamentally changed that it might not be worth living in.
My goal was to model for other morally conscious parents and grandparents what needs to be done to stave off a looming climatic disaster. I hoped to inspire fellow British Columbians, especially parents and grandparents, to take similar actions before it is too late.
I wasn’t alone. Twelve other British Columbians stood with me. We weren’t a ragtag group of activists; we were a broad cross-section of British Columbians, young and old, who were deeply concerned about the direction our political leaders are taking our country and our province.
Just before the arrests we all gathered together, dealt with last-minute logistical details and began telling each other our personal stories about why we were there and why each of us individually thought it was necessary to stop coal trains I was surprised at the strength of the emotions that flooded me.
I began to cry. I couldn’t help but think about my daughter, about the 110 days my wife and I spent with her in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit in Victoria watching her fight to live, about the joy of each of the 233 weeks of her life so far and about my pledge to do what was necessary.
I don’t remember much of the next few minutes. I remember the handcuffs tightening, trying to keep my head up, some camera’s flashing, some heckling and some shouted words of encouragement, but not much else. With each of the 235 steps I tried to envision the world I wanted my daughter to live in and what it would require of me to make that possible.
After providing identification and being issued a federal ticket for violating the Railway Safety Act, I was released. Walking out of the RCMP station was surreal. Less than an hour before we had been surrounded by police officers, reporters and a crowd shouting out support with a few loud critics. Now I was a free man worrying about whether I could get to the last ferry in time to get home and sleep in my own bed.
I was exhausted, hungry, dehydrated, yet elated. We had accomplished what we had set out to do. We had stopped coal trains exporting climate unfriendly coal to China. We had modelled for other concerned citizens that their actions matter and that they can make a difference. I had taken a first step toward doing what was necessary for my daughter’s future.
Now as a few months have passed and I have had time to reflect I am glad I participated. I was inspired by the generosity of our many supporters who through their efforts made the successful action possible.
I was amazed by how quickly one Twitter account and some fast moving thumbs could spread a message around the world.
I was pleased that we collectively set the tone for the memorable day. A tone for a citizen action that was peaceful, creative and hopeful, but also focused and determined.
Despite the petty partisan actions — and inactions — of our federal and provincial leaders, my day in White Rock made me proud to be a Canadian. I was proud to be among the growing number of people willing to risk arrest to stand up for what they believe in.
To learn more about: civil disobedience in a changing climate, attend an open discussion on why peaceful civil disobedience is an ethical course of action for those concerned about climate change. This will include an exchange of information on the practical, legal and financial implications of engaging in civil disobedience in BC.
Moderated by James MacKinnon (co-author of The 100-Mile Diet). With British Columbians arrested last May for stopping a coal train in White Rock will share their experiences and motivations.
Arrestees expected to attend include:
Mark Jaccard, Energy and Environment Economist
Lynne Quarmby, SFU professor of molecular biology
Alejandro Frid, professional biologist
Fred Bass, epidemiologist and former city councillor
Bruce Mohun, documentary film maker
Peter Nix, regired Tar Sands engineer
Ray Haynes, 84 year old retired labour leader
and others
When and Where:
Friday September 21st, 7:30 pm, Alice McKay Room, Central Branch of the Vancouver Public Library. The event is free. |
The New Bedford Highway Killer is an unidentified serial killer responsible for the deaths of at least nine women and the disappearances of two additional women in New Bedford, Massachusetts, between July 1988 and June 1989. The killer is also suspected to have assaulted numerous other women. All of the killer's victims were known prostitutes and/or substance abusers. While the victims were taken from New Bedford, they were all found in different surrounding towns, including Dartmouth, Freetown, and Westport, Massachusetts, along Interstate 140. The main detective that pursued the case was John Dextradeur.[1]
1. Robbin Rhodes, 28, last seen in New Bedford, March/April 1988. Body found March 28, 1989 along Route 140.
2. Rochelle Clifford Dopierala, 28, last seen in New Bedford, late April 1988. Body found December 10, 1988 along Reed Road, two miles from Interstate 195.
3. Debroh Lynn McConnell, 25, last seen in New Bedford, May 1988. Body found December 1, 1988 off Route 140.
4. Debra Medeiros, 30, last seen in New Bedford, May 27,1988. Body found July 3, 1988 on Route 140.
5. Christine Monteiro, 19, last seen in New Bedford, late May 1988
6. Marilyn Roberts, 34, last seen in New Bedford, June 1988
7. Nancy Paiva, 36, last seen in New Bedford, July 7, 1988. Body found July 30, 1988 alongside Interstate 195.
8. Debra DeMello, 35, last seen in New Bedford, July 11, 1988. Body found November 8, 1988 alongside Interstate 195.
9. Mary Rose Santos, 26, last seen in New Bedford, July 16, 1988. Body found March 31, 1989 along Route 88.
10. Sandra Botelho, 24, last seen in New Bedford, August 11, 1988. Body found April 24, 1989 along Interstate 195.
11. Dawn Mendes, 25, last seen in New Bedford, September 4, 1988. Body found November 29, 1988 alongside Interstate 195.
Suspects [ edit ]
Anthony DeGrazia [ edit ]
In May 1989, Anthony DeGrazia was identified by a locally known New Bedford prostitute by means of a picture provided by a young, inexperienced detective, Loraine Forrest. The prostitute, who described the assailant as having a "flat nose," never named DeGrazia as a positive suspect, but stated that he looked like the man who assaulted her. Anthony DeGrazia was later accused of 17 rapes and assaults on several prostitutes. Based on allegations, DeGrazia was questioned, arrested, and charged with the 17 rapes and assaults, while also being investigated as a suspect in the nine murders along area highways. After 15 months of incarceration and 18 court appearances, DeGrazia was released on bail in January 1990. He was then briefly rearrested for allegedly uttering threats to the DA Ronald Pina for wrongful prosecution and imprisonment. DeGrazia again posted bond, but was then later found dead at his girlfriend's house, under a picnic table. His death was ruled a suicide. Authorities investigated his possible connection to the New Bedford prostitute murders.
Kenneth C. Ponte [ edit ]
In August 1990, a grand jury indicted New Bedford attorney Kenneth Ponte, 40, in the murder of Rochelle Clifford Dopierala, who had been beaten to death. Ponte had a checkered past, including drug use and a prior incident involving Dopierala. Bristol County District Attorney Ronald Pina suggested that Ponte had murdered Dopierala because she was allegedly planning to expose his drug activities.
Dopierala's mother stated that her daughter had once given her telephone number to Ponte in the event she needed to be reached. Ponte admitted to having represented Dopierala in April 1988, shortly before she disappeared, when she accused another man of raping her.
Ponte moved to Port Richey, Florida in September 1988. He was arraigned on a single count of murder on August 17, 1990. Ponte entered a plea of "absolutely not guilty" and posted a $50,000 bond. On July 29, 1991, the district attorney dropped murder charges against Ponte, citing lack of evidence. The following year, remaining drug and assault charges were dropped and the New Bedford case went cold.
Ponte resurfaced in the news in May 2009 in two separate incidents. Police dug up the driveway and patio of Ponte's former New Bedford home with a backhoe, but were unable to find evidence linking Ponte to any crime.[3] On the morning of May 15, Ponte was arrested for shoplifting and was found with four cans of sardines and a block of cheese stolen from a PriceRite store in New Bedford. On January 27, 2010, Ponte was found dead in his New Bedford home. The Bristol County District Attorney's office has discounted foul play as a cause of death.[4]
Daniel Tavares Jr. [ edit ]
While in prison for the murder of his mother, Daniel Thomas Tavares Junior sent a threatening letter to one of the prison staff indirectly claiming responsibility for the Highway Killings. He lived in New Bedford, and had knowledge of where another murdered woman, Gayle Botelho, had been buried, within a mile from his home. He was convicted of two recent killings, those of Brian and Bev Muack.[5][6] Additionally, he was convicted in 2015 of the murder of Gayle Botelho, went missing in 1988, later found to have been under a tree in his backyard. (see bostonheraldnews 1.)[1]
References [ edit ]
[1] |
After big election promises, Trudeau Liberals sell a future without job security for young Canadians
Photo by DoD News
Earlier this week, federal Liberal Finance Minister Bill Morneau suggested there is no solution to precarious employment, arguing that we must prepare young workers for an economy in which they “move from job to job to job.” While Morneau held up the Canada Pension Plan expansion as part of mitigating a future without employer benefits, his general tone was that Canadians must accept these economic transformations as inevitable.
In this sense, the Liberal plan is not about questioning trends towards social and economic injustice, but rather ensuring that future generations are content to live on an insecure basis, even as Canada continues to see growth in aggregate prosperity.
And while some might praise Morneau for his candid remarks, they are stark in their contrast to the Liberal’s 2015 electoral messaging, which could be characterized by its boundless optimism. Tellingly, one of Trudeau’s sayings was that “in Canada, better is always possible.”
The Liberals also made numerous work-related promises to young Canadians, and while the CBC has found that the Liberals have fallen short of fulfilling them, their 2015 platform takes a rosy tone. It suggests that the Liberals will rise above the Harper years by addressing both the quality and availability of jobs for young people. Succinctly, the tagline was that it “is time to invest in young Canadians — to help them get the work experience they will need to start their careers and contribute fully to our economy.”
But this outlook conflicts with Morneau’s comments, because his prediction of a “churning” job market, with a lack of benefits and stability, isn’t what most Canadians understand as a career, which is seen as distinct from the category of jobs that are increasingly-prevalent in the gig economy.
And beyond Morneau’s recent remarks, the Liberals have demonstrated a general unwillingness to improve working conditions. This isn’t to say that they haven’t made changes — like the repealing of some anti-labour legislation — but they have been anything but progressive on matters of public-sector bargaining, scab labour and a federal minimum wage.
Public Service Alliance of Canada president Robyn Benson has grown disenchanted with the Liberal approach in bargaining, which she argues is following the Harper mandate on questions around wages and sick leave. As a result, the PSAC has launched a campaign calling upon Trudeau to live up to his promise of real change in relation to the Conservatives.
Additionally, many unions felt betrayed by the Liberals voting with the Conservatives to oppose an NDP-backed private member’s bill (C-234), which would have banned the use of scab labour in federally-regulated industries.
Finally, Trudeau has rejected the idea of a $15 federal minimum wage, arguing that it is less important to put “a little more money in peoples’ pockets” than “making sure that they have the conditions to be able to succeed.” This sounds reasonably progressive on the surface, but one might read the subtext that while opportunities should exist for low-income Canadians, the general concept of poverty wages are valid.
Ultimately, one can see in the Justin Trudeau government burgeoning similarities to his father’s approach to workers’ expectations. Pierre Trudeau initially rode to power on the optimistic (but purposely vague) concept of the “Just Society.” Yet over the course of his tenure, he would argue that the biggest barrier to a prosperous society was workers’ unreasonable expectation of higher wages and better public services. For Canadian job creators to thrive, workers needed to worker harder and accept less.
Likewise, the comments from Morneau demonstrate a departure from the 2015 campaign’s image of hope, offering in lieu one that seeks to prime young people to accept an unjust future as part of a natural — and unquestionable — progression.
The Liberals have often argued that their central goal is to offer “real help to Canada’s middle class and all those working hard to join it.” But what has defined the contemporary concept of Canada’s middle class is incompatible with the economy Morneau sees on the horizon. This image of the middle class has been based on jobs that offer benefits, security, training, advancement and a feeling of ownership. Few “gig economy” jobs fit this profile.
The Liberals need to be clear with Canadians where their long term outlook lies. Is it with the election 2015 idea that we can offer a decent life for young workers, or is it with the idea that job security is a luxury we can no longer afford? After a year of observation, my suspicion is that the latter is their genuine belief, while the former was a tactical choice to win votes.
With this in mind, it is clearer than ever that solutions to intergenerational inequality and the future of good jobs won’t be offered under faux-progressive Liberal governments, but won through democratic socialist struggle within the electoral system, unions, and communities across the country.
Christo Aivalis, a member of the CD web committee, is an adjunct professor of history at Queen’s University. His dissertation examined Pierre Trudeau’s relationship with organized labour and the CCF-NDP, and has been accepted for publication with UBC Press. His work has appeared in the Canadian Historical Review, Labour/le Travail, Our Times Magazine, Ricochet and Rankandfile.ca. He has also served as a contributor to the Canadian Press, Toronto Star, CTV and CBC. His current project is a biography of Canadian labour leader A.R. Mosher. |
MLB last played at he matchup at Hiram Bithorn Stadium in Puerto Rico in 2006. (Photo11: Al Bello, Getty Images)
Major League Baseball "had no choice" but to move the series between the Pittsburgh Pirates and Miami Marlins from Puerto Rico to Miami because of concerns of the Zika virus, MLB announced on Friday.
The two-game series was scheduled to be played May 30-31 at Hiram Bithorn Stadium in Puerto Rico to celebrate Roberto Clemente Day. Instead, the games will relocate to Miami's Marlins Park.
MLB said in a statement that "numerous players expressed concerns about contracting and potentially transmitting the Zika virus to their partners."
Earlier this week, both the players and staff received full briefings from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on the disease. The virus causes devastating birth defects and is strongly linked to a variety of serious neurological conditions, including a form of paralysis called Guillain-Barre syndrome.
But because "too many regulars on both clubs" objected from traveling, commissioner Rob Manfred "had no choice but to relocate the games."
In lieu of the games, MLB will host community events in Puerto Rico later this month. Manfred and several former players will be in attendance.
The matchup would have marked MLB's first games in Puerto Rico since the Marlins and New York Mets played in 2010. Hiram Bithorn Stadium hosted several games for the Montreal Expos in 2003 and 2004. |
Descendants of Civil War soldiers, battle re-enactors and local officials gathered in Westminster last weekend as they do every year to commemorate an 1863 skirmish that briefly rattled the Carroll County city.
This year, for the first time, a member of the Sons of Union Veterans had been invited to speak about a black Civil War soldier, whose grave was recently discovered in a local church cemetery — near that of a Confederate lieutenant who is always honored.
But as speaker Tim McCoy noted the unique plight a black soldier faced in a war fought over slavery, members of a Confederate color guard turned their backs on him.
"He said they were fighting for slavery," Ray Rooks, the Confederate descendant who ordered the about-face, said after the event. "They were fighting for freedom. They were defending their individual states' rights."
It was another flashpoint in the long-running war over the War.
The Civil War ended more than 150 years ago. But the question of how to interpret it and how to commemorate it remains a source of tension. That the dispute led to an overt snub during the Westminster event last weekend surprised and dismayed some of the participants.
"I'm puzzled and troubled," said Westminster City Council President Robert Wack.
He said the action disrespected the black soldier, Corporal Samuel Butler, other Union veterans, McCoy and the City of Westminster.
"People can disagree on how history is interpreted," Wack said. "But there were no judgments" in McCoy's remarks.
Most Civil War historians say the primary cause of the conflict was indeed slavery, and the South's rejection of the federal government's right to prohibit it.
Even the argument that the war was really over states' rights tends to circle back to slavery. In becoming the first state to secede from the Union, South Carolina complained of "an increasing hostility on the part of the non-slaveholding States to the institution of slavery." Mississippi declared that "our position is thoroughly identified with the institution of slavery."
The “Talbot Boys” confederate memorial at the Talbot County courthouse has become a point of contention since the Talbot County branch of the NAACP has asked for its removal. The “Talbot Boys” confederate memorial at the Talbot County courthouse has become a point of contention since the Talbot County branch of the NAACP has asked for its removal. SEE MORE VIDEOS
But as it has during other turbulent periods — such as the Civil Rights era of the 1950s and '60s — debate over the war and its causes has re-emerged from history to rejoin the ongoing discourse over race in America.
Questions of how to commemorate the Civil War, and particularly the Confederacy, intensified after Dylann Roof killed nine black church members in Charleston, S.C., in June 2015. Roof was found to be a stars-and-bars-waving white supremacist who had targeted members of the Emanuel A.M.E. Church for their race.
In his wake, activists have fought, with some success, for the removal of Confederate flags and monuments from public spaces, saying they glorify those who upheld slavery and white rule.
Baltimore has wrestled with what to do with four Confederate-era monuments.
A commission of academics and officials appointed in 2015 by then-Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake recommended the city remove the Roger B. Taney Monument on Mount Vernon Place and the Robert E. Lee and Thomas. J. "Stonewall" Jackson Monument in the Wyman Park Dell, and that it add signs providing historical context to the Confederate Soldiers and Sailors Monument on Mount Royal Avenue and the Confederate Women's Monument on West University Parkway.
Rawlings-Blake left office in December without acting on the recommendation. Her successor, Mayor Catherine Pugh, has said she is considering how to proceed.
"The city does want to remove these," she told The Baltimore Sun in May. "We will take a closer look at how we go about" it.
Others decry what they consider the erasure of history.
The Westminster event, a two-day series of activities marking the Corbit's Charge skirmish of June 29, 1863, has long featured a ceremony at the grave of Confederate Lt. John William Murray, who was killed in the battle and buried in the cemetery of the Church of the Ascension.
But this year, organizers invited the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War to add a marker to the gravestone of Butler, a member of the United States Colored Troops who fought for the North.
McCoy, head of the Baltimore chapter of the Union group, spoke about what Butler and other blacks faced as soldiers in the war.
"He was well aware that the war was prompted by the issue of slavery," McCoy said, according to a prepared text of his remarks. "And, as an African-American, he surely knew that the war's outcome would determine whether an immoral institution that enslaved people like him would continue to exist in the United States."
McCoy declined to comment on the incident. He said he did not want to distract from "the larger purpose of honoring Corporal Butler."
In his speech, he went on to say that black soldiers initially were paid less than their white counterparts, and that they risked maltreatment when captured by Confederate troops — including being returned to slavery.
Rooks, color guard sergeant of the Maryland Sons of Confederate Veterans, said McCoy was being "derogatory" to Southern soldiers, and that "a political type of speech" was inappropriate to a graveside ceremony.
"He was speaking facts that were not correct, and degrading to the soldiers of the South," Rooks said.
"It was his tone," he said. "He was very negative toward the soldiers of the South."
Rooks said he decided on the spot to order the about-face by his group — 11 men holding flags, three women and a bagpiper and a drummer.
Other participants in the ceremony said they found the back-turning disturbing.
McCoy "was just restating historical fact," Wack said. "If they find that disrespectful, that's their issue."
Wack said he is concerned because the city is a sponsor of the event, providing police and public works support. He said he has no plans to seek a withdrawal of that support, but wants clarification on whether the Confederate group is going to make a regular habit of "overt acts of disrespect" at the event.
"These issues [from the Civil War] are being hijacked, redirected to other agendas that have to do with the political and cultural wars that are currently wracking our country," he said.
Maryland Del. Haven Shoemaker was also at the event, and spoke briefly. Calls to his office for comment were not returned.
The annual commemoration is hosted by the Pipe Creek Civil War Roundtable, a group of history buffs based in Carroll County. The event organizer, Steven Carney, said he was surprised by the Confederate descendants' display, but noted that the group turned back around when it came time to honor the black soldier. |
Jimmy Graham is officially a tight end. Two weeks after a hearing to determine his status, his roster spot was solidified by third-party arbitrator Stephen Burbank, the NFL confirmed Wednesday morning.
Graham's camp can appeal the decision to a three-person panel if it chooses to do so, but for now, the Saints have gained a major piece of leverage in long-term contract negotiations with Graham.
Burbank oversaw two days of testimony, which took place June 17-18 in Metairie. Lawyers for the NFL Players' Association, who represented Graham, and the NFL Management Council, who represented the Saints, argued their respective cases during the hearing.
"In sum, I conclude that Mr. Graham was at the position of tight end for purposes of Article 10, Section 2(a)(i) when, at the snap, he was aligned adjacent to or 'arm's-length' from the nearest offensive lineman and also when he was aligned in the slot, at least if such alignment brought him within four yards of such lineman," Burbank said in conclusion of his full decision. "Since Mr. Graham was so aligned for a majority of plays during the 2013 League Year, the NFLPA's request for 'a declaration that the correct tender for Mr. Graham is at the wide receiver position' is denied."
The NFLPA filed a grievance on Graham's behalf May 7, contending he had incorrectly been given a tight end franchise tag by the NFL Management Council. Graham's camp and the NFLPA argued he should have been given a wide receiver franchise tag instead.
Story by
Katherine Terrell
- and -
Larry Holder
NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune
The wide receiver tag, with its one-year salary of about $12 million is significantly higher than the $7 million tight end tag.
Graham's camp has 10 days to file an appeal of Wednesday's decision if it decides to push the tag fight to the limit.
"The NFLPA will review with Jimmy Graham the decision from Arbitrator Stephen Burbank which permits the player to be designated as a tight end for Franchise Tag purposes," the players' union said in a statement. "We will advise Graham of his options and carefully determine next steps in this matter.
"We will also continue to assist Graham and his representation as necessary to help the player reach a fair long-term deal with the New Orleans Saints."
Saints coach Sean Payton, general manager Mickey Loomis and former Colts general manager Bill Polian were among those to testify on behalf of the Saints.
Burbank agreed with the NFLPA that Graham's use within the Saints offense in 2013 actually placed Graham in "no man's land" for the majority of the snaps. "The same stipulated evidence shows that for a majority of plays he was neither 'tight' nor 'wide' in the traditional sense, but somewhere in between," Burbank said.
Burbank later stated, though, "The evidence supports findings that since the early 1960s, Clubs have deployed tight ends in multiple locations during the same period many tight ends have often lined up in a flexed position more than two yards from the offensive tackle, and tight ends often line up in the slot."
Burbank added: "The evidence also supports findings that, like tight ends, wide receivers and running backs often line up in the slot, and that the defense employed against any player so aligned turns on the player's position, not his alignment, because of the physical attributes and skill sets of the players in those positions."
Burbank supported his reasoning by claiming Graham was lined up in the slot for 51.7 percent of the plays and within four yards of the offensive tackle for 54.6 percent of the plays. The percentage of plays was enough to convince Burbank that Graham served as a tight end more than anything else.
Some of the other reasons Burbank ruled Graham should stay as a tight end include:
- It's the position where the Saints drafted Graham and where Graham has always played: "The Saints have always listed Mr. Graham as a tight end on their roster, and he has always been part of the Saints' tight end position group, which has its own pre-season conditioning test, coach, and position manual. When Saints players meet or practice by position group, the tight ends do so separately from wide receivers, and tight ends and wide receivers are separately evaluated by their respective position coaches at the end of each season."
- His social media profile: "Mr. Graham refers to himself as a tight end in social media that he controls (Twitter and Facebook), and his agents do so as well. ... The NFL listed Mr. Graham as a tight end in the material distributed to guide Pro Bowl balloting for the 2013 League Year by players and coaches, and he was elected as a tight end for 2013, as he had been for 2011. ... In addition, other post-season honors that Mr. Graham has received (e.g., 2013 Associated Press NFL All-Pro; 2013 Professional Football Writers of America All-NFL; 2013 Sporting News NFL All-Pro) have been as a tight end."
With Burbank's ruling handed down, Graham will remain a tight end for franchise tag purposes. But the ramifications of the decision are more far-reaching.
The New Orleans Saints now hold the cards in long-term contract negotiations, which have been at a stalemate. The Saints made Graham several offers during the season, but were not able to work out a satisfactory deal.
Had Graham won his grievance, his camp would have had a case to challenge the Saints for upper-level wide receiver money, similar to Miami Dolphins receiver Mike Wallace, who makes $12 million a year.
Graham will almost certainly get a record deal for a tight end that surpasses the six-year, $54 million given to New England Patriots Rob Gronkowski. But with the ruling favoring the Saints, wide receiver money will likely be out of the question.
Graham, who made about $1.3 million in the last year of his four-year rookie contract in 2013, has stayed away from the Saints' facility all offseason and skipped OTAs while waiting out his contract decision.
The two sides are now starting to feel a time crunch, as the deadline to get a long-term deal done is July 15. If they don't reach a deal by that point, Graham must sign his franchise tag tender or sit out the entire season.
In four years with the Saints, Graham has earned two Pro Bowl berths and was a first-team All-Pro in 2013. He has caught 301 career passes for 3,863 yards and 41 touchdowns during that time.
He is third in touchdowns during that span, behind wide receiver Calvin Johnson (45) and Gronkowski (42). Graham was 15th in yards (teammate Marques Colston ranks No. 7) and 11th in receptions (Colston was 10th).
This is Burbank's first ruling that favors the Saints in three cases he has overseen. Burbank ruled in favor of quarterback Drew Brees when 2012 in a hearing that sought to clarify the CBA's language on franchise tags.
Brees, who had been tagged once by the San Diego Chargers and once by the Saints in 2012, contended a potential franchise tag in 2013 would be his third and entitle him to a 44 percent raise. The NFL argued he was not entitled to that because the tag would only be his second with the same team.
Burbank ruled in favor of Brees, who worked out a long term deal with the Saints later that summer. During that same year, he also ruled that NFL commissioner Roger Goodell had the authority to impose discipline on Saints' players for their role in the team's bounty program. |
A smoking ban at 18 prisons in Quebec was reversed this week after a riot by prisoners.
On Tuesday, smoking was banned both inside and outside of Quebec's 18 prisons. Just before midnight on Thursday, 30-50 prisoners rioted and set fire to a wing at the Orsainville detention centre near Quebec City. This was met by a statement from Public Security Minister Jacques Dupuis the morning after, stating that prisoners would be allowed to smoke outside.
Prison guards had widely condemned the ban - around 80% of prisoners smoke and they said they were worried for their personal safety. They had also stated they would turn a blind eye to smoking by prisoners to avoid conflict and due to short staffing. The longest sentence at provincial prisons in Canada is two years, over 70% of inmates are incarcerated for three months or less. |
Kawhi Leonard's run in the 2017 NBA payoffs ended in Game 1 of the series against the Golden State Warriors due to his sprained left ankle, which he had tweaked three times over a five-day span. Leonard has been working with the San Antonio Spurs training staff since that time and his rehab is progressing at a positive rate.
"He’s done some training, but I don’t think anybody’s pushing him to get back on the floor this time of year," Spurs general manager R.C. Buford told the San Antonio Express-News. "It’s a good time, emotionally and physically, to take a break."
Leonard should be able to conduct his normal summer workouts in the coming weeks and is expected to be fully fit when training camp opens in the fall.
"We expect through a normal training and treatment program, he’ll be in a good position," Buford said.
Leonard had an outstanding season for the Spurs, averaging 25.5 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.5 assists.
-- Nick Silva |
by Don Fitz
The question is not should we advocate reducing production within capitalist society but rather: How do we best relate to those struggles that are already occurring? Activists across the globe are challenging economic expansion which threatens the survival of humanity. It has never been more urgent to provide a vision of a new society that can pull these efforts together.
Climate change is justifiably the focus of concern in the early 21st century. The Earth is approaching the level of 450 parts per million (ppm) of atmospheric carbon, a level which must be averted if humans are to avoid a cataclysmic turning point when climate change will loop into itself and increase even without additional industrial activity.
Yet corporate politicians shriek blindly that the only solution to economic crisis is increasing production. This, despite crises in species extinction, toxins and depletion of oil and other resources. [1] Even though industrial growth is destroying the biology of existence, progressives often throw up a variety of objections to opposing economic expansion:
Reducing production would supposedly worsen the lives of working people. The degrowth movement began with bourgeois liberals. Since degrowth cannot occur within capitalism, discussing it should wait until “after the revolution.” The concept of producing less is too abstract to build a movement around. An anti-growth movement would easily be co-opted.
Each of these deserves attention.
1. Does lowering production mean a worse quality of life?
Most economic writers, even socialist ones, still seem to believe that there is a strong connection between production and consumption. Enormous changes during the twentieth century profoundly weakened the bond between them.
In 1880, Frederick Engels wrote:
“The possibility of securing for every member of society, by socialized production, an existence not only fully sufficient materially, and becoming day by day more full, but an existence guaranteeing to all the free development and exercise of their physical and mental faculties—this possibility is now for the first time here, but it is here.” (Emphasis in original) [2]
But capitalism would not stop expanding merely because it had the potential to meet human needs. Between 1913 and 2005, America’s GDP grew 300 fold. [3]
How did corporations manage to continue an enormous increase in production well after reaching the ability to meet human needs? In 1929, President Herbert Hoover’s Committee on Recent Economic Changes announced its conceptual breakthrough: Capitalism could be saved via the manufacture of artificial needs. The era of planned obsolescence was born. [4]
Modern Western existence rests atop a mountain of commodities that play no role whatsoever in making our lives better but do threaten the biology of our existence. [5] Fabricated desires for electronic gadgets and in-style fashions create massive waste. But consumer choices are barely the tip of the iceberg of unnecessary and destructive production.
No one eats bombs for breakfast, and Americans never get to vote on the unending stream of wars and military bases which pervade the globe. This accounts for up to 15% of the US GDP. [6]
The vast majority of economic waste occurs during production processes over which workers and consumers have little to no control. The simultaneous growth of starvation and obesity is the hallmark of a food industry where the production of a speck of nutritious food is dwarfed by the gargantuan resources devoted to chemicalizing, processing, packaging, preserving, transporting, marketing, sugarizing, genetically modifying, discarding from grocery shelves and convincing people that they need to eat meat three times a day.
It is similar with medicine. Why does Cuba spend 4% of what the US does for each citizen’s health care when both have the same life expectancy of 78.0 years? It is much more than the 30% overhead of insurance companies. It is also because of the huge amount of over-treatment by a profit-driven industry, under-treating patients whose illnesses get worse, creation of illnesses and treatments, exposure of patients to contagion through over-hospitalization and disease-oriented instead of prevention-oriented research. [7]
Capitalism is now producing an ever greater quantity of things while a decreasing proportion of what is produced is actually useful. This means that it is now possible to (1) increase the manufacture of necessary goods, and simultaneously (2) decrease the total volume of production.
2. Babies, bathwater and bourgeois liberalism
It is not unusual for the degrowth movement to be rejected because it is based in the liberal ideology of personal life style changes. But people can make an observation that is brilliant even if their overall world view isn’t. Pointing to the philosophical weaknesses of those advocating degrowth does not disprove their concept that the economy must shrink.
Fracking, tar sands extraction, and deep sea oil drilling are inherently dangerous — they are not dangerous only when done for profit. Workers control of production will not prevent the expansion of land use from causing species extinction. Nor will it render uranium non-deadly.
Hostility towards obvious truths espoused by liberal authors is very different from Marx’s approach to Hegel. As Engels wrote, “That the Hegelian system did not solve the problem it propounded is here immaterial. Its epoch-making merit was that it propounded the problem.” [8] If Marx had refused to learn from Hegel because of his idealism, Marx never would have turned Hegel on his head to conceptualize dialectical materialism.
Even more to the point is Engels’ treatment of “the three great Utopians” (Saint-Simon, Fourier and Owen) in Socialism: Utopian and Scientific. Engels praises the contributions of each, paying particular homage to Owen:
“Every social movement, every real advance in England on behalf of the workers links itself on to the name of Robert Owen. He forced through in 1819, after five years’ fighting, the first law limiting the hours of labor of women and children in factories. He was president of the first Congress at which all the Trade Unions of England united in a single great trade association.”[9]
Before delving into scientific socialism, Engels rakes all three across the coals, explaining that “To all of these socialism is the expression of absolute truth, reason and justice, and has only to be discovered to conquer the world by virtue of its own power.” [10] Engels held onto their goal of socialism while throwing out their method of utopian idealism.
3. Waiting until “after the revolution”
In contrast to those who fail to recognize the need to reduce the total volume of production, John Bellamy Foster suffers no confusion about the need not merely to slow down but to reverse the trends of capitalism. [11] His quarrel is not with the goal of reducing the enormous waste of capitalism but with the pathetic inability of “green technology” to accomplish this, and even more so, the failure of “degrowth” theorists to come to grips with the relentless drive for capital to expand.
But Foster could be used to support either of two answers to the critical question: “Should we work to lower production while living in capitalist society?” On one hand, his title “Capitalism and degrowth: An impossibility theorem” can be interpreted as implying “No, it is diversionary to work for what obviously cannot be obtained” (a sustained decrease in the mass of production over an extended period of time within capitalism). On the other hand, he advocates a “co-revolutionary movement” which would synthesize struggles of labor, anti-imperialism, social domination and ecology (anti-growth).
Ever since the beginning of the labor movement, capitalists have sought to divide workers by ethnicity and gender. Despite enormous advances, it is not possible to eliminate either racism or sexism within a mode of production that feeds on maximizing profit. But it would be hard to find progressives who would abstain from these struggles because they cannot be won until “after the revolution.” Quite the opposite: A social movement changes consciousness and the new awareness of oppression plants the seeds for fully overcoming it in a post-capitalist society.
Similarly with imperialism. One of the greatest consciousness-altering epochs in US history was opposition to the Vietnam War. Though a mass movement forced an end to that war, US imperialism was hardly abolished. Lenin explained in great detail how capitalism without imperialism would have been an impossibility theorem—imperialism had become the epoch of capitalism when finance capital reigned supreme. Indeed, Lenin railed against those socialists who saw imperialism as a bad policy of one group of parliamentarians. He thoroughly denounced Kautsky for suggesting that “imperialism is not modern capitalism. It is only one of the forms of policy of modern capitalism.” [12]
Imperialism is economic growth uncorked. Lenin saw that the merging of finance and industrial capital pushed the economic system beyond its national boundaries and forced it into other countries to increase the rate of accumulation:
“The more capitalism develops, the more the need for raw materials arises, the more bitter competition becomes, and the more feverishly the hunt for raw materials proceeds all over the world, the more desperate becomes the struggle for the acquisition of colonies. “[13]
To state the obvious: Lenin did not use his understanding of the inherent link between capitalism and imperialism to conclude that it was pointless to oppose imperialism as long as capitalism existed. The ravages of wanton growth are leading an entire generation of environmental activists to see the intrinsically destructive nature of capitalism.
Imperialism and economic growth are both manifestations of the same phenomenon—the irresistible urge of capitalism to expand after basic needs have been met. Refusal to oppose growth makes no more sense than refusal to oppose imperialism. If “attainability” within capitalist society were a litmus test for supporting a movement, then virtually all progressive movements would be a waste of time.
4. Motion against growth is not an abstraction
European fur traders documented some of the first resistance to growth in North Americans. They were quite annoyed with Native Americans who would trap only the amount needed to purchase goods such as knives and cooking pots. Then they would stop trapping.
Fast forward several centuries. The brilliant movie Story of Stuff mirrors the massive awareness that life is not made better by throw-away junk and never-ending style changes.
Hostility is intense toward the extractive industries. At the core of accumulating capital is ripping trees off the land, minerals from beneath the surface, and water from everywhere. Recent decades have seen opposition grow as fast as growth itself, whether to save the last 5% of US redwoods or to protect indigenous lands in South America and Asia.
Realization that tar sands extraction may create the tipping point for climate change has led thousands into the streets opposing the Alberta pipelines. Many more thousands have marched, often fought and not infrequently died in battles in the global South to protect their land and communities from mining gold, silver, diamonds, and coltan, to mention a very few.
Industrial processes require water. Manufacture of a single car requires 350,000 liters. Water is now being pumped out of aquifers at 15 times the rate it soaks into them. Lakes are being drained and/or hopelessly contaminated. [14]
There is indeed a strong connection between imperialism and the growth economy. Imperialism and wasteful production are two sides of a corporate economy that is compelled to grow, regardless of what individual stockholders and politicians desire. Global domination is the way that corporations obtain materials to produce mountains of useless and destructive junk. Marching against endless wars to corner the market on raw materials means marching (consciously or unconsciously) against economic growth.
5. Making the connections
Foster very effectively demonstrates the fallacies of Latouche, who “tries to draw a distinction between the degrowth project and the socialist critique of capitalism.” [15] Degrowth theory is weakened every time one of its advocates seeks to show that shrinking the economy is compatible with a market economy. This was certainly true of Herman Daly, a major prophet of the theory of a steady-state economy. [16]
Does this liberalism of many supporters make the concept of shrinking the economy in any way unique? In fact, capitalism has massive experience corrupting liberation movements. Twisting idealistic desires to improve the environment into behavior that contributes to environmental destruction is no exception.
Anyone who has ever challenged an incinerator, landfill, toxic manufacture or extraction industry has confronted the danger of stagnating in the NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard) mentality. Politicians are quick to suggest that victims can save themselves by backing efforts to dump the toxic threat on some other community with less power. The critical factor becomes consciousness-linking: explaining that the social and ecological destruction dictated by the economics of growth cannot be resolved by pushing the problem off to another location or to future generations.
The struggle for a shorter workday is an integral part of any effort to shrink production. But capitalism has long since figured out how to transform it into a tool for maintaining or even increasing production. Liberals often argue that being at the job for fewer hours can invigorate workers to produce the same amount in less time. Speeding up an assembly line or putting 20 students in a class instead of 15 both increase the rate of exploitation.
Even if bosses were to grant the same pay for fewer hours of work (such as “30 for 40”) they could cut social wages (free parks and roads, education, Social Security, Medicare). And/or they could increase the rate of inflation, diminishing what workers could buy with that pay. Most important, they could increase the rate of planned obsolescence, thereby decreasing the durability of goods and forcing more purchases. Corporate countermeasures illustrate that the same process (fewer hours of work) can have opposite effects, depending on whether it is part of a movement that accepts capitalism or is part of a revolutionary project to replace it.
That capitalism could only grant a reduction of production in the most negative way does not make this demand distinctive. It verifies the desire of capitalism to transform any movement into its opposite. The central issue is how to keep a worthwhile goal from being perverted by capitalism. This can be accomplished only if the movement expands its focus from a particular struggle into a universal struggle for human liberation.
There is nothing that strikes to the heart of capitalism more than confronting its primal urge to grow. A failure to identify the culprit as capitalist growth is the major limitation of liberal movements to halt climate change, protect biodiversity, guard communities from toxins and preserve natural resources. Rather than being dismissive toward ongoing struggles against growth, socialists should enthusiastically participate and point to their anti-capitalist essence.
It makes no sense to abstain from ongoing challenges to growth with a claim that anti-growth cannot begin tomorrow. Today’s anti-extraction (i.e., anti-growth) conflicts are the most intense they have ever been. If those who stand back from supporting them claim that they wish to build a new society, the society that they would create would be one whose economy grew and grew until it made human existence impossible.
Many who participated in the Occupy Wall Street movement were well aware that the problem is not just opportunities denied the 99% but the active destruction of the planet by the 1%. The great strength of socialists is their grasp of the unique power of labor to create a new society. A movement which merged the enthusiasm of Occupy, the workplace strength of labor, and the understanding that reducing production is essential for preserving human life would be a powerful movement indeed.
Don Fitz produces Green Time TV in conjunction with KNLC-TV in St. Louis and is active in the Greens/Green Party USA. He can be contacted at [email protected]
Endnotes
1. For a discussion of the way Karl Marx approached soil depletion, see John Bellamy Foster, The Ecological Revolution: Making Peace with the Planet (New York: Monthly Review Press, 2009).
2. Frederick Engels, Socialism: Utopian and Scientific (in Karl Marx and Frederick Engels: Selected Works, Vol. 3, Moscow: Progress Publishers, 1970). In his footnote (p. 149), Engels attributes this abundance to the 386% growth of production in England between 1814 and 1875.
3. Robert Bryce, Gusher of Lies (New York: Public Affairs, 2008).
4. J. Kaplan, The gospel of consumption: And the better future we left behind. Orion Magazine, May/June, 2008.
5. http://www.storyofstuff.org/movies-all/story-of-stuff/
6. http://www.warresistors.org
7. Don Fitz, Eight Reasons US Healthcare Costs 96% More than Cuba’s—With the Same Results. (December 9, 2010).
8. Engels, Socialism: Utopian and Scientific, 130
9. Ibid, 125.
10. Ibid, 126.
11. John Bellamy Foster, Capitalism and degrowth: An impossibility theorem. Monthly Review, 62 (8), January 2011, 26–33.
12. V.I. Lenin, Imperialism, The Highest Stage of Capitalism (in Selected Works, Vol. 1, Moscow: Progress Publishers, 1970). 740.
13. Ibid, 732
14. Sam Bozzo, Blue gold: World water wars. Purpleturtle Films. (PBS Home Video, 2008).
15. Foster, Capitalism and degrowth.
16. Herman Daly, Economics in a full world, Scientific American, 293 (3), September 2005,100–107. |
We have collected four typical scams to remind you that Bitcoin is just cash, and you should take care to use it as real money: Carefully. Most frauds and scams don’t happen because of the technology involved but rather due to the underlying greed and callousness on the part of the users.
There is something about Bitcoin that attracts all kinds of scam artists and frauds. It even has the potential to turn secret service agents into thieves.
Secret Service accounts theft
In December 2015 ex-Secret Service agent Shaun Bridges was sentenced to nearly six years in prison after pleading guilty to money laundering and obstruction charges in connection with the theft of more than $820,000 in bitcoin from accounts connected to the Silk Road. Now the US government believes that he may have been involved with additional thefts from the now-defunct online dark market:
"...the US had recently become aware of additional thefts of bitcoins from Secret Service accounts, the facts of which led the government to believe that Bridges, working with others, was also involved in these thefts."
US District Judge Richard Seeborg, who presided over the case, remarked that from what he could see, this crime had been motivated by greed. “No departure or variance is warranted in this case,” he said.
Greed and naivety feed thugs
Why Bitcoin attracts thugs? Very simply because of its very nature. You can remain anonymous while conducting Bitcoin transactions and there is no chargeback mechanism built into the virtual currency. We would like to emphasize here the word currency because it is akin to paying with cash. Reversals and chargebacks are more talk of the plastic money domain.
A study done by researchers at the Southern Methodist University in Texas, USA in January 2015 reveals a great deal about common Bitcoin scams and how people fall victim to them. The research was conducted by Marie Vasek and Tyler Moore and is titled There's No Free Lunch, Even Using Bitcoin: Tracking the Popularity and Profits of Virtual Currency Scams. The research revealed 41 scams that occurred between 2011 and 2014 in which 13,000 victims fell prey to fraudulent websites. The amount of money lost in this period was nearly a conservative USD 11 million.
Typical Bitcoin scams
We looked at the findings of Marie Vasek and Tyler Moore and here are their key findings. The common element among all these scams though is greed and naivety on the part of the users:
1. Bitcoin Investment Programs: If it is too good to be true it probably is not goes the old adage and it is as true today as it was in the past. When people are promised higher yields on their deposits, they are often swayed by greed.
You should be wary of wallets that offer returns if you keep money in them or if some investment program gives you way more returns than the prevalent market rates.
2. Bitcoin Mining Scams: A lot of mining operations are alleged to be scams but to narrow down the definition mining scams can be described as operations, which take a fee to mine Bitcoin on your behalf but never deliver. Cloud mining particularly has been in the eye of the storm. Researchers Moore and Vasek:
“Active Mining and Ice Drill are operations that raised money to purportedly make ASICs and share the profits but never delivered. AsicMiningEquipment.com and Dragon-Miner.com are fraudulent mining e-commerce websites.”
3. Bitcoin Wallet scams: Getting pickpocketed sucks but having your money vaporize under your very nose is brutal. The usual modus operandi of scam wallets is that the victim deposits Bitcoin into such a wallet and when it reaches a certain threshold; the money is transferred to the scamster’s wallet. In its analyses of fraudulent Bitcoin wallets, the report states that:
“We were able to analyze three of these services (Onion Wallet, Easy Coin, and Bitcoinwallet.in), in which all transfers from the victims were ultimately delivered to the same address held by the scammer. These particular scams advertise themselves as offering a mixing service that enhances transaction anonymity for customers. In fact, all three services appear to be operated by the same scammer, because the siphoning transfers all go directly to the same Bitcoin address.”
4. Bitcoin Exchange Scams: Exchanges are the point of entry into the Bitcoin universe and many victims of scams are attracted to lower exchange rates, promises of anonymity or offerings such as PayPal or Credit Card processing that other exchanges may not offer.
Once the victim deposits payment for buying Bitcoin, they never actually receive their cryptocurrency leaving them high and dry. Most fraudulent exchanges seem to have a short life span. |
From the directors of a Paranormal Activity 3 and 4 comes Nerve, a teenage drama trying to capture The Hunger Game‘s lucrative audience. At first glimpse, the movie doesn’t really sound like a must watch. There are no big stars (sorry Dave Franco fans), the directors haven’t worked on anything good, and the premise behind it sounds completely nuts. But I think this movie will end up surprising a lot of people. Before we continue, a quick piece advice to anyone planning to watch: don’t watch the trailers, as they pretty much spoil the entire flick.
Nerve is a video game that brings The Hunger Games to our world. Gamers pick to be watchers or players; watchers pay to watch their favorite players, and the money is pooled and used to pay the players on completing more and more insane dares. The watchers vote amongst themselves to decide what the next dare should be, and at their disposal is the social media accounts of the players. From there they can pick out dares relating to their players’ greatest fears and pit friends against each other.
We follow a shy high school senior named Venus who’s looking to take more risks in her life, and after being pushed by her friend Sydney, she joins Nerve as a player. Dave Franco’s character Ian is another player in Nerve and joins up with Venus.
The movie provides a look at problems with privacy in the current world and the harmful internet culture built from anonymity. Even the watchers’ conversations sound like something straight out of 4chan. More than all of that, the movie is all about some good old teenage drama.
All of the usual teenage drama is stuffed in this film. There’s the love triangle, friendships being tested, and of course people sleeping with each other’s crushes. All of the above is, surprisingly, handled pretty well. Character motivations make sense, and it’s hard to point to one character as being in the wrong. Maybe it’s just the years of unrealistic teenage movies where every character fits into a trope and becomes a caricature of that trope, but the movie constantly surprised me in its handling of its characters.
One of the other things that surprised me about this movie was how well the technology was handled. The opening scene, shot from the perspective of a teenage girl’s Macbook, was slick and not as cringey as these things tend to be. Things like Tor, the dark web, botnets, and more were actually used realistically and not as magical ways to explain problems away. Even the game Nerve itself made sense as something that could exist in the real world. It reminded me a bit of Mr. Robot, a hacker show which also handles technology realistically. It makes me pretty glad to see more and more accurate representations of technology in media. Long gone are the days 1995’s Hackers and detectives yelling at computer screens to enhance JPEGS.
Overall, the movie reminds me of another Dave Franco movie, Now You See Me from 2013. It was a low budget movie that came out of nowhere and actually ended up surprising a lot of people. Just like that movie, Nerve isn’t perfect. The ending is rushed, and the more you think about it, the less sense it makes. But overall the flick is very entertaining, the cast is great, and it’s a fun watch for everyone.
Related |
It is one of the most memorable opening scenes in cinema history. After the introductory text marches across the screen, the camera pans to reveal a starscape and the glowing bulk of planets. Then, accompanied by a frenzied fanfare of music, a battle-worn spaceship roars into view. The opening of the original Star Wars film from 1977 changed the way Hollywood regarded special effects. But at its heart this scene wasn’t so different from the stop-motion animation of King Kong special effects whiz Willis O’Brien, and his celebrated protégé Ray Harryhausen.
The spaceships in the sequence were actual models, filmed using motion control photography – where the camera was moved around the object itself – and built by director George Lucas’ fledgling special effects company Industrial Light & Magic (ILM). The film’s fleet of spaceships, from Han Solo’s battered and bruised Millennium Falcon to Luke Skywalker’s snub-nosed X-Wing, were all the result of modelling glue and steady fingers.
It’s an approach that was honed over the course of the two Star Wars sequels, but seems to have been forgotten when Lucas rebooted the franchise with 1999’s prequel The Phantom Menace. Out went the miniatures and models, replaced with ships, vehicles and locations created entirely by computer – digital effects having moved on in leaps and bounds since the late 1970s.
But The Phantom Menace and its sister prequels fell flat with audiences, with some noting the lack of depth and substance created by an all-digital universe – one that fellow film-makers wasted no time in emulating. “The prequel not only boasted some of the most impressive digital effects to date, but also ended up influencing, for better or for worse, how Hollywood has made blockbusters ever since,” noted Entertainment Weekly last year.
The team at Disney, who are producing three more Star Wars sequels with Star Trek director JJ Abrams at the helm, appear to have taken note. This week, it emerged, the film-makers were promising to limit the amount of CGI and return, at least, in part to the physical feel of the original trilogy.
‘Naturalistic imagery’
“I suspect the Star Wars announcement has more to do with PR than actual production plans,” says author Richard Rickitt, who has written the book Special Effects: The History and Technique. “The last Star Wars films were slated by some as being too effects-driven. Now that the Disney marketing machine has rolled into action over the forthcoming films, I imagine they have noted this as being an area that needs to be worked on.
“Making traditional models is a very challenging skill and it is definitely harder than making models in CG where you can call-up textures, colours, etc, almost immediately. Plus there are all the physical constraints on building models: how big does it need to be to produce convincing scale, can it be transported, does it have to be engineered to break-apart or explode in a certain way, will it need to be supported on rods or from wires, will it have to move convincingly?” Ray Harryhausen, Rickitt says, created his intricate scenes all on his own – the same process now might involve hundreds of people. And CGI has one big advantage over traditional, physical effects: “If you spend months building a traditional model spacecraft and then blow it up, it’s gone forever. But if you spend months building a CG spacecraft in the computer you have an asset that can be re-used as many times as you like,” he says.
“Blockbusters are still dependant on CGI to fulfil their spectacle over models, and with the likes of Avatar 2 on the horizon computer effects are here to stay,” says Ian Nathan, the executive editor of film magazine Empire. “But I do get the impression people are wearying of the cure-all attitude with CG and are starting to hunger for more naturalistic imagery — in the end real helicopters look better than CG ones.”
‘A certain honesty’
Sometimes, cost is a factor in bringing effects back out of the out of the computer. One special effects supervisor who found himself turning to models instead of microchips was Gavin Rothery, who worked on Duncan Jones’ brooding sci-fi film Moon. “I was always keen to take the film in this direction as I've been a fan of model miniature work since I was a kid,” he tells BBC Culture.
“I was always keen to get the film into this space as models have a certain honesty to them that I felt CGI-savvy audience members would appreciate. I had to fight for this as Duncan insisted on CGI, but fortunately we didn't have the budget and so I won that battle.
“Not only did it save us millions of pounds that we didn't have, but I got to work with the legendary modelmaker Bill Pearson who worked on Alien, which was an amazing experience.” Computer graphics were added to footage of the model vehicles to help add atmosphere.
“People seem to appreciate the reality of an image that has been captured through the lens of a camera. I'm sure there are a lot of reasons for this, but it seems that audience members do have a certain tired feeling towards a lot of VFX. To be honest, it's probably the fault of the film for the most part – if it's just not holding you for whatever reason, then you'll start picking things apart as you watch. The human eye is really good at detecting fakeness and people just don't seem to really enjoy looking at something that has been presented as reality but isn't really convincing.”
Peter Jackson, the New Zealand director behind the Lord of the Rings trilogy, created his own special effects on a series of early splatterfest comedies. Even as his budgets have inflated, he has kept real locations and physical models and effects part of his films.
Nathan recently spent time in New Zealand on a set visit to The Hobbit. “I got to walk about the glorious Lake-town set, this huge, intricate, fantasy Dickensian town built over a tank on a soundstage and it was just glorious to behold (the actors must have loved it). Peter Jackson mentioned it was far cheaper to build that wonderful set, then tear it down three days later, than use CG. Sometimes lo-fi works perfectly.”
Rothery doesn’t dismiss CGI, but sees it as a tool which should be applied other skills in the special effects toolbox. “Anybody thinking that CG is in any way an inferior tool should watch the forthcoming Elysium. The CG robots in that are amazing.”
But he says, there are definitely limits. “I have been overwhelmed by CGI. The Transformers franchise is just high frequency noise.”
If you would like to comment on this story or anything else you have seen on BBC Culture, head over to our Facebook page or message us on Twitter. |
High Prices Aren't Scaring Consumers Away From The Meat Counter
Enlarge this image toggle caption Amy Mayer/Iowa Public Radio Amy Mayer/Iowa Public Radio
You may have noticed when grilling steaks or hot dogs this summer that they cost more than they did last year. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, pork and beef prices are up more than 11 percent since last summer.
Supply and demand determine price, and the pork supply comes from places like Riley Lewis' hog farm near Forest City, Iowa.
Here 1,000 acres of corn surround the barns, and a grain silo from 1948 is dwarfed by modern storage bins. When Lewis enters the barn, pigs trot over to greet him. Last December, a nasty, new pig virus sickened animals here. Even worse, porcine epidemic diarrhea virus, or PEDv, swept through nursery barns on farms where Lewis buys his piglets.
"We do buy our pigs from Illinois, and they come in at 12 to 13 pounds," says Lewis. "They did have a little shot of it that went through, and our numbers right now are down."
Across the country, the virus killed several million piglets, adding up to a lot fewer hogs at market. So tighter supply means Lewis gets paid more per pound, per hog.
"It's been remarkable what the price has done," says Lewis. "The last couple of years, hog farmers dug a real deep equity hole. And so it's really nice to have that hole start to get filled up."
He's referring partly to the cost of feed — a major expense here on the farm. After record high corn prices in 2012, feed has now gotten cheaper, and Lewis can raise bigger hogs.
It's a different story with cattle, which take much longer to bring to market. When feed prices skyrocketed two years ago, many ranchers sold off more cattle than they might have otherwise.
That extra beef is long gone, and ongoing drought in the Plains states means herds aren't growing fast enough to meet demand.
But what about shoppers?
John Green, the National Pork Board's director of strategic marketing, says stores are actually trying to protect consumers from even steeper prices.
"Produce and meat are the two big things that pull people into a store," says Green. "And so, changing those prices, especially raising those prices, is one of the last things that a retailer really wants to do."
Enlarge this image toggle caption Joe Raedle/Getty Images Joe Raedle/Getty Images
So even as grocers watch the price of cattle and hogs climb, they need to keep you coming in.
"Some retailers just took that on the chin and had to be competitive in their marketplace," he notes. "Others tried to make some money where they could, to recoup that back. But by and large, they try to keep those prices stable."
They try lots of things to keep down retail prices, even buying some cuts frozen. Still, there's a limit. And when it's reached, prices rise.
But Iowa State University livestock economist Lee Schulz says climbing prices don't always scare away customers. "We've really seen higher and higher prices being pushed on to consumers," says Schulz. "But overall, we've seen very robust demand for beef."
And so far, it's the same with pork: We keep buying it even though it costs more. Shoppers who can may spend more to eat the same amount of meat. Others will spend just the same, but get less.
And that can mean being more selective about which meat products we buy. Green says bacon remains a strong seller.
"A little bit of bacon provides a tremendous amount of flavor and satisfaction. So you don't have to eat 8 ounces of bacon," he says. "A strip or two at breakfast, on a breakfast sandwich, on a salad, all the different ways that bacon is now being used on — a topping for a burger — is really what's kind of driving it."
And Green doesn't see any end in sight for Americans' fascination with bacon. With a record corn crop projected this fall, feed prices are likely to continue falling. And that could bring down meat prices.
Mayer reports for Iowa Public Radio and Harvest Public Media, a reporting collaboration that focuses on agriculture and food production. |
Japan has suffered its second death by umbrella in less than a month after a man stabbed an acquaintance for breaching the country's elaborate code of etiquette.
Ryuji Sakamoto, 32, was enraged by the refusal of Takayuki Niimi, also 32, to address him with an honorific, such as "san" (the equivalent of Mr), and inflicted the fatal wounds during a quarrel. Sakamoto then gave himself up to police.
"It appears that Sakamoto harboured resentment of Niimi for quite some time because Niimi did not use an honorific when speaking to him," said a police spokesman in Sakuragi, west of Tokyo.
While much of Japan was enjoying England's victory in the World Cup on Friday night, the two men, both of whom were homeless, were coming to blows.
During the quarrel Sakamoto punched Niimi in the face several times. When he fell over, he stabbed him in the head with the tip of the umbrella. Niimi was taken to hospital but died soon after.
Honorific terms of address are used constantly in Japan, even among friends, most commonly by adding the suffix "san" to someone's name. Failure to do so is seen as extremely rude.
Last month, another Japanese died after an early-morning row over a parking space when he was stabbed in the face and throat with an umbrella.
Toshimi Kuwabara, 55, was attacked at 7am in a quiet residential area of Hiroshima and died of brain injuries an hour later in a nearby hospital. His assailant fled with the murder weapon. |
ED REED. HE SOUNDS LIKE a partner in a law firm.
Ed Reed?
Isn't he someone's stockbroker?
Actually, Reed was the No. 1 draft pick of the Ravens yesterday, the 24th selection overall. The experts and the Ravens agree he was the leader of top-ranked University of Miami's defense last fall, and that the free safety from Saint Rose, La., plays with the same passion as Ray Lewis.
But no one was jumping up and down at the team's Owings Mills complex when Reed's name was called. It was like Reed had just been drafted into the Army instead of the National Football League.
Another draft, just another player.
Ed Reed's name had no juice.
Now, don't get me wrong. Ed Reed was the second-best safety in college football, and was the second one selected yesterday behind Oklahoma's Roy Williams, the eighth player taken overall by Dallas. He might just become the next Rod Woodson.
But he wasn't a top-10 pick, and didn't slip down the board. And that's what made the Ravens' drafts so exciting in past years. They always came away with something that seemed so special.
Offensive tackle Jonathan Ogden was special because he was the first Ravens player ever drafted, and Lewis was the second. Peter Boulware had the reputation of being the nation's best pass rusher in 1997, and then came two cornerbacks in the next two drafts, Duane Starks and Chris McAlister, both No. 10 overall.
The Ravens selected running back Jamal Lewis and wide receiver Travis Taylor in the first round two years ago to jazz up their offense, and the Ravens were smiling all over themselves last year when Todd Heap, rated the best tight end in the draft, fell to them at No. 31, the last spot in the first round.
But there was no magic yesterday, just Ed Reed.
The Ravens had their eyes on three players who they thought might slip to them in the first round, including Boston College running back William Green, Arizona State offensive tackle Levi Jones and Northwestern linebacker Napoleon Harris.
The selection of Green would have been fun, because it would have been interesting to see him run in training camp, just as it was to see if Ogden could make the transition from college tackle to pro guard. Or to see if Lewis was big enough to play in the middle.
There was a fascination with the pure instincts of Boulware, making the transition from college defensive end to outside linebacker, and to see how much immediate impact Jamal Lewis and Taylor were going to have on a struggling offense.
But Green went to Cleveland at No. 16, and Jones went to Cincinnati at No. 10. Harris was taken by Oakland one spot ahead of the Ravens.
The magic was gone. The Ravens were left with good, old Ed Reed.
"None, we got wiped out," said Ozzie Newsome, the Ravens' senior vice president of football operations, about his top three. "The thing you learn in this business is that you don't have control of other people's war rooms. You understand why we had a liking for those guys when they go that high. This was a very easy pick for us. When we got to pick No. 22, we had two players left. We had already called in Reed, but we made sure we fielded all calls [while the Ravens were on the clock]."
When Ravens team officials walked into the news conference to talk about Reed, there wasn't much excitement. Last year, Newsome and Phil Savage, the team's director of scouting, traded high fives across the table when they found out Heap was still available. Owner Art Modell cracked a lot of jokes, and coach Brian Billick once asked to be pinched because he thought he was dreaming.
Yesterday, it seemed like they were in Mudville.
"He is not 6 feet, not a 4.4, not this, not that, just a football player," said Savage of the 5-11, 205-pound Ed Reed. "We're excited about Ed Reed, and the coaching staff is excited about having Ed Reed here, too."
Said Newsome: "The thing that really sold me on him is every time we watched Miami's defense, and they needed a play to be made, Ed Reed made that play. When they needed a fire to be put out, Ed Reed put the fire out."
Ed Reed will probably become a good player because the Ravens have a pretty impressive draft record. The selection of Ed Reed allows them to move Gary Baxter, a second-year player drafted in the second round, from safety to starting cornerback even though Baxter is slow coming out of his backpedal.
Ed Reed was a four-year starter at Miami, and finished with 288 tackles. He had a school-record 21 interceptions as well as a school-record 54 pass deflections.
Miami has a great tradition. It's the school that produced Ray Lewis. That might have been a selling point yesterday, but Ed Reed said he has never met Ray Lewis.
That figures. Ed Reed says he has been to Baltimore only once, and that was recently to work out. He plays a position that really doesn't stick out, a spot that only appears to provide support for the others.
Safety. Ed Reed. It was a good choice, but just didn't create the buzz of past No. 1 selections. |
When fully implemented, Islam is a totalitarian system that brooks no dissent.
“Fatwa, police case against Shaan Taseer for ‘hate speech’ on Christmas,” Pakistan Today, January 1, 2017:
Police the other day registered a case against Shaan Taseer, son of slain Punjab governor Salmaan Taseer, for alleged ‘hate speech’ after he sent a greeting out to fellow countrymen on the occasion of Christmas..
On the Christmas Day, Shaan sent a greeting out to fellow countrymen especially blasphemy accused Aasia Bibi.
In the video, shared by Christian Times on social networking website Facebook, Shaan had criticised the misuse of blasphemy laws in Pakistan and expressed his solidarity with blasphemy accused Aasia Bibi and Nabeel Masih, another Christian boy accused of blasphemy.
Soon after the video went viral, Islampura police station received an application from its SHO Nasir Hameed and subsequently booked Shaan under Section 295-A of Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) without naming him in the report.
Meanwhile, Sunni Tehreek also issued a fatwa against Shaan for allegedly committing blasphemy as well as apostasy.
According to the SHO, he received a video message in a USB wherein a man was wishing his viewers Merry Christmas and requesting fellow countrymen to pray for minority members being exploited by, what he called, the “inhumane blasphemy law”.
The man also requested prayers for blasphemy victims including Asia Bibi, Nabeel Masih and their families, and all other Pakistanis languishing in jails on charges of blasphemy, the SHO added.
According to the FIR, the man who made the speech in the video had made a mockery of the blasphemy law and hurt religious sentiments of the Muslims…. |
The Edmonton Eskimos have added to an already fierce rivalry with a series of radio ads trash talking Saskatchewan Roughriders fans.
The Roughriders and Eskimos battle for second place in the CFL West on Friday. With thousands of Rider fans expected to pour into Commonwealth Stadium, the Eskimos have upped the ante in an effort to get more Edmonton fans to the game.
In one radio ad, the Eskimos talk about “the irritating Saskatchewan Roughriders fan.” It then goes on to call Rider fans “loud, obnoxious" and describes a fan who "somehow manages to brag about his team winning a dominant four championships in just over a century.”
Another ad starts by saying, “The Saskatchewan Roughriders have fantastic fans," but goes on to say, “Even if they are horrible human beings.”
Kickoff is Friday night at 8 p.m. CST.
Listen to the ads here: |
Welcome to the second of our two Old School Paxcasts! Podcast interviews recorded at PAX East in March of 2011. Today’s episode features an interview with Curt Covert from Smirk & Dagger games.
To read more about PAX East, check out what Tracy had to say and also my review.
Smirk & Dagger Games have a wide variety of slightly evil games available, and I mean this in the best way possible. Cutthroat Caverns is the game that we sat down at and enjoyed a three encounter demo. We also watched a quick demo of Hex Hex XL, a hot potato style game. With hexes and changing rules. Run For Your Life Candyman and Shootin’ Ladders – Frag Fest are two related games where you get to shoot the crap out of gingerbread men.
We will be featuring in-depth reviews of Cutthroat Caverns and Shootin’ Ladders – Frag Fest in the near future here on Troll in the Corner.
Here’s a gallery of my unboxing of Cuthroat Caverns :
As always, this podcast is available right here, through DriveThruRPG and through iTunes.
[tags]podcast, smirk and dagger, cutthroat caverns, pax east, board games, card games, rpg, convention, interview[/tags] |
Discovery
"Microbiome" of Sierra Nevada yellow-legged frogs shifts during infectious disease outbreaks
Interaction between microbiome and infectious pathogens may drive disease
The endangered Sierra Nevada yellow-legged frog was once common in the Sierra Nevada Mountains.
November 12, 2014
Find related stories on the NSF, National Institutes of Health and U.S. Department of Agriculture's Ecology and Evolution of Infectious Diseases (EEID) program at this link.
The adult human body is made up of some 37 trillion cells. But microbes, mainly bacteria, outnumber our body's cells by a ratio of 10-to-1.
Scientists now recognize that this huge community of benign microbes--called the microbiome--affects the health, development and evolution of all multicellular organisms, including humans.
Studies show that interactions between such microbiomes and pathogens, or disease-causing microorganisms, can have profound effects on infectious diseases.
In results of a new study, scientists from the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) demonstrate that a fungal pathogen of amphibians does just that. The findings appear this week in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Infectious pathogens may disrupt the microbiome
Experiments with model organisms such as mice have shown that infectious pathogens can disrupt the microbiome, but the extent to which this process shapes disease outbreaks is largely unknown.
The work, conducted by scientists Cherie Briggs and Andrea Jani of UCSB, addresses a gap in disease ecology and microbiome research.
"This study shows the importance of knowing how the many benign microbes living on and in our bodies interact with those that cause disease," says Sam Scheiner, National Science Foundation program director for the joint NSF-NIH-USDA Ecology and Evolution of Infectious Disease Program, which funded the research.
"The results are important for developing responses to a disease that's causing amphibians to go extinct worldwide," says Scheiner, "and have implications for future studies of human health."
Jani and Briggs found that the fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) drives changes in the frogs' skin microbiomes during disease outbreaks in four populations of the Sierra Nevada yellow-legged frog (Rana sierrae).
Chytridiomycosis, an infectious disease of amphibian skin caused by the Bd pathogen, is a leading cause of amphibian losses worldwide.
"Since amphibian skin is the organ infected by Bd, there has been a lot of interest in how anti-fungal properties of some skin bacteria may protect the frogs," says Briggs.
"We focused on the flip side of this interaction: how infection with Bd can disrupt the skin microbial community."
Next-generation DNA sequencing documents changes
"We used next-generation DNA sequencing to document shifts in skin bacteria communities of the frogs during Bd outbreaks," Jani says.
"We paired field surveys with laboratory infection experiments, demonstrating a causal relationship in which Bd altered the frog's microbiome."
The researchers found that the severity of infection with Bd is strongly correlated with the composition of bacteria communities on the frogs' skin.
"It was surprising that across the different frog populations, there was a striking consistency in the correlation with Bd," says Jani.
One of the populations crashed due to Bd infection, but the other three populations tolerated Bd infections.
"There are different disease dynamics going on," says Jani, "yet there's a similar relationship between the microbiome and Bd."
Answers still elusive
The researchers were unable to conclusively determine whether the Bd-induced disturbance of the frog skin microbiome contributed to the disease symptoms.
The pathogens may interact with the microbiome directly or by manipulating the frogs' immune systems.
It's possible, the biologists say, that the pathogens directly compete with certain bacteria for space or resources or release compounds that affect some bacteria species.
Or the pathogens may control frog immune responses to favor their own growth and disrupt the normal microbiome.
The researchers say that promise exists for probiotic treatments as a way of fighting the decline of frogs due to Bd, but they're careful to qualify the statement.
There is a lot they still don't understand about the environmental effects of such treatments or the interactions between the frogs' microbiomes and the Bd pathogen.
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Related Programs
Ecology of infectious disease |
If you've played The Walking Dead Game Series thus far, just episode one, or have seen someone playing it you surely know it is a video game based on the choices you make. Knowing this you also understand that your choices influence further gameplay and upcoming episodes.
At the end of each episode Telltale Games has been nice enough to let players see how their decisions stack up to other players (broken down on a bar graph).�
What choices did you make?
Further, after each episode has been out for about a month, Telltale games has released 'Stats Trailers' revealing what decisions gamers have made and showing how those decisions play out in the game. The two may seem to offer the same information however, in the case of the 'Stats Trailers' a much larger group has played the game allowing for a better representation of the choices gamers have made.
On Friday (10/5), Telltale Games released "The Walking Dead - Episode 3 Stats Trailer" on YouTube and the Telltale Blog. Watch the video and see how your choices in Episode 3 stacked up to other gamers.
**Spoilers** *If you have not played Episode 3 and wish to DO NOT click on any of the following links or watch the video!*
Source: the Telltale Blog, YouTube
Megan Bethke, NoobFeed
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