text
stringlengths 316
100k
|
|---|
Just as the UFC 152 media call ended, pumping up the main event fight between Jon Jones and Vitor Belfort, as well as the co-main event pitting Joseph Benavidez vs. Demetrious Johnson, UFC Canadian officials announced that the card took a hit.
Vladimir Matyushenko tore his Achilles tendon, taking him out of the fight with returning Ultimate Fighter season 3 product Matt Hamill.
The funny part of the whole thing, however, is that Hamill will now face the fighter he was originally slated to face at UFC 152, the debuting Roger Hollett.
Scroll to continue with content Ad
Hamill (10-4) has been in retirement since losing to Alexander Gustafsson more than a year ago, at UFC 133. He was originally slated to return against Hollett at UFC 152, but the opponent was switched to Matyushenko when Hollett fell out of the fight a few weeks ago.
Now, with the injury to Matyushenko, it appears Hollett has had time to recover and will step back into the fight with Hamill.
Hollett (13-3), who fights out of Nova Scotia, gives the Toronto fight card a little more Canadian flavor.
Hollett is riding a five-fight winning streak, including a victory over John Hawk under the Bellator banner, so he doesn’t intend to make it an easy return bout for Hamill.
UFC 152: Jones vs. Belfort takes place Sept. 22 at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto. |
by
Behind the gleaming armor of his speeches, the emperor’s new clothes of Obama leave him naked. We are to believe that the persecution of the press is protection of national security, secrecy is transparency, debt servitude is opportunity, imprisoning the poor is correction, assassination is public relations, a militarized police state is public service, and protecting the interests of the 1% is the common good. When nonviolent civil disobedience is treated as terrorism and dissent as treason; when the censor lives in our minds, naked totalitarianism has emerged. Yet, despite all, I still reject the contention that we are beyond the point of no return.
As Michael Hastings observed before his patently unbelievable accident, Obama has enshrined in his foreign policy the two most radical principles of the Bush doctrine, torture and extraordinary rendition, and has made targeted assassination and spying on journalists major tenets of the national security state. Despite Obama’s assurance that the CIA will move away from paramilitary tactics, the intelligence community anticipates a sinister future, and the Pentagon is pushing for the US to aggressively reassert dominance devoid of moral leadership and enforce dictatorship without hegemony, domestically and in the international arena.
Power now circulates through the information and obedience we unwittingly provide to the national security prism and the commerce panopticon, which are a fusion of private power and public authority used to monitor and record our license plates, our shopping habits, our personal correspondences, and our very thoughts. If, as Robert Reich supposed in his recent piece in the Huffington Post, a group of wealthy Americans is systematically dismembering government, disenfranchising the minority, spreading PR campaigns of lies, and buying off the media, that is a form of treason worse than terrorism, and it must be stopped.
However, I would argue that the social safety net, which we depend on for services and the protection of economic and social rights, is being dismantled, while the national security state, which should respect our rights during peacetime or repress them in times of national emergency, is being massively expanded and the state-of-emergency is now permanent.
In order to counteract the undemocratic substitution of national security in place of human security, we must:
(1) Fight mental censorship and reject influence of the defense and intelligence community in our society. Put NSA watch words in every mundane email. Find innovative ways to fool them. If ‘they’ have a blacklist, then every American should endeavor to be included by speaking out. We can influence the spies of the national security state and the directors of their agencies by flooding their press offices with calls to tell them that the violation of American citizens’ civil rights is unjustifiable and unpatriotic.
(2) Demand that the foolish, wasteful, and failed wars on drugs and terror end. I call congressmen everyday, and if you want change, you should, too. The war on terror has greatly outlived its usefulness for the resources we spend on it, which are now being directed towards the repression of dissent. When we quit wasting valuable resources on crimes that have few or no victims, i.e. hacking, whistleblowing, drugs, and terror, we can begin focusing on rapists, murderers, and corrupt elected officials, the true enemies of the state.
(3) Demand accountability from the justice system. Judges, prosecutors, and police not infrequently exhibit racism, gender bias, partiality, and even collusion in corruption, occasionally verging on mobster-style organized crime. Unfortunately, corruption convictions are rare, considering that there are half a million elected officials in the U.S., and light punishments and window-dressing are unacceptably common. Qualified immunity is the enemy of justice and we must abolish it.
(4) Reclaim the terms that have been wrenched away from us by the 1%, their political cronies, and the phony media. Orwellian doublespeak tells us that people in favor of women’s rights are “radical feminists;” those who point out probable or obvious connections between phenomena are “conspiracy theorists;” online activists are “hackers” or “cyber terrorists;” the rich are “job creators,” changing wealth inequality that would make robber barons blush is “socialism,” etc. Don’t believe anything the mainstream media says about activists, because the media is the piehole of the 1%.
(5) Join forces, despite race, gender, social class, or party affiliation against the warmongers, Wall Street plutocrats, and neoconservatives who conspire to maintain the status quo. Class warfare needs to make a comeback, because “the blob” and the permanent war economy has reached a place where it must be exposed and dismantled.
(6) Practice civil disobedience. Support Anonymous and Occupy, which continue to evolve, even today, despite false reports, myths and lies surrounding them. MLK said we have a moral obligation to break unjust laws even as we have a moral responsibility to obey just ones. When you allow your outrage fuel your courage to fight for social justice, your fear and apathy will melt away.
Protest. Period.
Tim Tolka just finished a Master’s degree in social movements, the state, and civil society at American University. |
Wendy the Waitress is a regular waitress at MacLaren's Pub.
Contents show]
Show Outline
Not much has been known about Wendy since the beginning of the series. Her first major role was when she was seen making out with Ted's dad in Brunch, which Barney captures an image of using his cellphone. Previously (although it is seen in The Platinum Rule), Wendy had sex with Barney and kept on flirting with him in the bar, but Barney finally had enough and broke up with her. Since then, Barney takes extra precaution when taking drinks from her in the crazy belief that she's trying to kill him (he even throws away Marshall's burger because he believes she might try and "get to" his friends).
Wendy and Barney eventually have lunch together once after their break-up, where Wendy tries to return his purple-and-black tie, but Barney screams and runs away from her, believing that she's pulling a gun out of her bag.
In The Window, she encounters Marshall's future self, who had somehow time traveled to this point in time. He orders hot wings but then says they were too hot, leading to the wings being given to Lilly and his younger self. Because of how she reacted, it is believed she didn't notice the resemblance between the present and future versions of Marshall.
Family
Spouse: Meeker (husband)
Meeker (husband) Children: Three Children (unnamed)
Episode Appearances
In, Wendy meets Meeker , a guy who used to work with Marshall at Goliath National Bank but got fired because of him, and the both bond over their hatred for him. In a flash forward, it is shown that Ted meets Wendy in 2021 at an airport in Hong Kong. Wendy is there on her second honeymoon with Meeker. She also mentions that she has three children. |
The subject of this article is from the Pathfinder update.
The information from this article is up-to-date as of 10 August, 2017.
The information from this article is up-to-date as of 10 August, 2017.
HUB2-V-71 Aderyt Region Eapustafiges Adjunct Galaxy Euclid Spectral class G4p (Yellow) Distance to center 166504.4 light-years Planet(s) 3 Moon(s) 0 Faction Vy'keen Discovered by Rusyn (PC), Lianara (PS4) Release Pathfinder
HUB2-V-71 Aderyt Region Eapustafiges Adjunct Galaxy Euclid Spectral class G4p (Yellow) Distance to center 166504.4 light-years Planet(s) 3 Moon(s) 0 Faction Vy'keen Release Pathfinder
[HUB2-V-71] Aderyt is a star system in the universe of No Man's Sky. This system's main attractions are the Rimaruto S31 and Hibukabe S81 Fighter Starships and the 6m diplos of Opiria.
On PS4, it was uploaded with its default name Hatorordning by user Lianara, who didn't explore a single planet or any other content in the system. These content-free systems uploaded by Lianara, of which there are quite a few, are sometimes called the "Cursed Systems of Eapustafiges."
All exploration was first done by Rusyn on PC, who shared it on the Galactic Hub subreddit. It was then explored on PS4 by Syn1334.
It is located only 80.4 light-years from the Eapustafiges Adjunct's Black Hole, HUB-BH/G-79 P3W-451. It is also available on HMS.
Planets & Moons [ edit | edit source ]
Note: The planet Opiria has the same name between PS4 and PC, while the other planets are likely different between platforms. The names below are the PS4 names.
This star system contains 3 planets:
Vy'keen
Space Station Vendor [ edit | edit source ]
The following blueprints are sold by the NPC vendor in this system’s Space Station:
PART1 : PART2 : PART3 : 0071
Hub Management System Info [ edit | edit source ]
(Already entered in HMS)
Galactic Hub Project subreddit
PilgrimStarPath
Galactic Hub Interloper Handbook |
RT.com has been banned on Reddit’s /r/news section, with moderators accusing it of spamming. Puzzled with absurd allegations, RT views the sanctions as an act of censorship with many redditors expressing the same concern.
The announcement of the ban appeared on Reddit at around 12:30 GMT Thursday, with the forum's leading moderator posting: "RT.com has been banned for spam and vote manipulation." It was soon followed by another message, saying that “brigading the thread, downvoting, and crying aren't going to change it, sorry.”
RT immediately contacted the moderators of the /r/news section, as well as Reddit's press office, to request an explanation. But in more than 24 hours no details that could clarify what may have led to the ban have been provided to RT by Reddit.
Reddit’s press office instead replied that it is not consulted by subreddits about their decisions.
“To clarify, it is the prerogative of each individual subreddit's moderators to allow or ban domains from being submitted to their subreddits,” Victoria Taylor, of Reddit’s press service, said. “As we are not moderators of /r/news, we were not involved or consulted on this decision. You would need to appeal to the moderators of /r/news about their decision and address their concerns individually.”
RT has received no reply yet from douglasmacarthur, the moderator of Reddit’s /r/news section.
But later another redditor, BipolarBear0, listed as one of the moderators for the section, said in a comment on the website that there was “no vote manipulation,” calling it “an oversight there, but an honest mistake” by a moderator.
Responding to Michael Reed, co-founder of the Restore the Fourth movement, BipolarBear0 said he had nothing do with the decision to ban RT.com, but added he had in general been advocating that, “Simply because… It’s the Kremlin.”
RT’s leading web analyst, Aleksey Naumov, said there were no grounds for the moderator to accuse RT.com of spamming.
“Over the last two years, RT’s traffic has increased four- or five-fold,” Naumov said. “Quite naturally, during this period the number of submissions of our materials to Reddit.com, as well as the number of referrals from Reddit to our website, has increased. It’s not difficult to check that it’s not the same people, but different people, who are submitting our stories to Reddit.”
Redditors cry censorship
The ban provoked a heated debate on the website, with one user, datums, writing that it was “unacceptable to ban a major news source without presenting evidence against them.”
However, it later appeared that nearly all the 985 comments posted had been deleted, with only a handful remaining visible on the site.
When some of the users reacting to the message asked to be provided with a screenshot of the thread(s) where RT.com made the alleged violation, moderator Kylde replied: “sorry, no, internal.”
“It is particularly worrisome that this particular outlet offers a perspective that lacks the pro-American bias of major US outlets. RT employs many excellent journalists, and their credibility cannot be called into question any more than The New York Times or CNN,” datums said.
Meanwhile, user Alttoon said that the ban had nothing to do with freedom of information, but was instead “pure censorship at best.”
The users pointed out that if RT.com was really caught spamming, then it would be banned from the whole website site by the Reddit’s admins, but not only from its /r/news section.
Even Reddit users who frequently disagree with RT’s stance on various issues spoke out against the ban, stressing that it was not the moderators but the audience who should decide what news articles to read.
“Propaganda machine or not, a news organization should not be banned from a news subreddit,” user MisterGrieves wrote. “ESPECIALLY if one of the reasons is that they post a lot of their stories here. That is the purpose of this subreddit. Banning a news source is censorship and the mod behavior is appalling.”
“The reader will decide if they want to read them or not but removing that option from the reader is wrong,” he added.
Some users also found the timing of the sanctions against RT.com quite suspicious as it coincided with escalation of events around Syria, with the US being on the brink of invading the country.
“It certainly seems shady, that exactly in the times when the US is pitted in an interests war with Russia, which may indeed turn into a very real war soon enough, they'd decide to act out against spam from RT,” user maraSara said.
User Let_them_eat_slogans stressed that sanctions against RT, backed by “zero evidence of wrongdoing,” set “a fantastic precedent” and found support among the other redditors.
After two hours of heated discussion, the moderator, referred to “basic metrics that are used on reddit spammers all the time both by subreddit moderators and reddit staff.”
“One example is plain domain frequency. The rule-of-thumb is 10%. If you submit a lot, and the proportion coming from a certain domain is way higher than that, you're probably a spammer. If there's a lot of users doing that a lot for one domain, you should investigate further to see if it's people working for that domain,” douglasmacarthur said.
He did not elaborate, however, whether any such investigation was carried out before putting the ban into effect.
The moderator refused to provide proof of alleged violations by RT.com, saying it would disclose the means used by Reddit to detect and tackle spammers and therefore help future perpetrators.
Some three hours after the initial announcement, as more comments of the kind were posted, the Reddit moderator wrote: "OK, we're going to have a vote on whether or not to ban RT. To vote, please click here." However, clicking on the link led to an empty website, Zombo.com.
But the joke wasn’t welcomed by the users, who blamed the moderator for being “unprofessional.”
“Why offer a vote on the subject just to direct to a dumb 90’s troll website? You're just fanning the flames,” user ActionFilmsFan1995 wrote.
The sanctions against RT.com and the way the moderator responded to the complaints prompted some readers to quit the /r/news section subreddit.
While the other redditors demanded actions against douglasmacarthur, like user MikeOracle, who suggested “we need a new moderator, stat.”
Banning domains by list?
The ban on RT.com remains a trending topic with users of different subreddits, who are discussing the moderator’s behavior.
In one of the posts at a leading news forum /r/worldnews, which linked to a story from the Daily Dot website, redditor crankzy said the sanctions were imposed by the moderator simply because he “doesn’t like” RT and added that he thinks “it’s biased.”
As a proof, the user provides a link to douglasmacarthur's post from half a year ago, in which he had suggested banning a number of domains from the subreddit, including RT – alongside the Huffington Post, Gizmodo, Gawker, Mashabe, the Raw Story and others.
The move was explained by the desire to turn /r/news “into the first large news-related subreddit largely free of the alarmism, bias, editorialization, etc.”
“That a site is listed doesn't mean we're accusing it of being a bad site, or even that it isn't a trustworthy news-related organization. It merely means that much of the content on its website isn't appropriate for the specific purpose of this subreddit, which is to gather factual news content,” the moderator wrote.
It’s worth noting that RT.com was not singled out in any other way, apart from being enlisted. The moderator proposed to ban it as according to him, RT.com fell in the same category as the Daily Mail for providing “misleading/sensationalist/unreliable” content. Others, like the Huffington Post, Gawker and the Raw Story were labeled “Blog Spam.”
Some users were outraged by the intended ban and totally decried it, with douglasmacarthur being forced to “put this project on hold until further notice.”
Reddit is one of the leading social networks. It works by allowing users to submit links from around the Internet, which other users then vote on.
The American website, which was founded by Steve Huffman and Alexis Ohanian in 2005, has 2.5 million registered users, called the “redditors,” and nearly 70 million unique visitors every month. |
In 1980, a 25-year old graduate student at the University of Texas at Austin wrote a master’s thesis called “Human rights, a case study of Egypt.” In it, he argued that the aim of achieving and maintaining political stability justifies human rights violations by apprehensive governments— including crackdowns on unbridled journalists:
Since the press can play such an influential role in determining the perceptions of the masses, I am in favor of some degree of government censorship. Inflamatory [sic] articles can provoke mass opposition and possible violence.
Why should we care what a 25-year old grad student wrote over 30 years ago? Because that student grew up to be John Brennan—recently appointed director of the CIA. And because the theory he outlined in his master’s thesis seems to have shaped his attitude toward the exercise of power since then.
Four Months Make An Expert?
Brennan wrote the thesis, first made public by Charles C. Johnson, for an article in the Daily Caller (additional pages here), to earn a master’s degree in government with a concentration in Middle Eastern studies. The paper analyzed human rights in Egypt under the 1970s regime of Anwar Sadat — a regime Brennan experienced firsthand while studying at the American University in Cairo for four months (from September 1975 to January 1976).
Under Sadat, Egypt saw riots over the price of bread, a growing gap between the rich and the poor, high unemployment, widespread malnutrition, and other turmoil.
For the sake of stability, Brennan wrote, Sadat rightly introduced legislation to restrict assembly, strove to replace the judiciary in political trials with his own special prosecutor, and subjected the press to frequent, extensive censorship.
The powerful have long used emergencies or purported emergencies as excuses to seize power. In terms of Egypt’s dire conditions, Brennan wrote,
Sadat’s authoritarian approach to the democratic process has brought widespread criticism from his opponents. The motivation for this approach is obvious: in limiting personal liberties, Sadat has sought political order and stability in Egypt […] Looking at the present policies of the Sadat administration, one gets the impression that democracy does not exist in Egypt. But if democracy is a process rather than a state, the democratic process may involve, at some point, the violation of personal liberties and procedural justice. Sadat’s undemocratic methods, therefore, may aim at the ultimate preservation of democracy rather than its demise.
We Had to Destroy Democracy to Save It
These Orwellian arguments should not be dismissed as the busywork of a college student hurrying to get a grade. The thesis is written in the same confident style —blunt sentences, few hedges — that he speaks with today. Back then, the graduate student clearly saw himself as a potential “decider,” like Sadat, tasked with picking whose human rights get violated in the purported best interest of “the State.”
A long career has made Brennan that decider.
There is some question as to when his career at the CIA really started. He tells a story that seems a little improbable: while riding a bus to Fordham University, where he earned a bachelor’s in political science between 1973 and 1977, he read “an ad in The New York Times and it said the CIA was looking for a few good people.” Overseas travel had aroused his wanderlust, he said, so he talked to a CIA recruiter.
A classmate of his from fourth grade to his undergraduate years recalls that Brennan spent the summer after freshman year with a cousin who worked for the Agency of International Development in Indonesia and that he visited Bahrain on the way home. Brennan was working at the US embassy in Indonesia and researching the politics of oil. “I wondered if he had even been recruited that early,” the classmate said. If true, Brennan would have written the thesis while a CIA recruit. It has also been speculated that the American University in Cairo is a site of CIA recruitment and training.
***
Regardless of his actual recruitment date, Brennan did start his official career at the CIA right out of college. He worked for the CIA for 25 years, including as an analyst, as station chief in Riyadh from 1996 to 1999, as the agency’s daily intelligence briefer to President Clinton, and as chief of staff for former CIA director George Tenet. WhoWhatWhy has previously examined the implications of Brennan’s Saudi connections.
While still at the CIA, he directed the Terrorist Threat Integration Center from 2003 to 2004—charged with integrating intelligence from the seventeen member agencies of the intelligence community on counterterrorism issues. The center became the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC), where from 2004 to 2005 he was Interim Director.
Two months after he stepped down from the NCTC, The Analysis Corporation (TAC), which specializes in databases and is now named Sotera Defense Solutions, reportedly secured a lucrative deal to improve the NCTC terrorist watch-list. Like many defense contractor firms, TAC was based in McLean, Virginia, close by the CIA headquarters in Langley. Just one month later, in November 2005, Brennan conveniently followed the watch-list’s path to TAC, where he became president and CEO, making $760,000 a year.
His time in the government — including working in surveillance during the time of the post-9/11 illegal warrantless wiretapping program — was also marketable elsewhere in the private sector. Starting in April 2007 he spearheaded the private security industry as chairman of the Intelligence and National Security Alliance (INSA), earning $30,000 a year for an hour’s worth of work a week. INSA, representing 150 security corporations, describes itself as a “catalyst for public-private partnerships.”
“Certain Violations [of Human Rights] May Be Necessary”
In his master’s thesis, Brennan wrote that “absolute human rights do not exist” — “with the probable exception of the freedom from torture.” During his time at TAC, he left even that caveat behind, defending on television news the CIA’s use of enhanced interrogation techniques (except for waterboarding) as well as the Agency’s rendition program.
Brennan appears to have been influential in moving the early Obama administration to the right on security issues, and in protecting the permanent intelligence establishment from legal accountability. Interviewed in early 2008 about advising Senator Obama’s presidential campaign, he said that telecommunications companies should be granted immunity for their past participation in illegal warrantless wiretapping and that there should not be a “housecleaning” of intelligence. “Not just in terms of people, but also programs. You don’t want to create upheaval, because it will create a disruption in the system,” he said. “You don’t want to whipsaw the [intelligence] community. You don’t want to presume knowledge about how things fit together and why things are being done the way they are being done.”
When President Obama first proposed Brennan for CIA director in 2008, liberal anger at his public support for CIA torture led to Brennan withdrawing his name from consideration. Obama instead appointed him Assistant to the President for homeland security and counterterrorism, a post which did not require Senate confirmation and made him the Administration’s top counterterrorism official. He worked in a windowless room in the White House a few steps from the Situation Room, and met with Obama several times a day.
When the NCTC provoked controversy in 2011 with its database containing millions of records of U.S. citizens — casino-employee lists, flight records, the names of Americans hosting foreign-exchange students, and much more — Brennan seems to have been the one to decide to move forward with the program. Homeland Security privacy and civil liberties officials had raised concerns at the White House over new guidelines that allowed the NCTC to “mine” the database for possible criminal behavior, even without reason to suspect any wrongdoing by the Americans under surveillance. “Mr. Brennan considered the arguments,” the Wall Street Journal writes. “And within a few days, the attorney general, Eric Holder, had signed the new guidelines.”
As adviser to President Obama, Brennan often appeared at the nexus of intelligence and public relations. He was the chief source of the shifting, contradictory panoply of details about what actually happened in the raid on Osama bin Laden. The raid occurred in the afterglow of the royal wedding, and the press was all too ready to embrace his manipulations, as WhoWhatWhy previously reported.
In his years as counterterrorism czar, Brennan was the driving force behind the CIA’s drone program, in which unmanned aircraft, operating overseas but piloted remotely from the US, fire missiles at terrorist targets in Yemen, Pakistan, and elsewhere, often hitting civilians gathered in tribal councils, wedding parties, and other non-combatant assemblies. Sometimes these instances of “collateral damage” result from so-called “signature strikes,” in which a person whose name is unknown is targeted based entirely on the “signature” of his behavior patterns — in other words, killer drones sometimes target patterns, not people, but it is people (often the wrong ones) who get killed. It appears Brennan has been the last person to sign off on drone strikes before Obama gives the final go-ahead.
As the president’s top counterterrorism official, he took the targeting decisions for drone strikes and moved them deep into the White House, further shielding the process from public view. At the same time he orchestrated a propaganda campaign about the purported care that went into compiling “kill lists.”
Asked at the John Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies in June 2011 about targeted killings — a reference in this case to CIA drone strikes — he replied:
“In fact, I can say that the types of operations that the US has been involved in, in the counterterrorism realm, nearly for the past year, there hasn’t been a single collateral death because of the exceptional proficiency, precision of the capabilities we’ve been able to develop.”
This was an outright lie. The Bureau of Investigative Journalism, in an analysis of that past year, found that 116 CIA drone strikes in Pakistan alone resulted in at least 45 civilian deaths, six children among them. Given the difficulty in obtaining on-the-ground data, the Bureau says it is likely many more civilians died in additional strikes there.
Brennan’s office and the White House refused to respond to the Bureau’s findings. Further, the Obama administration categorizes any “military-age male” in the vicinity of a strike target as a combatant, thereby removing these victims from the official civilian casualty figures. While the carnage of the drone program serves as a recruiting tool for al-Qaeda (in Yemen, with the Predators and Reapers buzzing overhead for weeks on end, terrorists approach survivor families and offer a path for revenge), much of mainstream media has been content to portray Brennan as a civil-liberties-minded member of the administration pushing for reform, in laudatory profiles with such titles as “Hawk with a Heart.”
“Certain violations [of human rights] may be necessary in order to insure against violence and instability,” Brennan wrote in his master’s thesis. “Human rights, therefore, does [sic] not take precedence over all other political goals.”
Killing the Messenger
Journalists who take seriously the mission of a watchdog press have suffered retaliation at Brennan’s hands, according to an internal memo of the private intelligence firm Stratfor. (WikiLeaks began releasing internal Stratfor emails in February 2012; some were published for the first time in conjunction with a WhoWhatWhy article about General David Petraeus.)
A September 2010 Stratfor email with the subject line “Obama Leak Investigations (internal use only – pls do not forward)” focuses on Brennan’s work against the press. This memo, from Stratfor’s vice president for intelligence Fred Burton, went to the firm’s “secure” list for senior analysts discussing continental US matters. While Burton seems at times prone to hasty judgment and exaggeration, he has close connections to the national security powerbase from his long career in counterterrorism and intelligence.
The email reads in full:
Brennan is behind the witch hunts of investigative journalists learning information from inside the beltway sources. Note — There is specific tasker from the WH [White House] to go after anyone printing materials negative to the Obama agenda (oh my.) Even the FBI is shocked. The Wonder Boys must be in meltdown mode…”
The Obama administration has accelerated the George W. Bush-era war on whistleblowers and journalists, a fulfillment of the young Brennan’s call in his thesis for restraining the press to achieve national security aims.
Where is This Heading?
Today’s CIA is an increasingly paramilitary spy agency. Some Brennan apologists have said he favors moving “the bulk” of the Agency’s drone program to the Pentagon (which already has its own drone program), where it would supposedly be under tighter rein. The ramifications of such an inter-agency shuffle, even if it comes to pass, are nevertheless difficult to ascertain.
Brennan hasn’t had time to put his signature on the CIA, but reassurances about his devotion to the rule of law in the espionage jungle are hardly justified, given his career to date. And his early beliefs: as Brennan noted in his 1980 thesis, political stability is a need that “can provide a convenient excuse for any authoritarian leader in any country of the world.”
And Egypt? Near the conclusion of his thesis, Brennan made a bold prediction: “Paradoxically, Egypt appears to be heading in a direction that will eventually lead to an increase in human rights.”
Over thirty years later, Egypt has seen revolution and further turmoil. During the Arab Spring, in January 2011, President Hosni Mubarak blacked out the Internet almost entirely, an unprecedented act of censorship. And his vice president Omar Suleiman, a man who collaborated in torture with the CIA and whom the US once backed as a replacement for Mubarak, blamed journalists for encouraging dissent when pro-government forces assaulted them and burned down an Al-Jazeera facility.
Today, Egypt is in an official state of emergency, amid riots, factory closings, and strikes, including a possible bakers’ strike that could lead to bread riots like those in 1977. This reminds us that the stability promised by Brennan as the payoff for human rights violations just somehow never seems to come to fruition.
[box]WhoWhatWhy plans to continue doing this kind of groundbreaking original reporting. You can count on it. But can we count on you? We cannot do our work without your support.
Please click here to donate; it’s tax deductible. And it packs a punch.[/box]
GRAPHIC: http://www.motherjones.com/files/obama-brennan630x450_1.gif
Where else do you see journalism of this quality and value? Please help us do more. Make a tax-deductible contribution now.
Our Comment Policy Keep it civilized, keep it relevant, keep it clear, keep it short. Please do not post links or promotional material. We reserve the right to edit and to delete comments where necessary. Related print |
I sometimes fancy myself as a sophisticated economist who knows what’s up, wise to all the hijinx and mayhem flowing out of DC. But nope, I am still a little bunny cowering in the corner.
Yesterday I actually hesitated before relating the VA hospital scandal to ObamaCare and socialized medicine more broadly, wondering if that was somehow taking a cheap shot. But thanks to Chris Rossini’s wonderful find, we can see that nope–not a cheap shot at all. Here’s Paul Krugman back in November 2011:
(I’m doing this as a screen shot because I want to get a PNG file I can post on social media.)
This really needs to go viral. This is up there with Krugman’s “Greenspan needs to create a housing bubble” or Yglesias’ announcement to “lay down a marker” on ObamaCare’s rollout success. When the problems coming from ObamaCare and the subsequent overhauls rear their heads–and smug guys like Noah Smith explain it all away with their fancy “models,” telling you common sense is just blind religious faith when it comes to medicine–you keep Krugman’s confident praise of the VA in mind. |
The woman who taught me about boobs, boys, and periods shared sage words earlier this month on the value of books and the ability of children to “self-censor” themselves when reading mature material. If my third-grade experience of the masturbation scene in Deenie is any indication, the Grand Dame of YA is absolutely right.
Blume–whose own novels were banned in the ’80s for their frank depiction of sexuality, racism, and, ick, the human body–said at a public appearance in early June that teachers and parents shouldn’t be afraid of young readers encountering “age-inappropriate” subject matter. Courtesy of The Telegraph:
A lot of people worry much too much about what their children are reading […] A lot of people will want to control everything in their children’s lives, or everything in other people’s children’s lives. If a child picks up a book and reads something she has a question about, if she can go to her parents, great. Or else they will read right over it. It won’t mean a thing.They are very good, I think, at monitoring what makes them feel uncomfortable. If something makes them feel uncomfortable they will put it down.
Her advice, ultimately, is simple but sadly necessary: “I say go and read. Read what you like to read.”
Appropriately, Blume made these remarks just five days before Slate’s controversial “Against YA” article was published. The Slate piece contrasts almost comically with Blume’s words, beginning: “Read whatever you want. But you should feel embarrassed when what you’re reading was written for children.”
Although Blume’s speech and Slate focused on the opposite ends of the age-appropriate spectrum, the natural “self-censorship” that kids are capable of absolutely also applies to older readers. An adult won’t have the same experience of Blubber as someone in its “intended” age range, but that doesn’t mean the story won’t speak to them just as purely. Readers can only understand stories through the lens of our own experiences and thusly unconsciously, in Blume’s words, “read right over” what doesn’t speak to us.
Blume’s “read whatever you want” isn’t a desperate statement on the state of literacy, a plea to “read whatever, because reading anything is better than not reading at all.” Her words are a vote of confidence in the ability of readers to benefit from a well-told story, regardless of its intended demographic: to Superfudge, age is just a number.
(via Boing Boing, image via Will on Flickr)
Previously in take a look it’s in a book
Are you following The Mary Sue on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Instagram, & Google +? |
The Red Sox have officially signed heralded Cuban infielder Yoan Moncada to a minor league contract, the team announced. Terms of the deal weren’t announced, though Moncada reportedly received a $31.5MM signing bonus according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post (Twitter links).
Because Boston had already exceeded its bonus pool for the 2014-15 international signing period, the team will pay a full 100 percent tax on Moncada’s bonus, bringing the total cost for his services to $63MM. On top of that, the Red Sox will now be restricted from signing any international amateur for more than $300K in the 2015-16 and the 2016-17 international signing periods.
Moncada, a 19-year-old switch-hitting infielder, is the most sought-after international prospect in recent history. Said to be a true five-tool talent, scouts have likened his upside to that of Robinson Cano and Chase Utley (in his prime). Prospect specialists at Baseball America, MLB.com, Baseball Prospectus and Fangraphs have all suggested that Moncada would rank in the top five to 15 prospects in Major League Baseball upon signing, which will make him Boston’s new No. 1 prospect. Unlike recent Cuban signings such as Jose Abreu and Rusney Castillo, however, Moncada will likely require at least one season in the minors — possibly two.
Over the past several months, the Red Sox have been one of the primary teams connected to Moncada, although many believed the Yankees and Dodgers to be in a better position to land him, as the Red Sox don’t have a clear long-term need in the infield with Dustin Pedroia at second base and Pablo Sandoval entering the first of a five-year, $95MM contract. (Sandoval, of course, could move over to first base in a few years.) Xander Bogaerts figures to be the long-term answer at shortstop, though the expectation among scouts is that Moncada will end up at second, third or possibly in center field (where Castillo is currently slotted).
As Sanchez wrote last week, the overage tax must be paid to the league in full by July 15, whereas the bonus can be paid out in installments over the course of the next three years. It’s not known at this time whether or not the Red Sox made the best offer, but agent David Hastings did say recently that size of the bonus would not be the sole determining factor in choosing a team. Moncada also had private workouts for the Yankees, Dodgers, Padres, Brewers, Rays, D-Backs, Tigers, Giants, Rangers and Cubs (though the last two would have been ineligible to sign him until July 2, as they had incurred maximum penalties in the 2013-14 international signing period, thereby restricting them in the 2014-15 period).
With this agreement, Moncada has absolutely shattered the previous record signing bonus for an international amateur. That distinction was held briefly by infielder Roberto Baldoquin, following his $8MM bonus from the Angels earlier this winter, and then held even more briefly by right-hander Yoan Lopez, who received an $8.27MM bonus from the D-Backs. The size of Moncada’s bonus will likely come up in discussing the next collective bargaining agreement, as it figures to be a major talking point among proponents of an international draft.
MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez was the first to report Moncada’s deal with Boston (via Twitter). |
Lions drawn at home in the Fifth Round
The Lions beat Watford in SE16 on Sunday and their reward is another home tie in the next stage of the competition.
Championship side Derby held current Premier League champions Leicester to a 2-2 draw in the opening tie of the Fourth Round last Friday and will do battle once again in a replay at the King Power Stadium on Wednesday 8th February.
"I'm very pleased to have been drawn at home again," Neil Harris told millwallfc.co.uk.
"Either team will make for a great Cup tie at The Den. Derby have been in great form in the Championship in the past few months and Leicester are the champions of this country.
"I'll be keeping a keen eye on their replay next week and look forward to what I'm sure will be an exciting game later this month.
"But for now our focus is completely on Walsall this Wednesday."
The Fifth Round tie will be played at The Den between 17th-20th February. Full details, including a confirmed date and ticket information, will be announced when finalised.
Millwall's Sky Bet League One game away to Rochdale, originally scheduled for Saturday 18th February, will be rearranged as a result of the club's Emirates FA Cup progress. A new date will be announced when confirmed.
Tweets by @MillwallFC
Millwall will play either Derby County or Leicester City at The Den in the Fifth Round of the Emirates FA Cup. |
Batman is one of the most famous comic book characters of all time. To celebrate the comic book hero, several artists collaborated and reimagined what Batman would look like in unusual plots and time periods. These artists took the Bruce Wayne we all know and cherished and used their imaginations to put him in different scenarios, drawing him to fit the settings.
Viking Batman
Source
1714 Batman
Source
Actual Bat Batman
Source
Ottoman Batman
Source
Future Batman
Source
Greaser Batman
Source
Actual Dark Knight Undefined
Source
Medieval Batman
Source
Fantasy Knight Batman
Source
Iron Batman
Source
Hank-Batman
Source
Nightmare Batman
Source
Post-Apocalyptic Batman
Source
Vampire Batman
Source
Pirate Batman
Source
Steampunk Batman
Source
Steampunk Batman #2
Source
Batman 2046
Source
Avenging Angel Batman
Source
Titanium Batman
Source
Zombie Batman
Source
Demonic Batman
Source
Batman Beyond #2
Source
Fantasy Batman vs. Joker Wyrm
Source
Streets Batman
Source
Animated Series Badass Batman
Source
Batman Beyond
Source
The Batman by Anthony Jones
Source
Tetsuya Nomura batman
Source
Arkham Knight Render
Source
Batman Knight
Source |
Cesc tells RVP to stay at Arsenal... one year after leaving them for Barcelona
Former Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas has urged Robin van Persie not to follow him out of the door of The Emirates and stay in north London.
Fabregas quit Arsenal last summer for a move to boyhood team Barcelona but has urged his former team-mate to stay put and help them win trophies.
Gunners fans may be slightly bemused by the comments from Fabregas as the midfielder was involved in several summer-long transfer sagas but the midfielder says he remains an Arsenal fan.
Will he stay or will he go? Robin van Persie must decide on his future this summer
He told a Catalan newspaper: 'As an Arsenal fan I would be happy if he stayed in London to help Arsenal win titles.'
Arsenal are facing another transfer saga in their battle to keep van Persie as Manchester City, Manchester United and Juventus are in for him while Real Madrid and Barcelona are watching developments.
Arsenal have offered van Persie a deal worth £130,000-a-week plus a £5m signing-on fee and may hold him to the final year of his contract.
Don't do what I did: Cesc Fabregas has told Robin Van Persie to stay at Arsenal
Ex-Arsenal captain Fabregas also insisted that Gareth Bale - who is on Barca’s wish list - should be seen as a winger rather than an attacking full back even for Barcelona’s cavalier attitude. |
Three years after we first identified the former head of UBS's gold desk in Zurich as someone directly implicated in the rigging of precious metals prices, Bloomberg reports that Andre Flotron, a Swiss resident, was arrested while visiting the U.S., according to people familiar with the matter.
Having been "on leave" since 2014, it appears Andre's hope that he was gone but "keen to return in due time" are now up in smoke.
As Bloomberg reports, Flotron was charged with conspiracy, wire fraud, commodities fraud and spoofing, according to a prepared complaint, and is the second person publicly charged in the U.S. investigation into the fixing of gold, silver, platinum and palladium prices.
As a a reminder, in June, David Liew, a former Deutsche Bank AG trader, pleaded guilty to fraud in federal court in Chicago for his role in the spoofing of contracts for gold, silver, platinum and palladium, according to court papers. Along with spoofing, he also acknowledged front-running customers’ orders.
Flotron’s arrest extends the Justice Department’s examination of whether bank traders conspired to rig interest-rate benchmarks and manipulate currency exchanges.
The probes, which led to guilty pleas and billions of dollars in payouts by some of the world’s biggest banks, also led prosecutors to begin investigating whether metals traders were placing orders without the intent of executing them in an attempt to move prices in their favor, a tactic known as spoofing.
“Flotron and his co-conspirators placed one or more large orders for precious metals futures contracts on one side of the market which, at the time Flotron and his co-conspirators placed the orders, they intended to cancel before execution,” the complaint said.
Swiss regulators have also shown an interest in Flotron, telling him in a2014 letter of a possible enforcement action, two people told Bloomberg News at the time.
It’s unclear whether Switzerland’s Financial Market Supervisory Authority disciplined him.
So it seems another conspiracy theory becoems conspiracy fact.
Thank you Monsieur Flotron for teaching us how market manipulators "trade" gold - Recall from 2013, when Flotron was 'trading', what "a humble block of 2000 gold futs (GC) taking out the bid stack, and slamming the price of gold, managed to halt the gold market: one of the largest "asset" markets in the world in terms of total notional, for 20 seconds" looks like: |
Days after the US and 30 other nations began naval exercises in the Persian Gulf; Tehran has announced it is sending a Russian submarine to bolster its forces in the area.
The Taregh-1, one of three Russian built Kilo class submarines, was sent to the southern port of Bandar Abbas, after completing a refit earlier this year.
The deployment comes as Iran strengthens its naval forces in the region. A destroyer, the Sahand, has also been launched after an overhaul and is expected to be ready for operations in the near future.
The country’s Supreme leader, Ayatollah Khameni, who has command of all military affairs, said that Iran has no intention of attacking another nation.
“The armed forces should be upgraded in such a way that no one will be able to violate the reinforced fortress of Iran,” Khameni said Tuesday whilst visiting a naval base in the northern Iranian port of Noshar.
The Iranian deployment comes two days after US led anti-mine sweeping exercises got underway in the Persian Gulf.
30 countries are participating in the maneuvers and today three British warships joined the armada. Other countries taking part include Saudi Arabia and France.
They are being interpreted as a show of force, warning Tehran not to disrupt vital oil routes in the Strait of Hormuz. 18 million barrels a day, some 35 percent of the world’s oil shipments, pass through the 21 mile wide channel every day.
The U.S. Navy destroyer USS Cole (DDG 67),(Reuters / Sgt. Don L. / USA Marine corps) The U.S. Navy destroyer USS Cole (DDG 67),(Reuters / Sgt. Don L. / USA Marine corps)
Bluster or Bluff?
The UK defense Secretary Phillip Hammond stressed the underlying reason and timing for the exercise: “The UK is committed to a presence in the Gulf to ensure freedom of navigation in international waters such as the Strait of Hormuz, disruption to sailing in the strait would threaten regional and economic growth. Any attempt by Iran to do this would illegal and unsuccessful.”
American officials insist that the exercise is entirely defensive in nature and not directed at any particular country. The US has amassed a large naval presence in the area including three aircraft carriers, with a fourth potentially on its way, which have more air power than the entire Iranian air force.
The drill comes at a very sensitive time for the region amid the diplomatic war of words over Iran’s nuclear ambitions and the threat of Israeli airstrikes.
Middle east expert and author, Tariq Ali, told RT that in the event of an Israeli or US attack, Iran would retaliate by launching offensives on several fronts.
“They are basically saying that they could open new fronts in Afghanistan, they could open up new fronts on the frontiers of Iraq and they could unleash Hezbollah on Israel and so it would not be simply an air war, it would be a war that they would fight on three or four different fronts and the United States is aware of this,” He said.
But he doubts whether the latest round of sabre rattling between Iran and the west means an attack is imminent.
“When the Israelis normally decide to carry out an attack, they don’t announce it before hand; I mean this was the case before they destroyed the nuclear reactor in Iraq. So whether this is still rocket rattling or something more serious remains to be seen,” He said. |
The military remains fixated on training and deploying its soldiers to fight the country’s archenemy, India . It remains ill equipped for counterinsurgency, analysts say, and top officers are deeply reluctant to be pressed into action against insurgents who enjoy family, ethnic and religious ties with many Pakistanis.
In the limited engagements in which regular army troops have fought the Taliban in the tribal areas and sections of the Swat Valley, they not only failed to dislodge the Taliban, but also convinced many Pakistanis that their own military was as much of a menace as the Islamic radicals it sought to repel, residents and analysts say.
In Washington , a Defense Department official who is monitoring Pakistan closely said that the poorly trained constabulary force was sent Thursday because Pakistani Army troops were not available, and Pakistani generals were reluctant to pull reinforcements off the border with India — something American officials have encouraged them to do.
“It illustrates there is a lack of political will in the Pakistan civilian leadership to confront these Pakistan Taliban,” said Senator Jack Reed , a Rhode Island Democrat on the Armed Services Committee who just returned from his fifth visit to Pakistan. “The Taliban sense this huge vacuum that they can pour into.”
Photo
Instead, the military, which is stretched thin in the areas along the Afghan border, has favored negotiations, and the civilian government has acquiesced. “The government is too worried about its own political survival to take on the militants,” the Defense Department official said.
Where it has engaged the insurgents, the Pakistani Army, untrained in counterinsurgency, has become reviled by the civilian population for its heavy-handed tactics, which have cost many lives while failing to stop the Taliban.
At the same time, the police and paramilitary forces have proved too weak to stand up to the militants. In Buner, desperate residents had resorted to forming their own militias, as much to keep out the military as the Taliban. That effort, too, has now failed.
Advertisement Continue reading the main story
Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani said Thursday that the government would review the Swat peace agreement if peace was not restored. “We have to ensure writ of the government,” he told journalists. “We reserve the right to go for other options if Talibanization continues.”
Still, a range of American officials continued to press the Pakistani government for “serious, aggressive” military action, an American official said. The Pakistanis have yet to present a persuasive response to American officials, who are calling regularly for updates.
On Capitol Hill, legislators preparing to introduce a bill to provide Pakistan with $7.5 billion in nonmilitary aid over five years may face a steep challenge.
Newsletter Sign Up Continue reading the main story Please verify you're not a robot by clicking the box. Invalid email address. Please re-enter. You must select a newsletter to subscribe to. Sign Up You will receive emails containing news content , updates and promotions from The New York Times. You may opt-out at any time. You agree to receive occasional updates and special offers for The New York Times's products and services. Thank you for subscribing. An error has occurred. Please try again later. View all New York Times newsletters.
“I have absolutely no confidence in the ability of the existing Pakistan government to do one blessed thing,” said Representative David R. Obey , a Wisconsin Democrat who leads the House Appropriations Committee.
In a sign of the urgency of the crisis, the special envoy for the region, Richard C. Holbrooke , is sending Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton memos several times a day with his latest reading of the situation in Pakistan, an American official said.
Adm. Mike Mullen , chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff , briefly visited Pakistan on Wednesday night and Thursday from Afghanistan , to meet with Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani , the Pakistani Army chief of staff. An American official briefed on discussions said the Pakistani leadership was “very concerned.”
Photo
Buner (pronounced boo-NAIR), home to about one million people, lies in the heart of North-West Frontier Province, bordering seven other districts. Its capture not only advances the Taliban closer to the capital, but also gives the Taliban a vital hub to extend their reach.
The Taliban have already carried out limited attacks and have had a presence, including training camps, in several of the districts bordering Buner, in some cases for years. But on Thursday the militants were seen in several places moving more openly and in larger numbers than before.
More than 30 armed militants entered the Shangla district, east of the main Swat Valley and north of Buner, and were seen patrolling an area around Loch Bazaar, the independent channel Geo TV reported Thursday, quoting witnesses.
Advertisement Continue reading the main story
Government officials also confirmed that militants have been seen in Totali, far south in Buner and close to the boundary with the Swabi district, which lies close to the main highways into the capital.
Armed militants have also been seen visiting mosques and patrolling in Rustam, a town on the boundary between Buner and the adjoining district of Mardan, said Riaz Khan, a lawyer living in Mardan, the second largest town in North-West Frontier Province. “People are anxious and in a state of fear,” he said.
The Taliban were making a concerted push into areas that overlook the capital, lawmakers and government officials in North-West Frontier Province said.
A powerful religious party leader, Fazlur Rehman, who is allied with the government, warned that militants had reached into the Mansehra district, close to the Tarbela Dam, a vital source of electricity to the center of the country.
“If the Taliban continue to move at this pace they will soon be knocking at the door of Islamabad,” he told Parliament on Wednesday, adding that Margalla Hills, north of the capital, seem to be the only hurdle to the Taliban advance.
The Pakistani Taliban, who number in the thousands across the tribal areas and the Swat region, have declared their aim of establishing Shariah rule throughout Pakistan. But for now, their expansion may be opportunistic and their strength sufficient only to establish local fiefdoms, or “micro-emirates of Shariah,” said Christine Fair, a senior research associate at the RAND Corporation.
“I don’t know what the Taliban’s game plan is, but what seems apparent is the state has no game plan,” she said. “The Pakistani state is not able to stop them and they expand where they can.” |
I actually agree with this video and his conclusions.
However: I don't see how this changes what we are really talking about. The NY Times was certainly writing stories (in their politics section) that fit the assumption of Hillary winning. It was largely based off of Nate Silver and other statisticians who were relying on (apparently) faulty surveying methods. But they were the best numbers, the best data, that we had to work with.
do journalism-- eg, look at the facts and then write about them. The polls were real, they were just very, very wrong. I think it's a HUGE problem that the polls themselves were so insanely wrong, I do not think that it's a problem that journalists wrote articles with the information they had available. Now- compare that to Breitbart et al . I maintain that these blogs and outlets were not ever trying to-- eg, look at the facts and then write about them. The polls were real, they were just very, very wrong. I think it's a HUGE problem that the polls themselves were so insanely wrong, I do not think that it's a problem that journalists wrote articles with the information they had available.
Remember, if the poll data was some sort of big conspiracy, how many people would have to be in on it, from all sides of the political spectrum.
Now, for real, test the difference yourself. Pick any issue or current event, and find how the Times covers it, and how Breitbart covers it. Please, I beg you- pick the South China Sea, pick the Obamacare rate hikes, pick us finding Osama.
Or just cruise the Time site and see the breadth of coverage. It's rarely one article on a topic, it's several, and it makes a narrative over time of an evolving story, to look back through older articles.
And yet again-- the Times is not infallible, but at least they try. They really do. The Journal tries, too. A lot of outlets really do. The right-wing blogs are not in the same category. |
Spill closes bay beaches as oil spreads, kills wildlife
Captain Uberti of the Coast Guard couldn't explain why it took over 24 hours to drug and alcohol test the pilot who was leading the container ship. Coast Guard officials said a number of oil skimmers worked to clean up the spilled oil inside and outside the San Francisco Bay Thursday. {By Brant Ward/San Francisco Chronicle}11/8/07 less Captain Uberti of the Coast Guard couldn't explain why it took over 24 hours to drug and alcohol test the pilot who was leading the container ship. Coast Guard officials said a number of oil skimmers worked to ... more Photo: Brant Ward Photo: Brant Ward Image 1 of / 52 Caption Close Spill closes bay beaches as oil spreads, kills wildlife 1 / 52 Back to Gallery
Heavy-duty bunker fuel oil has washed up on beaches throughout the San Francisco and Marin coastlines all day, leaving purplish sheens on the water, ugly black blobs in the sand, and hundreds of injured or dead birds.
Some 9,500 gallons of oil have been contained since a container ship rammed the Bay Bridge and spilled 58,000 gallons of its fuel Wednesday morning, U.S. Coast Guard Capt. William Uberti said this afternoon. But as he spoke, questions were swirling about why it took so long for emergency officials to contain the mess - and who will be to blame for the environmental disaster building by the hour.
Oil began leaking into the water after the Cosco Busan, an 810-foot container ship that weighs 65,131 tons, crashed into a tower of the Bay Bridge's western span in heavy fog at about 8:30 a.m. Wednesday.
Within an hour, six emergency vessels from the Coast Guard and Marine Spill Response Corp. were on the scene, officials said. Yet even by 4 p.m. Wednesday, officials apparently believed only 140 gallons of oil had leaked into the water.
They later learned that the actual spill amount was 58,000 gallons, Uberti said. The new total was not announced to the public until 9 p.m.
Asked why they didn't release the higher spill count until five hours after they learned about it, Uberti said, "We were kind of busy...we were busy figuring this stuff out."
The Coast Guard and other agencies are investigating why the container ship hit the bridge. The bar pilot at the controls, John Cota, and the crew underwent drug and alcohol testing after the crash.
None of those tested had been drinking, the Coast Guard said. Results of the drug tests will not be available until next week, the agency said.
This is the first time in memory that an oceangoing ship has run into the bridge, which did not suffer major damage. The last big spill in the bay was in 1996, when a valve broke on the Cape Mohican ship at San Francisco's southeastern waterfront and dumped 40,000 gallons of heavy bunker oil into a floating dry dock.
By late afternoon, the oil from Wednesday's accident had spread south to Hunters Point and north to Brook Island off Richmond, the Coast Guard said. In the ocean, oil was reported from Stinson Beach to Ocean Beach.
As the scope of the disaster became known, anger and sadness grew.
"It's just heartbreaking," said Sally McFadden, 49-year-old birdwatcher from Larkspur. She went to Kirby Cove in the Marin Headlands to help and was shocked when she saw the oil-slathered rocks and sand.
"This is peak migration season for birds, and all the birdwatchers are excited about it - so it's at a particularly bad time," she said. Voice breaking with emotion, she added, "It's disturbing. These are all beaches that I love and spend a lot of time at."
The state Department of Fish and Game says 26 live, oiled birds have been recovered. Hundreds more are likely injured.
Coast Guard officials said 16 beaches have so far been contaminated and closed off, and large patches of oil are floating on the bay. Beaches closed include including Baker Beach, China Beach, Keller Beach, Point Isabel, Ferry Point, Caesar Chavez, Crissy Field and Fort Point.
Along Rodeo Beach in the Marin Headlands, National Park Service ranger Robert Del Secco kept visitors away from the beach, which is covered in dark clumps of oil.
The pungent oil scent can be smelled around the Bay Area.
Chris Godley, emergency services manager for Marin County, said slicks had appeared in the water near the North Bay shoreline.
One slick, 50 yards long and 20 yards wide, was seen off Paradise Drive in Tiburon. Another was seen in Richardson Bay near Bayfront Park in Mill Valley, Godley said.
Representative from 13 agencies met at Fort Mason to discuss the next steps.
The ship's owners called in a private cleanup company, O'Brien's Group of Southern California, immediately after the accident, Uberti said.
Barry McFarland, incident commander with the company, said that in addition to the fouled beaches, cleanup crews are concentrating on three main sheens of oil in the bay - one west of Treasure Island, a second north of the Bay Bridge and a third south of Angel Island.
Five vessels are in the bay and three are outside the Golden Gate looking for additional oil patches, he said. The company has laid down about 18,000 feet of containment boom, and about 115 people are at work in the field scooping up the oil.
McFarland could not say how long the effort would take.
"It's too early to tell any timeline," he said. "We'll be here for quite some time."
Wildlife officials said finding birds and other animals covered in oil is a high priority.
The spill threatens to coat the birds' feathers, making it impossible for them to stay warm when they get into the chilly bay water, said Dr. Mike Ziccardi, director of the Oiled Wildlife Care Network. The UC Davis program organizes the wildlife aid response for the state Department of Fish and Game. The Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito is also part of the network.
The most common species feeding at the Golden Gate at this time of year include western grebes and scoters.
"The birds' first response is to get out of the water (during a spill)," Ziccardi said. "They have a high metabolism and need to eat frequently. Because they're out of the water, they can't eat. They can become severely debilitated and can die unless brought into rehabilitation."
At the International Bird Rescue Research Center in Fairfield, "we get them warm, we get them rehydrated and we get the oil off of them. The more quickly we can respond, the better it will be," Ziccardi said.
Some of the injured birds are being taken to a recovery station at Fort Mason in San Francisco.
Residents who spot birds covered with oil should call (877) 823-6926. People interested in volunteering should not call this number. Would-be volunteers should check for opportunities at www.owcn.org.
Staff Writer Peter Fimrite contributed to this report. |
What fascinates me about bees is their strict categorization within their species. You’ve got three perfectly structured categories (worker, drone, and queen) and the way you look, and behave is determined by your category. A worker bee can’t become queen, and vice versa. Worker bees are the most hard-working of the lot (hence the name) and Phiaro’s Buzz Helicopter aims at being the worker bee of the helicopter category. Buzz is versatile, and can take on a variety of scenarios. Taking inspiration from its natural counterpart, the Buzz copter has a slender body, and its landing gear resembles insect legs. This gives it agility and allows it to land on any type of terrain, making it one awesome multitasking chopper. Even with its relatively drone-ish size, the Buzz has a cockpit with two seats, making it ideal for executing important missions.
Designer: Ryohei Ikebe (Phiaro Corporation) |
Description
Depth is a multiplayer game which blends heart pounding tension and visceral action in a dark aquatic world. The periods of tension separate combat - which is visceral, chaotic, bloody, and fast-paced. Divers must explore the depths of the ocean for valuable treasure while fending off attacks from ravenous sharks. Shark players stalk and bide their time for opportune windows of attack, lunging in and ripping apart unwary divers.
History
Depth began its life way back in 2009, as a student project built as a mod for Unreal Tournament 3. In the early days of Depth, the premise of the game was very different. There was a large focus on stealth gameplay, and avoidance of sharks. The earliest concept of the game was a single player action/RPG where players would go on dives to bring back valuable artifacts to sell for cash. AI controlled sharks would try to eat them, and a largely defenceless player would be forced to use stealth in order to stay alive.
Between 2010 and 2012, Depth made the transition to Epic's UDK, and became a full-fledged game rather than a mod. The focus of the gameplay remained on stealth, but the single player concept was dropped in favor of a player versus player multiplayer game type. At this time the gameplay revolved around divers finding ways to out-smart shark players so that they could grab loot and escape with it. (Divers won if they got a certain amount of treasure back to their spawn point). The game was a lot of fun to play as a Diver, as it offered a heart pounding stealth experience that was quite unlike any other stealth game. But as fun as it was to play as a diver, it was confusing, and sometimes outright boring to play as a shark. The most common questions were "Where are the divers?", or "Where should I go now"? Nobody really knew how to make the shark experience feel fun.
This wasn't an easy thing to fix, either. It went straight to the roots of the Depth gameplay and affected every part of the game. Consequently, after more than three years of development, the hard decision was made to put the project on indefinite hiatus. There was a sense that the potential of the concept was not being fully realized, and that everyone needed to take a step back from the game and get a fresh perspective on what it was we were trying to accomplish.
Fortunately that hiatus didn't last long, as Digital Confectioners, a team of experienced Unreal Engine developers out of New Zealand took an interest in the game in early 2013. A partnership with the original team was struck up, with the goal of getting the game finished and released.
The gameplay focus shifted towards fast-paced aggressive action, and asymmetrical multiplayer. |
An attorney is a lawyer, but a lawyer may not necessarily be an attorney.
On television, in advertisements, and from our friends, we often hear reference to “lawyers” and “attorneys.” Despite the ease of categorizing these two words as synonyms, they do in fact mean different things. The difference is only slight, but it matters a great deal to state bar associations, particularly in the investigation and prosecution of unauthorized practice of law cases. However, practically speaking, the terms have become interchangeable in the United States.
What do “lawyers” really do for work in 2014?
A lawyer is simply one who is trained in the law. They may or may not provide legal guidance to another. Thus, anyone who has attended law school in the United States can consider themselves a lawyer. However, until they pass the bar exam in the jurisdiction in which they intend to work, the method by which they use their lawyering skills is limited. For example, a policy advisor or consultant to the government, who attended law school, is technically a lawyer and may offer his skills in the course of his work, but he must not cross the fine line into providing legal representation.
Popular Articles:
How to Draft a Demand Letter
The True Value of Law School
What is Legal Tech?
An attorney or attorney at law is also a lawyer. They have attended law school and presumably “practice” the study of law as a career. However, attorneys by definition have passed a bar examination and have been admitted to practice law in the particular jurisdiction. They may go beyond the realm of lawyer and provide legal representation to an individual. The relationship is more than merely providing the factual state of the law and delves into providing strategy for the client’s needs in reference to the law. An attorney can also appear in court and other settings on behalf of a client. An attorney is also a lawyer, but a lawyer may not necessarily be an attorney.
Want to complicate matters more? The term esquire is also a source of confusion in the legal world, thanks in part to its use in the United Kingdom. In the UK, esquire is an unofficial title of respect or honor. It is used not only for barristers and solicitors (two other terms for lawyers/attorneys in Great Britain), but is also an honor bestowed upon doctors and Ph.D. graduates. However, in the United States, esquire has become, almost exclusively, a title used by attorneys. Some states, in the prosecution for unauthorized practice cases, have used as evidence the fact that the a non-lawyer signed documents with “Esquire” behind his/her name in order to hold themselves out to the public as an attorney. However, no court in the United States has ever convicted an individual for unauthorized practice of law merely for using esquire. In cases where the party was guilty and “esquire” was a factor, he was doing other things that amounted to unauthorized practice of law.
Though technical differences exist, practically speaking, only a lawyer would know the difference between lawyer, attorney, barrister, solicitor, or the limits on using esquire. The general public can probably rest easy in a world of synonym, as long as they ensure the lawyer handling the case is also an attorney.
Keep Reading>> |
An Oregon man accused of stabbing a worker inside a grocery store on Sunday is believed to be linked to a woman's murder nearby, officials said.
The man entered the Estacada store Sunday afternoon drenched in blood while holding what appeared to be a human head and a knife, witnesses said. He then proceeded to stab a store employee before other workers joined together to pin him down until authorities could take him into custody, Fox 12 reported.
Around 2:35 p.m., approximately 20 minutes after the stabbing at the store, a 911 caller reported the discovery of a woman who appeared to be dead inside the Colton home. Deputies now say that the incident was linked to the stabbing.
OREGON TOWN FOR SALE
The suspect was taken into custody at the store and was brought to a hospital for evaluation.
“We saw panicking people rushing for their vehicles, vehicles trying to get out all at one time,” one witness at the store told KOIN.
Even after being arrested, the suspect’s car remained running with its windshield wipers still on.
The employee who was stabbed was airlifted to a hospital in critical condition, the Estacada Fire Department said. Despite the connection in incidents, deputies said that there is no outstanding threat to the public.
Click for more from Fox 12. |
In a special one-on-one conversation, Keith talks to award-winning cartoonist MariNaomi about her recently launched Cartoonists of Color database and forthcoming graphic memoir Dragon’s Breath and Other True Stories from 2D Cloud and Uncivilized Books.
Topics covered on the show include:
Why Mari decided to start the Cartoonists of Color database
The idea that people shouldn’t be afraid to write about experiences outside their own
The importance of having diversity in comics and all types of literature
How Mari dealt with the Asian stereotypes in the media she consumed growing up
Mari’s hope that the database will provide people a valuable resource of creators to inspire future cartoonists of color
Mari’s upcoming book tour schedule (including SPX and the Brooklyn Book Festival)
What led Mari to create her upcoming books Dragon’s Breath
and Turning Japanese (which is being excerpted and previewed for free here).
and Turning Japanese (which is being excerpted and previewed for free here). Watch the book trailer for Dragon’s Breath below:
All this and more on Hard NOC Life! Watch it on your screen, hit “play,” and check this.
Watch this space every Friday for new episodes of “Hard N.O.C. Life” and go to our YouTube channel to subscribe! |
So you’re “wired in” working on a WordPress project and you need a function to do something amazing. Chances are that amazing function already exists in the WordPress core.
Doing a quick Google search doesn’t always show the most relevant results for WP functions, however digging into the core is like a gold mine (for nerds). Here’s a list of some of those useful (but often unknown) functions you should be using.
get_post_field
This function is pretty useful if you want to get some data from the wp_posts table, without querying for the whole post.
[code language=”php”]get_post_field( $field, $post_id, $context );[/code]
It speaks for itself.
Codex it!
wp_list_pluck
At first glance it looks to be missing the word chickens, but with that aside, this is an extremely useful function. Let’s say you have an array of objects and you want to simply ‘pluck’ out a certain value from that array (without a loop), and place it into a new array; well, this is that function!
[code language=”php”]wp_list_pluck( $list, $field );[/code]
Codex it!
antispambot
I’m quite surprised how often this isn’t used or is replaced with a third-party library. This function will convert an email into HTML entities to help fight against those pesky spam bots. Simply pass it an email (and an optional mailto parameter) and voila!
[code language=”php”]antispambot( $emailaddy, $mailto );[/code]
Codex it!
checked/selected
You’ve probably seen a fair number of select options with if statements to check if a value is selected or not. Well, WordPress has a function for that (because it’s awesome). These two functions do all the hard-work for you. The example below simply checks if $foo equals 1; if it does, then WordPress will ensure it has the correct attributes.
Using standard if statements
[code language=”html”] />[/code]
Using the WordPress checked function
[code language=”html”] />[/code]
Using standard if statements
[code language=”html”] >1 >2 >3 [/code]
Using the WordPress selected function
body_class
[code language=”html”] >1 >2 >3 [/code]
So before I realised this little gem existed, I wrote a function to automatically add classes to the body tag in themes I was working on, but no more! Not only does this function add pretty much every class you could possibly need, but it also lets you add your own, and it’s filterable! Simply add it within your body tag and job done.
[code language=”php”] >[/code]
Codex it!
human_time_diff
This is similar to the popular Twitter “time ago” functions; just pass the function two time-stamps to be presented with a human readable time difference. Quite useful for displaying when a post was last modified (e.g. last updated 1 hour 30 mins ago).
[code language=”php”]human_time_diff( $from, $to );[/code]
Codex it!
wp_send_json_success/error
A couple of new functions in WordPress 3.5 which save a bit of time (and code) for returning a JSON object. Basically, this is instead of creating an array, encoding it then echoing it. Simple, but effective!
[code language=”php”] wp_send_json_success( $data );[/code]
Codex it!
[code language=”php”] wp_send_json_error( $data );[/code]
Codex it!
wp_remote_get/post
These helper functions make it pretty easy to pull/post data from/to remote sources, with limited effort.
You’d usually write something like
[code language=”php”] $ch = curl_init();$timeout = 5;curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_URL, $url);curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER, 1);curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_CONNECTTIMEOUT, $timeout);$data = curl_exec($ch);curl_close($ch);[/code]
But now all you need to write is
[code language=”php”]wp_remote_get( $url, $args );[/code]
Codex it!
Also see wp_remote_post
get_template_part
This function loads a template part into a template. This is pretty useful for reusing parts of a template, and helps to keep your theme files neat (which is always a good thing). It helps group files together within your theme, such as all files used for the “loop”.
[code language=”php”]get_template_part( ‘loop’, ‘index’ );[/code]
Codex it!
Okay, so it wasn’t exactly 10 functions (unless you count the grouped ones), but I bet now you’re itching to use at least one of them!
I don’t know every function (yet 😉 ), so let me know if I’ve missed any, or if you’ve come across a super-duper helpful function!
Happy coding. |
At right, former Navajo Nation President Ben Shelly speaks on May 12 during the inauguration ceremony for President Russell Begaye, second from right, at the Fighting Scouts Events Center in Fort Defiance, Ariz. (Photo: Daily Times file photo)
FARMINGTON — A Navajo Nation Council delegate is sponsoring a bill that would create a tribal holiday to celebrate the service of tribal chairmen and presidents.
Delegate Davis Filfred, who represents Aneth Chapter in Utah and Mexican Water, Red Mesa, Teec Nos Pos and Tólikan chapters in Arizona, is sponsoring the bill.
It proposes the holiday be celebrated on the third Friday in March.
“It would be appropriate for the Navajo people to set aside a day in March to commemorate and pay tribute to our past, present and future presidents of the Navajo Nation,” the bill states.
Joe Shirley Jr. thanks his supporters after losing the Navajo Nation special presidential election on April 21 at Nakai Hall in Window Rock, Ariz. (Photo: Daily Times file photo)
Attached to the bill is a resolution from the Navajo Housing Authority Board of Commissioners that supports enacting the holiday.
Ervin Chavez, chairman of the board, said on Monday that the idea for the holiday originated from a conversation the board had about the death of Leonard Haskie, who served as interim chairman and interim president from 1989 to 1990.
Chavez said the holiday would offer a way for tribal members to show "appreciation for those who served in that capacity," he said.
In December, NHA held its winter staff meeting and honored former Chairman Peter MacDonald and former Presidents Peterson Zah, Kelsey Begaye, Joe Shirley Jr. and Ben Shelly. They also honored former President Albert Hale, who was represented by his daughter, Sheena Hale.
From left, former Navajo Nation Chairman Peter MacDonald, former President Peterson Zah, Sheena Hale, who represented her father President Albert Hale, President Kelsey Begaye, President Joe Shirley Jr. and President Russell Begaye stand for a photo. The former leaders were honored during the Navajo Housing Authority winter staff meeting on Dec. 22 at the Twin Arrows Navajo Resort Casino near Flagstaff, Ariz. (Photo: Courtesy of Navajo Housing Authority)
There have been 24 elections and 18 individuals who have held the title of chairman or president since 1923, according to Filfred's bill.
The first tribal chairman was Henry Chee Dodge in 1923, and the first tribal president was Peterson Zah in 1991.
The tribe has 13 paid holidays, including Navajo Nation Sovereignty Day in April, Navajo Nation Memorial Day on June 1, Navajo Nation Code Talkers Day on Aug. 14 and Navajo Nation Family Day in November, according to the tribe's Department of Personal Management.
The bill is now available for consideration by tribal lawmakers.
It was assigned to the Health, Education and Human Services and Naa'bik'íyáti' committees and to the council, where final authority rests.
Noel Lyn Smith covers the Navajo Nation for The Daily Times. She can be reached at 505-564-4636.
Navajo Nation President Russell Begaye greets people on Nov. 9 during a live broadcast of "The Today Show" at the Four Corners Monument. (Photo: Daily Times file photo)
Read or Share this story: https://www.daily-times.com/story/news/local/navajo-nation/2016/03/28/bill-proposes-tribal-holiday-honor-leaders/82346128/ |
WASHINGTON — The White House announced Thursday that President Barack Obama will sign a trade bill despite it containing a provision that lumps together Israel and “Israeli-controlled territories.”
Such language, meaning that the bill is applicable to Israel and the settlements, “contravenes longstanding U.S. policy towards Israel and the occupied territories, including with regard to Israeli settlement activity,” White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said in a statement, hours after the measure was approved in the Senate by a vote of 75-20.
Nonetheless, while the president objects to that particular facet of the legislation, Earnest suggested his accepting it, and signing the bill, was part of the nature of bipartisan compromise. “As with any bipartisan compromise legislation, there are provisions in this bill that we do not support,” Earnest said.
Get The Times of Israel's Daily Edition by email and never miss our top stories Free Sign Up
The legislation, The Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015, is part of a package that was presented to the US Congress last summer. It is designed to strengthen enforcement rules, address currency manipulation and bolster efforts to block evasions of trade laws.
But the bill also includes a clause that addresses politically motivated acts to limit or prohibit economic relations with Israel — targeting corporate entities or state-affiliated financial institutions from engaging in the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign against Israel. This clause earned the commendation of the pro-Israel lobby AIPAC (the American Israel Public Affairs Committee).
“The provision puts the US firmly on record opposing BDS and supporting enhanced commercial ties between the United States and Israel,” AIPAC said in a statement Thursday. “This measure builds on the important work of Congress … passing into law firm anti-BDS negotiating objectives for American trade negotiators.”
Within 180 days after the bill becomes the law, the US administration will be required to report to the Congress on global BDS activities, including the participation of foreign companies in political boycotts of the Jewish State. It also includes a number of legal protections for American companies that operate in Israel.
While the Obama administration has long expressed adamant opposition to BDS tactics targeting Israel, there are several references in the legislation to “Israeli-controlled territories” or “any territory controlled by Israel” as being applicable to the terms of the bill.
The conflation of Israel proper with contested territory runs counter to long-standing US policy that settlement activity is an obstacle to achieving a two-state solution, an administration official told The Times of Israel on Thursday. For that reason, the US government abstains from pursuing policies that it sees as conflicting with that objective.
The official stated that the White House seeks to strengthen its economic ties with Israel while at the same time maintaining the policies it considers integral to preserving and advancing the prospect of a two-state accommodation with Palestinians.
Since 1967, the US government has always opposed Israeli settlements and activity associated with them, the official said, also insisting that since the US-Israel Free Trade Agreement was first signed, in 1985, such a balancing act has been a priority of all US administrations, Democrat and Republican alike.
Notwithstanding Obama’s reservations about some of the bill’s language, his signing it is likely to please Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as the BDS provision explicitly instructs US trade representatives to discourage European Union member countries from engaging in Israel boycott efforts.
In recent months the Israeli premier has clashed with the EU while it has moved to label goods that are produced in territory captured in the 1967 Six Day War as being “made in settlements.” |
He's actually the most consistent companion in the game. He likes it when you act like a Super Mutant.
Super Mutants are strong, tough, and face everything head on. This is why he likes you killing things (any things), being tough, intimidating, etc.
But Super Mutants are also brothers with no real concept of ownership. They share everything with their brothers. In this way, strong likes it when you share things with your "brothers" (aka him and your friends and settlers, etc).
Finally Super Mutants are a community. Any Super Mutant is expected to come to the aid of any other Super Mutant without question. Therefore, he likes it when you help your own kind.
In short, Strong respects you when you act like a Super Mutant. And Super Mutants are really angry, tough communists. :D |
The Syrian regime has now almost certainly attacked its own people with chemical weapons . Tens upon tens of thousands have died over the two years of the Syrian civil war, easily making it one of the largest conflicts in the region since World War II. And yet, although Syria is a close friend, if not ally, of Russia, there has been no major military crisis between the former Cold War rivals, no impending clash of the great powers over Damascus; instead, the United Nations is ensnared, as usual, in its own bureaucratic bumf .
Calls for intervention against Syria, particularly in the United States, are met with grim warnings about the difficulties and complications of intervening against a third-string Middle Eastern power. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Martin Dempsey, for example, reportedly confronted Secretary of State John Kerry over striking Syrian air bases. Dempsey told Kerry such an effort would require some seven hundred sorties, and then, according to a report last June , “threw a series of brushback pitches at Kerry, demanding to know just exactly what the post-strike plan would be and pointing out that the State Department didn’t fully grasp the complexity of such an operation.”
One reason these missions might be too difficult is that the United States is still spending too much time, money and intellectual energy preparing to fight a far more important conflict with a far deadlier enemy: global nuclear war with the Soviet Union. We may not be able to suppress the air defenses of a weakened dictatorship in the middle of a massive civil war, but we’re certainly more than prepared to take on the old USSR.
Well, maybe it’s not a plan to fight the Soviet Union, exactly, but the U.S. defense budget and the overall approach to the defense of the United States from foreign nuclear attack still seems rooted somewhere in the 1980s, a relic from the time of Rubik’s Cubes, Rick Springfield, and Ronald Wilson Reagan.
Last winter, Deputy Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter made clear that the two U.S. defense efforts to be insulated as much as possible from sequestration would be Afghanistan and nuclear deterrence . Certainly, the protection of our men and women in the field was a natural and unarguable priority. But nuclear weapons? In Aspen last month, Carter put it this way : “I can't short the people who are at war in Afghanistan. I can't short nuclear deterrence. Submarines have to sail. You can't—we can't be unready as a nuclear force. You know, the presidential airplane needs to keep flying and so forth.”
If the question is phrased in such a binary way—ready or not ready for a nuclear attack—then this logic is ironclad. No one, including me, is arguing for the immediate and complete disarmament of the United States, or for allowing budget cuts to strip the President of the ability to launch nuclear arms. What makes far less sense, however, is the small army of zombie policies that should have died two decades ago but keep lumbering forward against all strategic and budgetary prudence. Take missile defense. Last week, George Lewis noted that the Missile Defense Agency seems to have returned to pursuing boost-phase missile defenses after killing two similar programs in 2009 and 2011. Leave aside the technological issue for a moment, and ask: what purpose would such defenses serve?
The immediate goal would be to try to stop one, or a few, launches from a rogue state. Those efforts are not only unlikely to work, but are politically unworkable as well: no president is going to rely on defenses during a crisis when preemption can lower the potential damage of a rogue attack from “very high” to “nearly zero.” To judge from the MDA’s own slides, however, the effort looks significantly larger, with multiple launches intercepted at boost, again in layered defenses launched from aircraft, and then terminal ground defenses as the last-ditch.
As the MDA prepares for the nuclear defense of North America against the world of 1980, U.S. strategic forces remain on high alert. Arms control advocate Hans Kristensen estimated last June that a “staggering” number of weapons, perhaps as many as 1,800, are ready to go to war in five to fifteen minutes, as though a disabling “bolt from the blue” were still a threat to American security. And despite the strategic reductions in the New START treaty (which itself was written based on the idea that deterrence will be stable as long as Russia and America can both destroy up to 300 cities ), U.S. Strategic Command’s top officer, General Robert Kehler, has suggested that the United States build more, rather than fewer , new strategic-missile-carrying submarines. The Air Force, in the meantime, has begun to float multiple, multi-million dollar contracts on how to modernize the land-based ICBM force.
Amazingly, the land-based ICBM question has already dredged up another bad idea from the 1980s : the plan, once intended for the now-decommissioned MX Peacekeeper ICBM, to base new missiles on rails in the middle of the desert. (Everything old is indeed new again.) And of course, some two hundred tactical nuclear weapons still sit in NATO bunkers, their long-ago intended targets now actually within NATO, while the Russians have a good laugh tweaking Washington about it every so often.
There are some new ideas about how to use U.S. nuclear weapons, of course, and they are almost uniformly bad ones. Perhaps the most startling was Bridge Colby’s suggestion that nuclear deterrence be retooled so that strategic nuclear strikes could serve as retaliation for an “existential” cyberattack—whatever that is—an idea that so far, mercifully, has not gained much traction.
No one seriously expects a nuclear war among the major powers, but we prepare for it anyway, and we pay the price in our budget, our strategic thought, and our diplomacy. While we wring our hands about whether we can handle Syria—which is remarkable given how much time we spend contemplating a far larger war in the Pacific with a near-peer like China—we continue to pour money and deep thinking into preparing for the coming nuclear war, the conflict we escaped during the Cold War but still plan for as if all of our tomorrows are yesterday.
Tom Nichols is Professor of National Security Affairs at the Naval War College and a professor at the Harvard Extension School . His book, No Use: Nuclear Weapons and U.S. National Security , will be released by the University of Pennsylvania Press in November. The views expressed are his own. |
This week, I’m focusing on a single Magic the Gathering deck that you might try at your local FNM, or even consider for the upcoming Standard PTQ season: a spicier version of Jund than you’re probably used to seeing.
What exactly is Snapcaster Jund? Well, it’s quite literally Jund Midrange with Snapcaster Mages. I began with Brad Nelson’s deck that he took to the top four of a Magic Online Premier Event:
Why add another color just for Snapcaster Mage?
I don’t have to tell you that Snapcaster Mage is a good Magic card. But why is it good in Jund?
First of all, the deck is already set up fairly well for Snapcaster Mage. Jund has a wide selection of cheap removal spells that can be flashed back, Kessig Wolf Run to turn the 2/1 body into a late-game threat, and Farseek for mana fixing to make splashing a fourth color trivial.
Snapcaster Mage also makes Huntmaster of the Fells much better. Since you have more things to do at instant speed, you can transform your Huntmaster into a Ravager while still using your mana efficiently. ( Grisly Salvage also helps in this regard.) Snapcaster Mage plus the spell you flashback also conveniently flips your Ravager back again. A normal Jund deck has a much harder time flipping Huntmaster without losing tempo or throwing away cards at inopportune moments.
The sideboard cards also gain a lot from being flashed back with Snapcaster Mage. Duress is a cheap, proactive spell that punishes bad keeps and can absolutely cripple your opponent when cast twice. The first Slaughter Games can be used to name a card that you can’t beat in the short term, while the second copy can be used to name a crucial late-game card (Sphinx’s Revelation against Esper and UWR, or Angel of Serenity against Reanimator). You can also use Snapcaster Mage to turn Slaughter Games into sort of a Cabal Therapy.
No Planeswalkers?
Liliana of the Veil and Garruk, Primal Hunter , are typically there to provide the Jund deck with a source of grindy card advantage and resiliency associated with the archetype, but Brad supports the idea that Planeswalkers aren’t good enough in the current Standard environment. When facing decks that play multiple two-drops on turn two or that reanimate Craterhoof Behemoth on turn four, I’m inclined to agree.
Cutting the planeswalkers opens up five to six slots for Snapcaster Mages and Grisly Salvages – a clean swap, considering how the two groups of cards are at odds with each other. Mana costs of 1BB and 2GGG also become more difficult to achieve once you add the fourth color.
Grisly Salvage is not as tremendous in Jund as it is in a full-on graveyard strategy, but it functions much like Thought Scour does to keep the deck flowing and fill the graveyard with spells for Snapcaster Mage . It can also help dig for a specific card at any point in the game, be it a third land, a blue mana source, a creature, or a Kessig Wolf Run
The first version of the deck that I played looked like this:
Entering the “Win an Uncut Sheet” side event at GP Pittsburgh on Friday, this is what I registered. I expected a lot of Junk Reanimator, so I came prepared with Deathrite Shaman, Syncopate, and Rakdos Charm, in addition to Slaughter Games. I cut a land, since I expected Deathrite Shaman to act as a legitimate mana source when I needed it. I thought that Murder might be a little harder to cast than it would be in a normal Jund list, but I still wanted a solid answer to Obzedat, Ghost Council.
I ended up going 3-3 after losing to three different aggro decks but beating blue decks rather easily. It seemed clear to me that the deck absolutely needed Bonfire of the Damned to shore up the aggro matchup and to sometimes miraculously pull you out of otherwise unwinnable situations.
To help against aggro, the second round of changes I made was to add in Bonfires and switch back to Vampire Nighthawk instead of Deathrite Shaman, as well as to devote a few more sideboard slots to cards like Pillar of Flame. On Sunday at the GP, I played in the Super Series Standard event and started off 3-0-1 before losing to SCG DC winner David Bauer playing Junk Reanimator.
It was a rather disappointing result for the deck, but I did get a good feel for Snapcaster Jund and would play the following list going forward:
Vs. Naya Blitz, RG Aggro, Experiment Jund
+2 Pillar of Flame, +3 Gloom Surgeon, +1 Bonfire of the Damned
-2 Deathrite Shaman, -1 Olivia Voldaren, -1 Murder, -1 Rakdos’s Return, -1 Syncopate
The aggro matchups are when you’ll be happy not to be playing any slow planeswalkers. Huntmaster, Thragtusk, and Wolf Run are generally enough to win once you stabilize, and I might even shave another Olivia to keep in Murder if I see Hellrider or Thundermaw Hellkite.
Vs. Jund Midrange, Naya Midrange, Wolf Run Bant
+2 Duress, +1 Negate, +2 Acidic Slime, +1 Bonfire of the Damned
-2 Deathrite Shaman, -3 Tragic Slip, -1 Abrupt Decay
This is a broad category of decks, but in any sort of midrange matchup, you want to cut some of the weaker one-for-one removal spells and be ready to deal with additional permanents like more planeswalkers. Duress and Negate also help in the battle over X-spells: Bonfire, Sphinx’s Revelation, and Rakdos’s Return. Acidic Slime kills opposing Kessig Wolf Runs and other sideboard cards such as Witchbane Orb, Assemble the Legion, Detention Sphere, Pithing Needle, Underworld Connections, and Staff of Nin.
Vs. Junk Reanimator
+2 Deathrite Shaman, +2 Slaughter Games, +2 Acidic Slime, +1 Bonfire of the Damned
-4 Huntmaster of the Fells, -1 Tragic Slip, -2 Abrupt Decay
Huntmaster is rather poor in this matchup, since they just go over the top with bigger creatures. Olivia and Deathrite Shaman are the key creatures to dig for with Grisly Salvage. Deathrite Shaman is especially important as a mana source, since they will be Sliming your lands. Slaughter Games will generally name Angel of Serenity or Unburial Rites first, depending on which is more threatening and what is in their graveyard or hand.
Vs. UWR Flash
+2 Deathrite Shaman, +2 Duress, +1 Negate, +2 Slaughter Games
-2 Tragic Slip, -3 Olivia Voldaren, -2 Bonfire of the Damned
Sideboarding will mostly depend on their build. Acidic Slime is a possibility if you sniff out any Assemble the Legions; it’s a poor target for their Azorius Charms and can sometimes attack a shaky manabase. Olivia, on the other hand, does not appreciate getting Azorius Charmed and also gets Searing Speared easily, so I don’t like her in this matchup. The Snapcaster Mage version of Jund is better at responding at instant-speed than normal Jund, so you can kind of play at their pace. Slaughter Games on Sphinx’s Revelation, followed by one or two of their creatures, makes it very difficult for them to kill you.
Vs. Esper Control
+2 Deathrite Shaman, +2 Duress, +1 Negate, +2 Acidic Slime, +2 Slaughter Games
-3 Tragic Slip, -3 Olivia Voldaren, -1 Abrupt Decay, -2 Bonfire of the Damned
Your strategy here is mostly the same as in the UWR Flash matchup, but you definitely want Acidic Slime to target their Witchbane Orbs and Nephalia Drownyards. Overcommitting into a Supreme Verdict is also more of a concern, so finding Kessig Wolf Run should be a priority.
With the Standard format currently being dominated by Junk Reanimator, it’s clear that Jund needs to take some steps to evolve. I think that moving away from planeswalkers and adopting the Snapcaster Mage-Grisly Salvage package is a reasonable plan. Deathrite Shaman is an excellent hate card that, unlike others such as Grafdigger’s Cage and Ground Seal, has a broader function and doesn’t interfere with our own graveyard use.
I want to keep experimenting with the flex spots – Undying Evil and Syncopate can be very good at times, but not as consistent and reliable as the rest of the deck is built to be. It’s possible that there should be another Rakdos’s Return or two in the 75 somewhere; the card Performs well, but you don’t really want to draw more than one.
The deck could also use a better name – Blue Jund? Mage-Jund? Help me out!
Alex Bianchi
Gemmanite on Twitter and MTGO |
NESN To Utilize Bonded-Cellular @Home Model to Produce Live Red Sox Spring Training Games
Story Highlights
NESN has announced that it will produce the majority of Boston Red Sox 2016 spring training games by sending multiple cameras feeding back to NESN’s Boston-area studios via bonded cellular technology rather than deploying a mobile unit and satellite/fiber connection on-site. NESN plans to use multiple LiveU LU500 portable transmission units to pilot live “@Home Productions” on the majority of Red Sox home and road spring training Games in 2016 as part of the new production model.
At the SVG Summit in New York City on Tuesday, Joseph Maar, NESN’s VP of Programming & Production/Executive Producer, first announced plans for use of the new @home-production model during Red Sox spring training:
NESN and LiveU successfully developed and tested this new means of remote event coverage last spring during Red Sox Grapefruit League games in Florida and during the summer from minor league baseball AAA Red Sox games in Pawtucket, Rhode Island.
NESN collaborated with LiveU technicians to develop a system that synchronizes multiple LU500 portable cellular transmission units. The production team at NESN’s control room in Watertown, Massachusetts is able to switch between cameras with no significant latency, eliminating the need for traditional production and transmission methods as well as replacing newer, Internet-based processes. NESN will continue to use the high-end HD broadcast cameras and telephoto lenses that are commonplace in professional sports.
NESN’s game announcers will continue to call the game from the ballparks’ broadcasting booths, as all the audio from the venues will be imbedded with the LiveU signals sent back to NESN’s studios. The set-up will include two options for return feeds, including one via LiveU that will allow announcers at the ballparks to see graphics and replays from the Watertown control room.
“We’ve been in continuous dialog with LiveU to develop a more agile method of covering sports from venues not equipped to easily accommodate live productions using traditional methods of connectivity,” says Maar. “LiveU is the standard bearer for live wireless transmission and has proven to be both innovative and attentive to our needs for producing live sporting events from alternative venues such as Grapefruit League and minor league stadiums.”
The LiveU solution for NESN is centered on the LU500, a lightweight, mobile field acquisition unit. The LU500 offers up to 13 simultaneous network links including 6 to 8 internal bonded cellular connections, which provide uninterrupted broadcast quality streaming while capturing content in fast-changing sporting events. The LU500 can be 100% controlled remotely from any computer using the LiveU Central management platform, making it ideal for at-home sports production. In addition each LU500 used by NESN is equipped with wireless LAN technology, providing additional bandwidth when LAN connectivity is available in-venue, regardless of its location in the park.
“At-home production isn’t just the wave of the future, it’s here today. And NESN is one of the first broadcasters to utilize at-home production in professional sports,” said Mike Savello, LiveU’s Vice President of Sales. “Bringing back multiple camera feeds wirelessly as independent IP video streams from any sports venue to NESN’s studios, all
synched together, is what LiveU specializes in. We’re excited to be partnering with NESN on this new workflow for live sports production.” |
« How close to deflation are we? Perhaps just a little closer than you thought | Main | Gauging the inflation expectations of business »
July 16, 2010
A curious unemployment picture gets more curious
UPDATE: One of our eagle-eyed macroblog readers thought something was fishy-looking in the second chart of yesterday's (July 15) post. He was right—the chart was in error. This post is an updated, edited version with the erroneous chart replaced. There have also been some text revisions to better reflect the revised chart. The new text is bolded in this post.
At first blush, the second quarter statistics from the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (commonly referred to as JOLTS and released Tuesday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics) suggest little has changed recently in U.S. labor markets:
"There were 3.2 million job openings on the last business day of May 2010, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. The job openings rate was little changed over the month at 2.4 percent. The hires rate (3.4 percent) was little changed and the separations rate (3.1 percent) was unchanged."
Despite a slight step backward in May, the overall trend in job openings has been positive—Calculated Risk has the picture—but in a sense this fact has just deepened the puzzle of why the unemployment rate is so darn high. As we wrote in the first quarter issue of the Atlanta Fed's EconSouth:
"The disconnect between the supply of and demand for workers that is reflected in statistics such as the unemployment rate, the hiring rate, and the layoff rate can be dynamically expressed by the Beveridge curve. Named after British economist William Beveridge, the curve is a graphical representation of the relationship between unemployment (from the BLS's household survey) and job vacancies, reflected here through the JOLTS."
Since the second quarter of last year, the unemployment rate has far exceeded the level that would be predicted by the average correlation between unemployment and job vacancies over the past decade. Tuesday's report indicates that the anomaly only deepened in the first two months of the second quarter.
(enlarge)
The dashed line in the chart above, which is estimated from the data from 2000–08, represents the predicted relationship between the number of unemployed persons in the United States and the number of job openings. That simple relationship would suggest that, given the average number of job openings in April and May, the unemployed would be expected to number about 10.4 million—not the nearly 15 million we actually saw.
Some analysts have suggested the unemployment benefits policies of the last couple of years may be responsible for abnormally high unemployment rates. Estimates generated by several researchers in the Federal Reserve—here and here, for example—suggest that extended unemployment benefits may have increased the unemployment rate by somewhere between 0.4 and 1.7 percentage points. But even if we accept those numbers and adjust the Beveridge curve by assuming that the number of unemployed would be correspondingly lower without the benefits policy, it's not clear that the puzzle is resolved:
(enlarge)
If you tend to believe the higher end of the benefits-bias estimates, no puzzle emerges until the second quarter of 2010. And, of course, some estimates apparently deliver an even larger impact of the extended benefits policy. Let's call the question unsettled at this point.
The most tempting explanation for the seeming shift in the Beveridge curve relationship (to me, anyway) is a problem with the mismatch between skills required in the jobs that are available and skills possessed by the pool of workers available to take those jobs. The problem with this tempting explanation is that it is not so clear that the usual sort of structural shifts we might point to—for example, only nursing jobs being available to laid-off construction workers—are so obviously an explanation (an issue we explored in a previous macroblog post).
But these sorts of subplots may miss the truly big part of the story. I have noticed a recent spate of articles repeating a theme we hear anecdotally from many sources, in many industries. For example, this from a June USA Today article…
"…the [auto] industry is poised to add up to 15,000 this year and could need up to 100,000 new workers a year from 2011 through 2013.
"…Automakers need workers with more and different skills than in the past on the factory floor.… Among priorities: computer skills and the ability to work with less supervision than their predecessors. That likely means education beyond high school."
… or more recently, this one from the New York Times:
"Factory owners have been adding jobs slowly but steadily since the beginning of the year, giving a lift to the fragile economic recovery…
"Yet some of these employers complain that they cannot fill their openings.
"Plenty of people are applying for the jobs. The problem, the companies say, is a mismatch between the kind of skilled workers needed and the ranks of the unemployed."
Now I realize that a few anecdotes don't make facts, but I have been in more than a few conversations with businesspeople who have claimed that the productivity gains realized in the United States throughout the recession and early recovery reflect upgrades in business processes—bundled with a necessary upgrade in the skill set of the workers who will implement those processes. This dynamic suggests that the shift in required skills has been concentrated within individual industries and businesses, not across sectors or geographic areas that would be captured by our most straightforward measures of structural change.
The data necessary to test this proposition are not easy to come by. That challenge is unfortunate, because the return on figuring out what is beneath those Beveridge curve graphs is very high.
By Dave Altig, senior vice president and research director at the Atlanta Fed
July 16, 2010 in Data Releases , Employment , Labor Markets , Productivity | Permalink
TrackBack
TrackBack URL for this entry:
https://www.typepad.com/services/trackback/6a00d8341c834f53ef0133f24fc5f0970b
Listed below are links to blogs that reference A curious unemployment picture gets more curious :
Comments |
Breaking News Emails Get breaking news alerts and special reports. The news and stories that matter, delivered weekday mornings.
Aug. 14, 2017, 8:43 AM GMT / Updated Aug. 14, 2017, 8:43 AM GMT / Source: Variety
Country icon Willie Nelson had to cut short a concert in Salt Lake City Sunday after suffering respiratory issues.
The 84-year-old singer later took to twitter to tell fans, "The altitude just got to me."
The 20,000-capacity USANA Amphitheater is located in West Valley City, Utah, a suburb of Salt Lake City, with an altitude of 4,300 feet.
Willie Nelson performs during The 2017 Outlaw Festival at Joe Louis Arena on July 8, 2017 in Detroit, Michigan. Scott Legato / Getty Images
The tweet posted after the concert read: "This is Willie. I am very sorry to have to cut the Salt Lake City performance short tonight. The altitude just got to me. I am feeling a lot better now and headed for lower ground."
Texas-born Nelson has recorded more than 60 albums, written songs such as "Crazy," and appeared in more than 30 movies and TV shows.
Known for his honky-tonk tunes and hippie flair, Nelson rose to prominence in the late 1960s and early 1970s. His fame has transcended genres with the release of hits such as “Always on My Mind” and “On the Road Again,” in the 1980s.
Both songs peaked within the Billboard Hot 100, and throughout his career Nelson has had 20 No. 1 hits and 114 chart singles, according to the Country Music Hall of Fame. The Billboard charts rank Nelson as the No. 3 greatest of all time country singer after George Strait and Merle Haggard. |
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – Canada Post is blamed for an embarrassing mistake that affected a prominent local charity. The St. Paul’s Hospital Foundation is ramping up its annual Lights of Hope fundraising campaign, including letters soliciting donations.
Some of them are in Chinese but were addressed to recipients who only speak and read English, including News 1130 Business Editor Richard Dettman.
Broek Bosma, the foundation’s chief development officer, says “It appears the addresses that Canada Post sent to the mail house were in error.” Fortunately, he estimates that only about 100 of the Chinese letters were mistakenly sent out – the total was 22,000.
St. Paul’s will hold a Lights of Hope event outside the hospital on Burrard Street in Vancouver November 24th, turning on tens of thousands of Christmas lights on the historic building. |
Bad science can damage your reputation—as Pons and Fleischmann discovered—and costs companies real money, such as faulty forecasts leading to hundred million dollar capacity planning errors or incorrect analysis causing marketers to advertise in ineffective channels. Verification, Validation, and Uncertainty Quantification (VVUQ) is a framework from the Modeling and Simulation community which can be used to think about the correctness of scientific models. Using this framework will help you have more confidence in your results and avoid costly blunders.
There are two rules of VVUQ:
Provide evidence of correctness for every model and prediction. In the absence of this evidence, assume that the results are false.
In The Logic of Scientific Discovery (1959), Karl Popper argued scientific methodology must focus on falsifiability: you cannot prove that a model is correct—only that you can disprove or have failed to disprove it. Consequently, VVUQ requires that you provide evidence of correctness appropriate for the type of decision you are dealing with. For example: you would provide a different level of evidence for a direct mail campaign than a nuclear reactor because the costs of being wrong are radically different.
This approach is inductive by nature: we furnish evidence to assert that a general condition—the correctness of the model—is likely to be true. This differs from the scientific method, which is deductive and proceeds from general principles, like conservation laws, to specific results, like the Hall effect.
VVUQ, as the name suggests, consists of three steps, according to Verification and Validation in Scientific Computing, by William L. Oberkampf and Christopher J. Roy.
Verification: “solving the right equations” – i.e., check that your code correctly implements the model. Validation: “solving the right equations” – i.e., check that the model is faithful to reality. Uncertainty quantification: “[the] process of identifying, characterizing, and quantifying those factors in an analysis which could affect accuracy of computational results” — i.e., check that possible sources of error won’t confound your results
These definitions may differ slightly for other organizations such as IAEA and MITRE.
Let’s examine these steps in order.
Verification
Start with verification: your mission is to ensure that you’ve correctly implemented the model in code, whether that is SQL or a programming language like Python or C++.
Check Your SQL!
Checking your SQL (or whatever code you use to pull raw data) is crucial. If you assemble a garbage dataset, no amount of machine learning cleverness will make anything better. 70 percent of the people I have interviewed for data-related jobs assume that if their SQL passes explain plan, it must be correct. But explain plan doesn’t cover all your bases. Here are some other things you should verify:
• Check simple cases you can compute by hand
• Check join plan
• Check aggregate statistics
• Sanity check the answer—is it compatible with reality?
Now that you have confidence that you have assembled the right dataset, it is time to verify your code.
Unit Test Your Code
Some people believe that code is correct if it produces a number instead of crashing, or that it’s impossible to test scientific code. This is patently false. You must verify your code—even if it appears to run correctly. It may be hard to test scientific code, but you must make the effort. Numerical code, especially, can be tricky to get right.
There are several ways to test:
• Write unit tests
• Write specification tests that check if different modules interface correctly
• Test special cases
• Test cases with analytic solutions
• Test that you can correctly estimate the parameters from a synthetic data set
Unit tests are a great place to start, especially when combined with Test Driven Development. Whatever language you prefer should have a unit test framework, which will enable you to test your code as you build it. Identifying bugs as you go will let you fix them when they are easiest to correct, and you can automate these tests to ensure that defects don’t creep back in as your team continues to write more code.
For example, it’s easy to implement something as simple as moving averages incorrectly:
Are you off by one index? Is your moving average centered when it should be trailing? These problems are easy to miss if you don’t test. You may think that you don’t have time to test, but you don’t have time not to test!
Build A Pipeline
Similarly, building a good data pipeline facilitates testing and maintenance. Design your pipeline according to the Unix filters and pipes philosophy: each stage should do one thing and do it well, with known inputs and outputs, and be easy to combine with other stages. Then you can intervene between any stage—either to verify that the stage functions correctly or to insert new stages to handle special cases, such as out outliers, cleaning, aggregating to the right grain, and so on. And remember: an interface is a contract.
I also check cases where I know the answer, such as special cases with known (analytic) solutions or where I know the data generating process (DGP). When possible, I generate a Monte Carlo dataset with a known DGP. Then I can check that my estimation strategy can recover the DGP’s parameters. These simulations can also indicate how important finite sample bias and other statistical problems are for your data and methodology.
Validation
After you’ve ensured that your code correctly implements your model, validate how faithful your model is to reality. At this stage, you should worry about:
• What sources of uncertainty could affect your results?
• Do your assumptions hold? When do they fail?
• Does your model apply to the data/business problem?
• Where does your model break down? What are its limits? Where does it have power?
To answer these questions, you:
• Conduct an experiment
• Test the model’s assumptions
• Check for information leakage
• Perform specification testing for the model
Experiment
Traditionally, practitioners run an experiment to check the fidelity of their models.
Popular methods include:
• A/B test
• Multi-armed bandit
• Bayesian A/B test
• Wald sequential analysis
No doubt you’re familiar with some of these approaches. Of these techniques, Wald sequential analysis is worth mentioning because it is not well-known. Use it to test whether you’ve collected enough data to conclude that you know the answer at some pre-specified confidence level or if you need to continue the experiment.
Validate Assumptions
In addition to conducting experiments, you should compute statistical tests to provide evidence that the model’s assumptions are valid. When do they hold? When do they fail? Are the distributions of the features the same in the treatment and control groups? If you’re using linear regression, is endogeneity present, biasing your parameter estimates?
Often data science deals with human behavior; consequently, endogeneity is likely to be present because people will self-select based on their preferences. This selection bias will be present in many datasets you analyze. If you blindly throw all of the features into the black box of machine learning, turn the crank, and trust the results, your model will probably perform poorly on out of sample data because the label and features are co-determined by some unobserved factor. Beware of using endogenous features in your models!
Information Leakage
Sometimes, we must work with data where we don’t fully understand all of the features. In such cases it is particularly important to check for information leakage, where some of the features are derived from the label. One way to detect leakage is to build simple models with each individual feature: if the feature predicts the label well, you probably have leakage. Similarly, make sure you perform cross validation across the appropriate margins of the data. In particular, for time series (and panel data) models, you must split the data temporally and not randomly. In general, beware of any model which performs too well out of the box.
Specification Testing
When working with a classical statistical model, you can also perform specification testing to test whether you can restrict a more complex model to a simpler one. The type of model will determine which test—likelihood ratio, score, or Wald—is best. You can also check for missing variables and incorrect functional form.
In short: experiment, test, and question your assumptions.
Uncertainty Quantification
The final step is uncertainty quantification. Take a step back and think about what factors could confound your results. There are two primary types of uncertainty: aleatoric and epistemic. Aleatory uncertainty arises from inherent randomness in the system, whereas epistemic uncertainty occurs from ignorance about the true data generating process. Epistemic uncertainty is particularly vicious because it includes confounding factors that we aren’t aware of, and hence are not captured by the model.
The current problems with the new San Francisco Bay Bridge are an expensive example of a project which ignored UQ. Most of the bridge design committee ignored the concerns of the engineering-oriented members, and dismissed their concerns about using an untried design for an application for which it was ill-suited. Now Caltrans is spending millions to determine how reliable the bridge is, and to develop a solution post-hoc for bridge parts which are failing prematurely. |
SAP CENTER — The San Jose SaberCats got themselves back into the win column by defeating the Los Angeles KISS 63-35 Saturday night.
It was a battle of new school versus old school, as SaberCats rookie quarterback Nathan Stanley delivered a dominant performance against legendary veteran Aaron Garcia.
Garcia — who holds nearly every passing record in the AFL — continued to struggle while manning the KISS offense, completing just 19-of-43 passes for 281 yards while throwing four interceptions.
Stanley, filling in for injured Russ Michna, had a much better night, completing 25-of-37 passes for 280 yards and seven touchdowns while tossing just one interception.
The rookie’s solid performance was enough to earn praise from Coach Darren Arbet after the game:
“He’s getting better and better every week. It means a lot to him. He comes [early], he’s there until seven o’clock watching film, getting it done. I’m proud of him.”
Receivers Reggie Gray, Jason Willis and Dominique Curry all had 60+ receiving yards, with Gray and Willis catching two touchdowns and Curry leading the corps with three.
After getting off to a slow start in last week’s contest against the Arizona Rattlers, Stanley ignited the offense early by leading the SaberCats on a two-play march to the end zone on the game’s opening drive.
After connecting with Reggie Gray on a 39-yard pass up the middle, Stanley found receiver Jason Willis in the corner of the end zone on a slant route for the first score of the game.
While it was just the first of many scores for San Jose on the night, Stanley spoke of the importance of the opening drive after the game:
“It’s great to go out and score on that opening drive. It gives your offense confidence and kinda makes the defense unsettled a little bit. But I gotta give credit to my O-line, they did a really good job tonight protecting. And receivers did a good job getting open.”
But the LA KISS would rebut with a quick score of their own. After a 39-yard return by defensive back AJ Cruz gave the KISS a short field to work with, offensive lineman Julius Wilson ran in a 17-yard screen pass to tie the game at seven all.
Though each team needed just a combined three total plays to get on the board during the opening drives, both the SaberCats and the KISS would encounter stiffer defensive sets during their second possessions.
The KISS forced the SaberCats to fourth down twice during the drive, but Stanley came up with clutch throws to keep the charge alive. He capped it off by hitting Dominique Curry near the wall, who spun his way into the end zone on a 15-yard reception.
It was San Jose’s turn to step up on defense, as their defensive backs forced deflections and dropped passes to get the first turnover of the game at their 14-yard line.
The SaberCats capitalized on the turnover, as Stanley found Curry in the back of the end zone for his second touchdown reception of the day to start the second period.
It would be the first of seven turnovers forced by the SaberCats defense on the night. DB Simeon Castille addressed the defensive effort by the team following the game:
“As a defense we try to pride ourselves on taking the will and taking the fight out of the other team, and just to create turnovers and give our offense more chances, more opportunities to score.”
The two teams would trade touchdowns again on receptions from KISS wide receiver Donovan Morgan and Willis, who pulled in his second touchdown catch of the game.
But the SaberCats defense would step up big again to force their second turnover on downs with just 40 seconds remaining in the half.
Stanley needed just 30 of those seconds to widen the lead, as Reggie Gray would haul in his first touchdown of the game in the back of the end zone despite being held.
Clevan Thomas would go on to record an interception-his second in two games- on a hail Mary by Garcia to close the half out for San Jose, who went into the locker room up 35-14.
The KISS opened the second half up with strong showings on both sides of the ball. After a questionable penalty gave the KISS a new set of downs, Garcia would find Morgan on a 26-yard bomb in the end zone to cut the deficit to just two scores.
Defensive back Roderick Cohn would put the KISS offense back on the field after picking a deep pass from Stanley near their own 10-yard line for the first turnover by the SaberCats of the game.
The KISS pulled within seven after Garcia completed yet another deep pass in the end zone — this time on fourth down — to Matt Estrada.
Stanley recovered from his pick on the next drive, going on to complete all three of his pass attempts before fullback J.J Payne would work his way into the end zone off the hand off for a 3-yard rush.
The rookie’s ability to recuperate was just one of the veteran-like qualities he displayed during the game. Stanley also looked comfortable in the pocket while going through his progressions, making quality decisions and strong throws.
Though he looked composed, Stanley said he still has ways to go in his AFL career:
“I’ve got a lot to learn, learning every day. But I try to shake the rookie feeling off … It’s good to have these kind of games. Defenses kinda take that edge, get a little boost when they hear they’re going against a rookie QB so it’s good for me, good for my confidence to have these kinds of games.”
Thomas opened up the fourth quarter for the SaberCats on a strong note by recording his second interception of the night early in the frame.
The pick would come back to haunt Los Angeles as the SaberCats converted the turnover to points after Reggie Gray brought down a 21-yard touchdown pass, his second of the night.
The KISS refused to go quietly though, mounting a late fourth-quarter comeback that began with Morgan recording his fourth touchdown catch of the game with just under six minutes to go in the game.
Los Angeles quickly got the ball back after Payne fumbled the ball near the goal line. But Castille would drive the nail in the coffin by intercepting Garcia on two consecutive possessions, returning one for a touchdown in the final minutes.
Although his two picks are sure to give Garcia nightmares, Castille had nothing but praise for the veteran:
“Obviously AG is one of the best in the business. He’s been doing it forever. … When I first got in in 2012, everybody was talking about Aaron Garcia and how good he was, and he’s lived up to his reputation.”
The SaberCats look to start a new win streak as they take on the Spokane Shock next Saturday at SAP Center at 7:30 p.m. |
Discarded by Muscat at the end of last season, the 35-year-old says he has no point to prove to his former coach, teammates or supporters when he makes his return to Etihad Stadium wearing Brisbane Roar colours on Saturday night.
Ben Khalfallah had a somewhat acrimonious exit from Victory.
The Tunisian was frozen out of first-team action for three weeks earlier this year and was at loggerheads with Muscat as he approached the trigger-point in his contract which would have earned him an automatic one-year extension.
He eventually returned to the fold and played out the rest of the regular season and finals campaign before he was released.
But Ben Khalfallah admits he didn't even check the fixture after signing for Brisbane to see when his first game against Victory would be.
"It's just another game, three points," Ben Khalfallah told AAP.
"I know what I'm capable of and it wasn't Victory, the coach decided that.
"I think the people wanted me to stay but Kevin made a choice and that's it. I understood.
"I have a lot of friends there and people I respect, like the chairman. I still talk to them.
"I might go back (to Melbourne) after my career. But now I'm with a different team and that's it.
"I don't have to prove anything, I just want to play my best football and enjoy it."
Ben Khalfallah missed a large chunk of the pre-season due to a calf injury and while he no longer possesses the pace he once had, he has produced flashes of his best form over the first five rounds, and has proved particularly dangerous over the dead ball.
He said he was delighted with life in Brisbane, describing it as a major change of pace compared to Melbourne.
"As long as I'm happy, I think I can be good and I am very happy here," he said.
"John (Aloisi), Ross and the staff, it's all very good. It's exactly what I wanted.
"I can't complain. It's awesome. Every day, to wake up and it's sunny.
"There's no traffic, people are more relaxed, more chilled. I like it. My family's happy and I'm in a good club with good people."
Both Brisbane and Melbourne are still searching for their first win of the season. |
Todd Defren, a principal at SHIFT Communications, recently blogged about The Next 50 Years of Public Relations on his PR-Squared blog. In his post, he suggests when people talk about the death of PR, they’re really talking about the death of media relations. We share similar opinions on how media relations has changed over the past decade. We also share a pet peeve for generalization of the term “public relations” when referring to “media relations”. There are a lot of people that still don’t understand public relations is about a lot more than press junkets, press releases and press clips. And don’t get me started on the use of the word “press” when talking about these things.
Todd and I both seem to agree that there will still be a role for media relations under the public relations umbrella, but based on this post, I think I might see the role as more significant. While mass media relations is no longer effective at getting the word out, no organization will be able to survive without media relations experts on staff or under contract. We’re rapidly moving to a one-to-one media relations environment, where it’s more challenging than ever to manage relationships with reporters, bloggers (professional and amateur), and everyone else. And then there is all the social media stuff that keeps most communication professional up at night. I see monitoring playing a more significant role in media relations, because organizations are finally starting to realize they need to talk and listen, but it will still be media relations professionals operating in the middle ground between the media and your spokespeople responsible for getting the word out.
To take things a step further, I think we’ll continue to see an increased focus on direct-to-consumer communications, where communications professionals bypass traditional media alltogether. Similarly, media professionals will increasingly go direct to the source, rather than work through a media relations intermediary. Organizations will still rely on communications strategies to deal with these publics (audiences), which will still be the job of media relations professionals.
While I’m basing this post on my initial reaction on a single post, I think we’re on the same page here. I think Todd’s closing thought sums things up best, “The Next 50 Years Will Be Better Than The Last 50 Years.” Though, I think the public relations industry as a whole will see far more change in the next five years than we have in the past 50. Either way, when all the “media relations is dying” talk dies down, I think we’ll see the practice emerge stronger than ever.
(Photo Credit: tifotter Tiff) |
There's more to the cost of the failed merger. In June, Aetna floated $13 billion in bonds to fund the merger. It was the third-largest bond deal of the year up to that point, at interest rates ranging from 1.9% to 4.375% a year. The bond issuance cost Aetna $82.5 million in commissions and fees, according to the bond prospectus. On Tuesday, the company said it would buy back all the bonds at 101% of their face value, with the 1% premium costing $130 million. The company also owes interest from June to mid-March, when the repurchase will be done, which we figure will come to about $304 million. Total bond expenses: more than $500 million. Aetna said it would cover the redemptions out of a $500-million note issue floated last June. |
The Power Side
01 - Ananda (RAZ Remix) (145 BPM)
02 - Due To The War (144 BPM)
03 - Halloween (145 BPM)
04 - In Gods Hands (144 BPM)
05 - Randomized (144 BPM)
06 - Remains Of War (144 BPM)
07 - People Are Animals (RAZ Remix) (145 BPM)
08 - Twisted Fairytale (144 BPM)
09 - I Wish I Had A Time Machine (144 BPM)
10 - Solitude Brought The Best Of Me (140 BPM)
11 - First Lesson Is About Emotion (144 BPM)
12 - We Crash Into Each Other (144 BPM)
The Other Side
13 - Intro (144 BPM)
14 - Dismental (144 BPM)
15 - Fantasia (145 BPM)
16 - Ancient Story (144 BPM)
17 - Infinity In Your Head (144 BPM)
18 - Journey Into The Past (145 BPM)
19 - No Beat No Music (144 BPM)
20 - Octavia (144 BPM)
21 - Age Old Symphony (144 BPM)
22 - Wide Awake (144 BPM)
23 - Notes (96 BPM)
24 - Down Memory Lane (97 BPM)
25 - Look Up Into The Sky (80 BPM)
26 - Outro (60 BPM)
RAZ is Raz Kfir from Israel, and his debut double album Twisted Fairytale, originally released on Sundance Records in 2007, offers us a different perspective on powerful melodic psytrance. Filled to the brim with power, ecstatic emotion, rich melodies, brooding atmospheres, and fat bass lines, this album oscillates between uplifting and sinister moods, producing an apocalyptic “the world is ending” vibe. RAZ chose to release a double album so he could showcase all his sides of musical expression. On both discs you can expect a full power melodic journey, complete with live guitars, finishing with emotional freestyle tracks. Get ready for this musical journey that will leave you begging for more. Mastered @ Raz Studio, Israel, with artwork by Farbo, Mexico.
MP3 Download | FLAC Download | WAV Download · Download count: 8,268.
Re-released under a Creative Commons licence for noncommercial usage with the full authorization of the rights owner. Find RAZ on Facebook and SoundCloud.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser. Be sure to activate Flash in your browser; it is usually disabled by default in Chrome and other modern browsers. |
I put out a man's eye once. He was the abusive boyfriend of a friend and we knew he'd never be caught. So we burned down a candle, formed the shape of a man, carved his initials into it, stuck pins in it and buried it. Next time I heard about him he'd lost an eye clean out of his head.
I call that anecdote The Eye of Natural Justice. I've always been a believer in psychic stuff. I have prophetic dreams, read Tarot cards and spend hours on horoscope sites. I'm not alone in my fascination: Hilary Mantel's novel, Beyond Black, examines the illusions and inspirations of maybe-fake psychics, as does AL Kennedy's stunning The Blue Book. I don't think it's magic, I think it's deep intuition. Humans emit a strong unspoken charge and "leak" information through body language.
Or maybe the power of the psychic mind comes from Google. TV psychic Sally Morgan is accused of being fed information after people claimed to have overheard her researchers at a live event. I admit, some of my paid readings have been dodgy. A lady looked at my trainers: "I'm focusing on your feet. Do you do a lot of sports?"
Another woman enjoyed a racist rant: "Asian families, the woman's useless and the man, well, he just owns a shop." A chap swigged from a bottle and slurred: "It's only squash but I wish it wasn't. Now what I'm getting from you is a very feminine energy. You're fitter than a butcher's dog, you." Then he told me that I'd choose between two men. Because that's what a woman is, a dog running between sausages.
If any psychics are reading this (or intuiting it from the ether) and want to complain, be warned, I've got my wax handy.
Update: On 20 June 2013 Sally Morgan successfully settled her libel action against publishers of the Daily Mail, who withdrew the suggestion that she used a secret earpiece at her Dublin show in September 2011 to receive messages from off-stage, thereby cheating her audience, and accepted that the allegation is untrue. Her statement can be found here. |
When a spaceship full of hairy people crashes on an unknown planet, it's not enough that the surviving members look a lot like the Starland Vocal Band (it is a help, of course, but not sufficient for their survival). They must forge off on a non-stop mission of wandering around doing nothing in particular, not saying anything particularly noteworthy, and not looking particularly attractive or interesting. However, they do provide a tasty and nutritious snack for some pretty sweet looking stop-motion dinosaurs! Their routine deaths become a challenge to their intrepid captain, who prefers to rule by whining, equivocation and frequent "rest periods." This leaves him vulnerable to a coup by the crew's most hirsute member, Jim, who presses the enormous advantage provided him by what looks like a beard made out of 2-dollar-a-yard fun fur.
Kevin, Bill and Mike sharpen some sticks, put on their least smelly animal furs and prepare to poke at the Planet of Dinosaurs. |
VIRGINIA BEACH — The Tidewater medical examiner issued the cause of death Monday for a 96-year-old woman who was taken from her Virginia Beach home by Adult Protective Services in December.
Irene Muriel McLean died on Jan. 10 from exhaustion caused by malnutrition and “failure to thrive” due to Alzheimer’s, as well as cerebral amyloid angiopathy, which causes protein deposits to develop on the walls of blood vessels in the brain, according to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.
McLean also had multiple rib fractures, which contributed to her death, according to the OCME.
The “manner of death” was undetermined, the OCME report stated.
McLean’s death at Sentara Nursing and Rehabilitation Windermere came a little less than a month after she was taken by ambulance from her home in the 900 block of Tigertail Road.
McLean lived with a family member who also had power of attorney. She was removed from the home on Dec. 14, 2016 after an APS worker visited her, according to documents filed in Virginia Beach Circuit Court.
The worker discovered McLean covered in bruises and skin tears, with crusted eyelids, soiled clothes and feces under her fingernails. McLean also had bed sores on her hip, left foot and behind her knee. In some areas, bone or tendon was exposed, court documents state.
A doctor who examined McLean told police she suffered “multiple skin ulcers from abuse or neglect” which showed “neglect for more than three months.”
Now, police are trying to determine whether neglect contributed to her death.
Her relative, who had custody of her since October 2015, told police that McLean hadn’t seen a doctor since an April 2016 visit to a Henrico County Patient First office.
Southside Daily has chosen not to disclose the names of McLean’s family members, including those who interacted with her in the years before she died.
When contacted by a Southside Daily reporter about McLean’s cause of death, the family member she was living with declined to comment.
A group of McLean’s close friends living in her old hometown of San Francisco learned about her death in March via the Southside Daily article published in February.
These same friends hadn’t heard from McLean in nearly four years since she moved to Virginia.
McLean had lived in California for most of her life. During her last few days in California, some friends visited her and met her family. They gave her relatives their contact information and were comforted by promises that the family could have McLean call them when she got to Hampton Roads.
But a call never came. For a while, McLean’s friends tried to call her. Occasionally a family member would answer, but they never put McLean on the phone. They would tell McLean’s friends that the woman was doing well and swimming every day.
After several failed attempts to reach her, McLean’s friends gave up. They figured she didn’t want to talk to them or that the family was trying to protect her from becoming homesick.
Her friends said that she was a financially capable woman who could have afforded professional care. Her house sold for in 2014, the home was sold for a little more than $1 million, according to property detail documents provided by McLean’s friend Jean Mastagni, a realtor.
She also lent a friend named Steve Kovacs and his brother, John, $200,000 between 10 and 15 years ago. In November 2015, Kovacs made arrangements with one of her family members to pay the debt off after that relative proved he had McLean’s power of attorney.
The relative she’d been living with would have been one of two heir’s to McLean’s estate, according to friends. McLean had no children of her own.
Another friend, Randa Pratt, said that McLean intended to leave her estate to her Hampton Roads relatives because she had no children.
“Irene had no children, so people leave money to their bloodline,” Pratt said
The Virginia Beach Police Department declined to comment on the case.
Mayfield can be reached at [email protected]. |
GIZAB, AFGHANISTAN -- The revolt of the Gizab Good Guys began with a clandestine 2 a.m. meeting. By sunrise, 15 angry villagers had set up checkpoints on the main road and captured their first prisoners. In the following hours, their ranks swelled with dozens of rifle-toting neighbors eager to join.
Gunfights erupted and a panicked request for help was sent to the nearest U.S. troops, but the residents of this mountain-ringed hamlet in southern Afghanistan held their ground. By sundown, they managed to pull off a most unusual feat: They kicked out the Taliban.
"We had enough of their oppression," Lalay, the one-named shopkeeper who organized the uprising, said in recounting the late April battle. "So we decided to fight back."
U.S. diplomats and military officials view the rebellion as a milestone in the nearly nine-year-long war. For the first time in this phase of the conflict, ordinary Afghans in the violence-racked south have risen on their own to reclaim territory under insurgent control.
It is a turnabout that U.S. and Afghan officials were not certain would ever occur. One U.S. commander called it "perhaps the most important thing that has happened in southern Afghanistan this year."
Although Gizab had long been used by the Taliban as a rest-and-resupply area for fighters traveling to battlegrounds in Kandahar and Helmand provinces, losing access to the area represents at best a tactical blow for the insurgency. It will not, by itself, change the course of the war. There is no indication that the defeat will have any immediate effect in violence-plagued areas such as Marja or the city of Kandahar.
But U.S. officials say they have heard concern voiced by Taliban commanders on intercepts of telephone conversations. Several rank-and-file fighters, and even a few mid-level leaders, have put down their weapons and reintegrated into the community. Residents of neighboring towns have told Gizab elders that they also want to rise against the insurgents.
"The Taliban thought this place was untouchable, and what the people here showed them -- and everyone else -- was that they could stand up and break free from that grip," said Brig. Gen. Austin S. Miller, the top U.S. Special Operations commander in Afghanistan. One of his Special Forces teams moved here after the uprising to train the self-appointed local guardians, whom the American troops christened the Good Guys.
The insurrection did not draw immediate attention in Kabul or Washington because Gizab is in a remote part of the country that has largely been ignored by the Afghan government and international military forces. But as word of what occurred here has trickled out, U.S. and Afghan officials have scrambled to understand how it started and how it can be replicated.
Conversations with Gizab leaders and Special Forces officers suggest that there was no single proximate cause. The uprising appears to have been the result of a combination of Taliban overreaching, U.S. encouragement and local resentment.
"We're looking for the patterns," said a State Department official in southern Afghanistan. "If we can find it, we'll be on the verge of a breakthrough."
People's revolt
The first wave of Taliban commanders moved into Gizab in 2007. The residents were initially acquiescent, and unemployed young men in the area were eager to sign up as fighters for hire. The police's presence was nonexistent. |
It’s become a fact of American life that girls are better than boys at school. They get better grades. They’re suspended less. For every generation since the boomers, women have been more likely than men to earn high school and college diplomas.
In fact, girls are pretty much the only reason the high school graduation rate went up in past 40 years, according to calculations by Harvard economist Richard Murnane. The male high school graduation rate has been stuck at 81 percent since the 1970s, while the female graduation rose from 81 percent to 87 percent.
Women have been so persistently superior it is perhaps time for a new stereotype about the sexes — girls as bookish mavens like Lisa Simpson; boys as goof-offs like Bart.
There are many theories for this widening academic achievement gap, but first, here’s another observation that might shed some light: The differences between boys and girls are largest among the most disadvantaged children. Socioeconomic status does not entirely explain the gender gap. Even well-off boys struggle to compare to well-off girls. But a tough upbringing sets boys back much farther.
There’s something about growing up with a single mother, growing up in poor neighborhoods and attending low-quality schools that hurts boys much more than it hurts girls.
“It’s well known that young women have surpassed young men in schooling,” says MIT economist David Autor, “but what struck us was that these gaps vary so much across race and socioeconomic status.”
Recently, Autor and his colleagues analyzed the records of over a million Florida children born between 1992 and 2002 who attended in-state public schools. They wanted to figure out what was ailing America’s boys, and why girls seemed so resilient.
It’s been well-documented, for instance, that boys have more behavioral problems in class — so are disciplinarian schools to blame? Crime and gang activity tend to sweep up boys more often than girls — so are bad neighborhoods to blame? Many of the poorest boys and girls grow up in single-mother households — so are absent fathers to blame?
To untangle these contributing factors, Autor and his colleagues — David Figlio and Krzysztof Karbownik of Northwestern, Jeffrey Roth of the University of Florida and Melanie Wasserman of MIT — pieced together birth and school records, combining them with information about neighborhoods and school quality.
They found that boys start to fall behind girls at an early age. They are less likely to be kindergarten-ready according to a state checklist of skills — less likely to identify letters of the alphabet, less likely to be able to communicate their needs. The differences are most dramatic among children who are black and those from disadvantaged households.
The researchers didn’t have data on family income directly, but they knew the mother’s education level, her marital status, as well as whether the father claimed his child on the birth certificate. These factors are important predictors of the quality and richness of a child’s home life. They also knew which children were siblings, so they could use brothers and sisters to control for the quality of the home environment.
On average, about 83 percent of Florida students were kindergarten ready. Among the children with the best household circumstances, there was a gender gap of about 2 percentage points. Among children with the worst household circumstances, the gap was much larger. Boys in broken families were 8 percentage points less likely than girls to be kindergarten ready.
When family characteristics and neighborhood income were controlled for, white boys in Florida were 5.5 percentage points less likely than white girls to be kindergarten ready. The gap between black boys and girls was significantly wider, at 8.4 percentage points. Why were black boys so much worse off? The researchers calculate that about half of these racial differences are explained by the fact that boys are more sensitive to family disadvantages than girls.
As the kids grew up, boys continued to lag behind girls — and the gender gap was consistently bigger among the worst off. The pattern shows up in the rate of absences and suspensions, in standardized test scores, in criminal records, all the way through high school graduation. In a recent draft of their paper, the economists provide charts of the boy-girl gap in some of these measures.
For instance, chart B shows that among children born to high-school dropouts, boys are 10 percent less likely than girls to graduate high school on time. The gender gap is half that among children born to college graduates. Or look at test scores in chart C. Among children born to married parents, boys outscore girls. Among children born to fathers who didn't claim them on their birth certificates, girls beat the boys.
Together, these charts tell a story: When boys and girls face adverse circumstances, boys suffer more. An important question is how much of this is caused by factors outside the home. Families with low socioeconomic status tend to be headed by single mothers, and they tend to live in rougher neighborhoods with lower quality schools.
Harvard economists Raj Chetty, Nathaniel Hendren and Larry Katz have shown that giving poor families vouchers to move into better neighborhoods has big effects on their young children, who grow up to earn 30 percent more than the peers they left behind. Based on the observation that some neighborhoods give children a much better shot at moving up the income ladder, Chetty and Hendren have developed measures of how different places have different levels of economic opportunity.
But when Autor and his colleagues plugged in the data on neighborhood and school quality (Florida grades its schools A-F), they found that these factors didn’t help much in explaining why poor boys are worse off than poor girls. Only about 20 percent of the effect of socioeconomic status on the gender gap could be blamed on bad schools and bad neighborhoods (school quality being relatively more important). In other words: Bad schools and bad neighborhoods harm boys somewhat more than girls. But these are not the main culprits for the gender gap.
Instead, the problem for boys — and the biggest reason they fall behind their female peers and sisters — is their family situation: the family’s income, the mother’s education, the presence or absence of a father, and so forth.
Why are broken homes so much worse for boys than girls? It may be that boys naturally need more nurturing.
“There’s a lot of studies that show boys have trouble with what we call soft skills,” Autor said. “They're more impulsive, they have more trouble containing themselves. It takes a lot of work help boys overcome those behavioral traits. Where do they learn that? It starts with families, with parents role-modeling good behaviors.”
Because of their tendency to act out, boys may be in particular need of parental guidance — but because poor families also tend to be single-parent families, mom or dad time is a scarce resource. A 2015 study from economists Marianne Bertrand and Jessica Pan showed that boys are particularly at risk when they grow up in single-mother households. When boys don’t get enough parental attention, they misbehave. Girls, in contrast, are less likely to misbehave regardless of how much time parents spend with them.
The phenomenon of female advantage in school is not unique to the United States. In other wealthy countries there is also a gender gap between high school graduation rates. The pattern is consistent, as this chart of male and female graduation rates from the OECD shows. From Korea to Sweden, girls are slightly more likely to finish high school than boys.
The latest research from Autor and his colleagues shows that early-life adversity causes boys to struggle much more than girls. It's not yet clear why girls are so tough, but they seem much better suited to the challenges of modern childhood. The gender differences are minimal in households with resources — but among poorer families, boys systematically fall short of their sisters and female peers. This pattern implies that if income inequality continues to worsen, the gender inequalities will worsen, too. |
Two SPARCstation 20 workstations stacked to show the front and back sides, a typical "pizza box" case
An SGI Indy
In computing, a pizza box is a style of case for computers or network switches. Cases of this type tend to be wide and flat, normally one or two rack units (1U or 2U, 1¾ or 3½ inch, 4.4 or 8.9 cm) in height, thus resembling pizza delivery boxes.
The Data General Aviion Unix server was advertised in 1991 with the tagline "Who just fit mainframe power in a pizza box?",[1] but most computers generally referred to as pizza box systems were high-end desktop systems such as Sun Microsystems workstations sold in the 1990s, most notably the SPARCstation 1 and SPARCstation 5. Other notable examples have been among the highest-performing desktop computers of their generations, including the SGI Indy, the NeXTstation, and the Amiga 1000, but the form factor was also seen in budget and lower-end lines such as the Macintosh LC family.[2]
NeXTstation slab or pizza box workstation (2.52"/6.4cm high) sits flat under a 17"/43cm CRT monitor, 1990
The original SPARCstation 1 design included an expansion bus technology, SBus, expressly designed for the form factor; expansion cards were small, especially in comparison to other expansion cards in use at the time such as VMEbus, and were mounted horizontally instead of vertically. PC‑compatible computers in this type of case typically use the PCI expansion bus and are usually either a) limited to one or two horizontally placed expansion cards or b) require special low-profile expansion cards, shorter than the PCI cards regular PCs use.[3]
The density of computing power and stackability of pizza box systems also made them attractive for use in data centers. Systems originally designed for desktop use were placed on shelves inside of 19‑inch racks, sometimes requiring that part of their cases be cut off in order for them to fit. Since the late 1990s, pizza boxes have been a common form factor in data centers or industrial applications where rack space and density are critical. Servers in this form factor, as well as higher-end Ethernet switches, are now designed for rack mounting. Rack mount 1U computers come in all types of configurations and depths.
The pizza box form factor for smaller desktop systems and thin clients remains in use, though it is increasingly being superseded by nettops or All-in-One PC designs that embed the already size-reduced computer onto the keyboard or display monitor. |
The following is what takes place when a local creeper attempts a home invasion on a veteran of the 82nd Airborne. This guy was in my house earlier this week in the middle of the night on Veteran's Day. My neighbor saw him and when we checked the security cameras sure enough, there he was.That night somehow my door was unlocked he actually made it inside (to get high) all night where it is warm I presume. Then left in the morning. In the area of my home he was in I keep some very expensive camera gear for my business. I had a feeling that now that this guy knew that stuff was down there that he would be back.I installed motion sensors and door chimes immediately and sat on edge... it only took 2 days for him to return but this time after finding the bottom door locked, he just made his way around my house to attempt to gain entry upstairs (where my GF and dog are). Once I told him he wasn't coming in, and wasn't leaving till he talked to the police he struggled to get away and tried a huge haymaker on the porch and ate an uppercut for his troubles.(off camera) He was just about "out" on the porch but I realized I wanted anything that happened to be on camera so I drug him down the stairs. The rest can be seen on camera...Kudos to the Seattle police as they were here instantly and treated everyone involved with what seemed like "protection" and "service" - not a huge fan of cops but these guys were GREAT! The police report states: "assailant attempted an assault to break free. He lost."(more to follow)(EDIT)The local news just left after doing a full story apparently, So I will update with that when the time comes. For the record, I saw this guy on camera 2 nights before so I felt like I could be confident in a tussle with him if needed. I absolutely ran RIGHT past my AR to go outside and confront this dude. I never intended to hurt him but he would rather hurt me then wait on the cops to arrive so he got what he got. For everyone saying "you should have shot him", I would consider shooting someone in a liberal state like Washington to be FAR MORE high risk then tussling with a druggy. You will notice when we went to the ground I did not try and hurt him I just wanted to keep my knees in his armpits so he couldn't reach for his waistline. Once it became an honest struggle (with him getting an arm free) the left elbow came. Notice his leg shot straight out after the elbow. I could have "rained" elbows from the start and chose not to for all the people calling for more restraint.(EDIT)also,It's so funny how everyone points out how overly risky, overly bravado, and overly confident I was. That is why I included the paratrooper bit in the title. Nothing about jumping out of a plane to get to combat faster implies forethought or prudence of thought. Paratroopers are all about bravado over brains, it's in our genes so save your insults and try to keep up.(EDIT) For idiots like vampire... I know it is your "shtick" to pretend to misunderstand things that are ever so clear just so you can make your whiny little troll comments, but I will "re-tell" you anyway. This is not an assault on a guy looking for a place to sleep. He broke into my house before and fell asleep...(that night he was just looking to sleep - at 3:30am) He woke up in the morning to me moving around upstairs and left with it still light out. On the way out he passed all my camera gear for my business but couldn't take anything because we were home and moving around upstairs. He was casing the place as he was leaving on the camera after the first visit. THAT is why I knew he would return... He ONLY returned to finish stealing what he found in the first morning. The reason he goes to the front door was to knock, if no one answered he was kicking in the basement door and rolling out to squat somewhere else with my gear. He was high the other night WHEN he showed up to chill, but still very sober looking (comparatively) this night looking for his score still. He wasn't here for the same reason he was here for when he came at 3:30 am looking to sleep. My actions saved him from being shot by one of you crazy bastards at some point...(or even my trigger happy GF). No matter how you sliced it I risked my ass to save his life bro... I could have hid in the basement with my hole puncher and waited for him. Keep being a weak little sucker and hating tho,More.. it's your "THING" |
Another “quick takes” on items where there is too little to say to make a complete article, but is still important enough to comment on.
The focus this time: Western Civilization, R.I.P.
First, a little mood music:
Carrying on…
The rising culture in the West is a combination of Post-Modernist hate for the West from within, and the rising hate of the West from without… from without until invited in:
“The current massive movement of people from the Middle East, Africa and Asia to Western countries suggests the enduring appeal of this model. After all, people from developing countries aren’t risking their lives to move to North Korea, Russia or China. The West remains a powerful beacon in the “clash of civilizations.” “Yet a portion of these newcomers ultimately reject our culture and, in some cases, seek to liquidate it. They do this in countries where multiculturalism urges immigrants to register as “victims,” and not indulge in Western culture, as did most previous immigrant waves. After all, why assimilate into a culture that much of the cultural elite believes to be evil? “Perhaps the biggest disconnect may involve young immigrants and their offspring, particularly students. Rather than be integrated in some ways into society, they are able, and even encouraged, not to learn about ‘Western civilization,’ which is all but gone from campuses, with barely 2 percent retaining this requirement.”
This is cultural suicide:
“A society that no longer believes in its core beliefs cannot prevail against rivals who, although less wealthy and far less technologically advanced, embrace their core ideals. A West that rejects (and sometimes is unaware of) its own heritage cannot overcome those who, for religious or national reasons, have a powerful belief in theirs.”
And just where has this tossing aside of cultural inheritance lead us? The abandonment of Western Civilization.
Cultural relativism has validated all mores and values… except those of our own society.
“When the British encountered the practice of Sati in India, its practitioners defended it as customary. Nevertheless, General Charles Napier was bold enough to reply: “‘Be it so. This burning of widows is your custom; prepare the funeral pile. But my nation has also a custom. When men burn women alive we hang them, and confiscate all their property. My carpenters shall therefore erect gibbets on which to hang all concerned when the widow is consumed. Let us all act according to national customs.’ “My point is not to defend British imperialism, but to recognize the value of cultural self-esteem grounded in natural law. One need not approve of the British presence in India to recognize that their attitude toward Sati was entirely appropriate. Meanwhile, when our own military encounters pedophilia in Afghanistan, our bureaucrats-in-chief are too pusillanimous to offend the locals by doing anything about it.’ “… ” That the Left would have no misgivings about the situation is unsurprising. Many of them deliberately seek to tear down the West because they imagine it will be replaced by a secular utopia akin to what one sees in Star Trek. What is truly sad is the way that conservatives—those who supposedly seek to conserve what is precious—are taken in by the rhetoric of false compassion just the same.”
And what replaces that?
Just the death of gratitude…
“[G] ratitude is proof of humility and offers perspective. It is an appreciation for others, often now dead, who have helped to make us what we are. Without it, we are narcissists and self-absorbed amnesiacs. “Unfortunately, our modern ‘me’ generation has forgotten gratitude and replaced it with the art of victimization. Contemporary Americans prefer blaming others — parents, ancestors, their country, the world in general — for their own unhappiness while patting themselves on the back for anything that goes well.”
The perfect example of this: College.
“We rarely hear students thank their parents, their universities or the government for forking over an average of more than $30,000 per year to excuse them from the American rat race. An expensive education has become more a birthright than a gift from others.”
Ignorance and purposeful destruction of the foundation of society will not lead to liberation of what was built thereupon, but nothing less than total destruction.
TTFN.
Tweet |
1.3k SHARES Facebook Twitter
There is nothing wrong with being optimistic, but there is something wrong with having blind faith that things are going to get better when all of the evidence is screaming at you that things are going to get worse. According to a brand new USA TODAY/Gallup Poll, 71 percent of all Americans consider economic conditions in the United States to be poor right now, but an astounding 58 percent of them believe that economic conditions in the United States will be good a year from now. So what can account for this? Are they insane? Are they hopelessly optimistic? Do they not want to believe the facts that are staring them right in the face? Well, a lot of it probably has to do with the upcoming election. Most Republicans are convinced that things will be “better” somehow if Romney wins in November. Most Democrats are convinced that things will “continue to improve” if Obama wins in November. But the truth is that the economy has been declining steadily in recent years no matter which party has been in power. Today, the American Dream is out of reach for huge numbers of formerly middle class families. Millions of jobs continue to leave the United States, poverty is absolutely exploding and our nation is absolutely drowning in debt. Sadly, nothing is being done to reverse the long-term economic trends that are destroying us. So, a year from now things are not going to be any better. In fact, many analysts are absolutely convinced that things are going to be a whole lot worse by then.
For example, just check out the following excerpt from a report that was just released by LEAP/E2020….
Thus, according to LEAP/E2020, the 2012 election year, which opens against the backdrop of economic and social depression, complete paralysis of the federal system (3), strong rejection of the traditional two-party system and a growing questioning of the relevance of the Constitution, inaugurates a crucial period in the history of the United States. Over the next four years, the country will be subjected to political, economic, financial and social upheaval such as it has not known since the end of the Civil War which, by an accident of history, started exactly 150 years ago in 1861. During this period, the US will be simultaneously insolvent and ungovernable, turning that which was the “flagship” of the world in recent decades into a “drunken boat”.
Wow, that paints a far different picture of the future than most Americans are imagining, eh?
The U.S. “will be simultaneously insolvent and ungovernable”?
That doesn’t sound very optimistic.
Gerald Celente, the head of the Trends Research Institute, is also very pessimistic about the rest of 2012. Just consider the following quotes from a recent USA Today article….
“2012 is when many of the long-simmering socioeconomic and political trends that we have been forecasting and tracking will climax,” Celente noted in his Top 12 Trends 2012 newsletter. In an interview he added: “When money stops flowing to the man on the street, blood starts flowing in the street.”
So who is right and who is wrong?
Only time will tell.
But I think it will be very interesting to pull this article back up a year from now.
At the moment, things do not look promising for the U.S. economy….
-The percentage of Americans planning to buy a home within the next six months continues to hover near a record low.
-The U.S. trade deficit with China continues to get even larger.
-Jobs for blue collar workers continue to disappear. In 1962, 28 percent of all jobs in America were manufacturing jobs. In 2011, only 9 percent of all jobs in America were manufacturing jobs. Overall, America has lost a total of more than 56,000 manufacturing facilities since 2001.
-There are not nearly enough white collar jobs for the hordes of fresh college graduates entering the marketplace. At this point, 53 percent of all U.S. college graduates under the age of 25 are either unemployed or underemployed.
-The percentage of working age Americans that are employed continues to go down. The following are the figures for the past three months….
February 2012: 58.6%
March 2012: 58.5%
April 2012: 58.4%
-Due to the lack of jobs, the middle class in the United States continues to shrink rapidly.
-A shocking number of Americans cannot even pay their bills at this point. According to one recent survey, approximately one-third of all Americans are not paying their bills on time right now.
-Incomes for middle class families continue to shrink. After adjusting for inflation, median household income in America has declined by 7.8 percent since December 2007.
-Meanwhile, the prices of the things we all buy month after month continue to go up. In fact, if inflation was measured the exact same way that it was back in 1980, the annual rate of inflation would be more than 10 percent right now.
-Millions of American families are experiencing a massive amount of pain at the pump. Since Barack Obama entered the White House, the price of gasoline has risen by more than 100 percent.
-As the middle class shrinks, the number of Americans on welfare continues to explode. Back in November 2008, 30.8 million Americans were on food stamps. Today, more than 46 million Americans are on food stamps.
-But this is not just a short-term trend. The truth is that dependence on the federal government has been rising for decades. But in recent years it has accelerated dramatically. In a previous article, I detailed the incredible growth of social welfare benefits that we have seen under both Republicans and Democrats….
Back in 1960, social welfare benefits made up approximately 10 percent of all salaries and wages. In the year 2000, social welfare benefits made up approximately 21 percent of all salaries and wages. Today, social welfare benefits make up approximately 35 percent of all salaries and wages.
-The federal government is propping up the economy with unprecedented amounts of government debt. Sadly, the U.S. national debt has risen by more than 5 trillion dollars since the day that Barack Obama first took office. In a little more than 3 years Obama has added more to the national debt than the first 41 presidents combined.
-In many ways, the U.S. is already in worse shape than Europe is. At this point, the United States has more government debt per capita than Greece, Portugal, Italy, Ireland or Spain.
So remind me again why things are going to get better?
The only reason why the economy has not collapsed already is because of unprecedented borrowing by the federal government and unprecedented money printing by the Federal Reserve. But those emergency measures cannot last indefinitely.
So it is absolutely insane to expect economic conditions in the United States to improve.
The truth is that they are a lot better right now than they should be. Once the federal government quits injecting more than a trillion borrowed dollars into the economy every single year things are going to look a lot different.
Instead of preparing for things to get better, the American people should be preparing for things to get worse.
So what do you think?
Do you think that economic conditions will be better a year from now or worse?
Feel free to post a comment below with your thoughts…. |
We’re just six days away from Google announcing the second-generation Pixel lineup (along with some other expected products, including some new Google Home devices), and in the meantime we wanted to revisit the original Pixel and Pixel XL. Too often, tech sites including ourselves get caught up in the craze of new devices and neglect to look at how well (and sometimes, how poorly) the older devices have held up.
The Pixel and Pixel XL were some of our favorite phones when they launched last year, and though we’ve since seen dozens of great new devices, we’re still terribly fond of Google’s in-house projects, which have aged better than just about any other Android phones we’ve seen.
Although the Pixel’s hardware looks a bit dated in today’s age of increasingly slim bezels, it’s still a terrific phone with a sturdy build and one of my personal favorite fingerprints sensors. It’s well-placed in a spot that your index finger naturally gravitates towards, large enough that you won’t miss it (ahem Samsung), and the downward swiping gesture to access the notification panel is wonderfully convenient.
The Pixel also offers one of the cleanest Android experiences, with the latest version 8.0 “Oreo” in tow. Being a Google phone, there’s no bloatware of course, and Oreo brings some new conveniences that even today’s newest flagships don’t offer. YouTube Red users can shrink videos into a floating window to continue watching while multitasking, and Google Maps offers a similar PIP view for turn-by-turn navigation.
Android phones have a bad habit of quickly deteriorating in performance and battery life over time, but those issues are basically non-existent on the Pixel. Performance is still buttery smooth, matching the iPhone in speed and fluidity, and the 3450 mAh battery still offers all-day endurance.
Perhaps the most well-known of the Pixel’s strong points is its camera. Both the Pixel and Pixel XL take some of the best photos of any phone, despite not having a dual camera layout like most of this year’s flagships. Scrolling through the #shotonpixel tag on Instagram reveals some stunning shots, and we can only assume an even better camera on the upcoming Pixel 2.
The Pixel isn’t perfect; it isn’t water resistant, there’s no wireless charging, and the design is a bit tired by now, but we’re hoping Google will address some of these shortcomings with the sequel next week. Until then, the original Pixel and Pixel XL are still some of the best phones on the market. |
WASHINGTON -- Charges against 21 activists who staged a sit-in at Department of the Interior headquarters last month were dropped by the U.S. Attorney's office earlier this week, a move that will embolden more confrontational protests in the future, proponents of climate protection say.
The DOI protesters received notice at the Tuesday hearing that the U.S. Attorney's office for the District had "declined to proceed with prosecution against you for the the incident that led to your arrest for the offense of unlawful entry."
Ann Wilcox, an attorney with the progressive National Lawyers Guild and one of two attorneys who had agreed to represent the defendants, said the government could have dropped the charges for a variety of reasons: administrative hurdles, a wariness about pulling cops off their beats to testify, the nonviolent nature of their crimes or the diversity of the activists, among others. But ultimately, she said, "we don't know for sure why some cases are dropped and some are processed."
The U.S. Attorney's office in D.C. declined to comment on the specifics of the case.
The group of protesters was arrested at the close of Power Shift, a biennial gathering of climate activists in the nation's capital. On April 18, conference organizers led a demonstration of some 3,000 protesters to the Chamber of Commerce building and the lobby shop of BP. After that rally concluded, hundreds of the marchers joined an impromptu march on the DOI headquarters led by confrontational climate activist organizations Peaceful Uprising and Rising Tide. At the Interior building, some 300 protesters -- including a brass band -- stormed inside the main foyer of the headquarters and staged a raucous protest that went on until the last hold-outs in the entryway were finally arrested some two hours later.
The protest was intended to highlight the role two Interior agencies play in setting the rules for mining and oil companies, Rising Tide spokeswoman Henia Belalia told The Huffington Post at the time. Lax regulation at the corrupt Minerals Management Service -- renamed the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon explosion -- helped set the stage for last year’s BP oil spill. The other agency, the Office of Surface Mining, angered activists shortly before the Power Shift conference by opening up over 7,000 acres of federal land in Wyoming’s Powder River Basin to coal extraction.
Climate activists are largely relieved by the local prosecutor's decision to drop the cases against the DOI protesters. A smaller group, however, views the move as an invitation for further confrontational protests.
"Essentially, the United State government told the activists who risked their freedom on April 18th that they’re not willing to argue with the necessity of their actions," Peaceful Uprising member Deb Henry wrote on her blog Tuesday. "The government gave in. They do not want to spend time or money taking activists to court to dissuade other activists from taking action."
But it's not quite as simple as that, as Henry later explained to The Huffington Post: She is still facing charges for a similar protest staged in the House gallery.
Henry and eight other protesters were arrested on April 15, the day before Power Shift began, for singing a modified version of "The Star Spangled Banner" during a series of contentious budget votes in the House.
During a status hearing scheduled for May 31, the plaintiffs will likely have to decide whether to accept the government's diversion offer -- 40 hours or so of community service and six months arrest free to make the charges disappear, Wilcox speculated -- or proceed to a jury trial. If convicted in court, the activists could face up to six months in jail, Wilcox said.
"What they're trying to do is deter these very young people who have no criminal record whatsoever from taking that action in the future," Peaceful Uprising Director Flora Bernard said, referring to the different approaches the government has taken with the two groups of protester arrested during Power Shift. "I really doubt that that's going to work out," she added.
Henry is one of a handful of activists arrested during Power Shift who are not letting their brushes with the law stop them from attending what many in the climate movement view as the next big battle: the march on Blair Mountain this coming June.
Brandon Nida, one of the march's organizers and native West Virginian, said he expected thousands of people will converge on the tiny town of Blair, W.Va., for the protest, which plans to highlight the destruction caused by of mountaintop removal, an environmentally destructive surface mining practice where vegetation and earth are blasted away to expose the coal underneath. Since 1991, six mountaintop removal mining permits have been issued around Blair, Nida said, although no mining has yet occurred.
But Blair Mountain's significance to the protest extends past the recent attempts to mine the mountain. Ninety years ago, Blair Mountain was the site of the Battle of Blair Mountain, one of the largest labor uprising in American history. Although the over 10,000 coal miners seeking unionization lost in a violent battle against coal mine operators -- which were even supported by federal air power -- many consider the battle an important catalyst for the early 20th century labor movement.
Nida and other's hope their June protest will prove a similar catalyst for the current American labor and climate movements.
"With the Wisconsin thing and the Ohio union-busting," Nida said, "people are more receptive when you talk about this huge battle between labor and coal operators or corporations. … What happened at Blair Mountain and central Appalachia was integral to the American labor movement."
"As far as in the environmental movement, mountaintop removal has been really shaking things up," Nida added. "A lot of people are concentrated on what is one of the most most visceral and visible environment devastating practices."
Confrontational protests may play a role in culmination of the five-day demonstration. After the DOI protesters charges were dropped, Henry wrote that there is a "window of opportunity for our movement to engage in more acts of nonviolent civil disobedience." The March on Blair mountain is the next opening, activists say.
"I'm not sure how much organization is going for arrestable actions" at Blair Mountain, said Bernard, who is planning to attend the march. But she predicted that the combined actions of the thirty protesters arrested at Power Shift "are probably going to invigorate and inspire a lot of potential activists to be willing to take risks at Blair Mountain. … I like to think that people are feeling like they're in a comfortable place to risk arrest." |
Back in August during the launch of the Galaxy Note 5, an issue was discovered that could potentially break the device. If you stuck the S-Pen in backwards—flat part first instead of pointy part first—it would get stuck. From there, you'd have to forcefully remove the S-Pen, which could potentially break the top off the pen or damage the pen eject functionality.
Samsung's first response to the problem was to ship the Note 5 with a warning sticker on the screen, but now Phandroid has discovered that new Note 5s will offer a real, physical solution.
Pen detection on the Galaxy Note 5 was handled by an internal switch that the pen would hold down on when it was inserted. When put in backward, a void in the top of the pen would catch the spring-loaded switch, trapping the pen. Samsung has now put a flexible, plastic cover over the switch, which acts like a ramp. When the thinner part of the S-Pen passes over the switch in this setup, the ramped plastic allows the pen to press the switch down rather than catch it. (The cover also seems to be attached with adhesive tape.)
Samsung hasn't said it will be offering this fix to existing customers. So for most owners, the advice is still "don't do that." |
The 2015 European LCS was supposed to be a redemption story, not just for Nukeduck, but for Overpow.
Relying on his wide champion pool to make the transition to the top lane, ROCCAT looked primed to pick up Overpow’s saga of surprise picks from where he left off in Spring 2014. Nukeduck’s carry style made him a contender to be the best mid laner in Europe prior to his failure to qualify for LCS on Ninjas and Pyjamas and subsequent competitive suspension.
The fact that ROCCAT, then Kiedyś Miałem Team, was the team that barred NiP from LCS, would only make the rise sweeter. With solo laners hungry for new heights to supplement ROCCAT’s already stellar support and jungler, first place was not out of the question.
It was going to be one of the greatest storylines in Europe this year.
In reality, it could well still happen. Five losses in eight games is far from a death sentence, especially considering ROCCAT’s run in Summer of 2014 where a sixth place regular season finish nearly translated into a Worlds seed in the semifinals against Fnatic.
ROCCAT has obvious strengths that should earn them wins by the end of Spring, but for now the team has three new laners that introduce unique problems in the dynamic.
From the perspective of a third party observer, I’ve narrowed down the list to three thought experiments.
Overpow’s Quest to Find Himself
In eight games this season, Overpow has brought out six different top lane champions. For those who are familiar with his mid lane play from last year, this should be unsurprising.
Overpow reminded spectators of Kayle’s continued relevance when KMT upset the favored Ninjas in Pyjamas to get into the LCS. He had a handful of fans wondering if Mordekaiser would make a comeback. He even tried to make Morgana mid a "thing."
Overpow’s swapping and versatility goes much deeper. A brief and unsuccessful stint as jungler for Anexis still saw the team to second place at IEM VII Sao Paulo in 2013 and into the IEM World Championship. He has dabbled competitively in Heroes of Newerth and Defense of the Ancients.
If Overpow didn’t show a willingness to try new things, he wouldn’t be Overpow.
This time it’s not working. Overpow’s KDA in ROCCAT’s losses is .88. His KDA in victories overall is 17.5, with two deathless games to his name.
Though ROCCAT’s eight games are hardly a significant sample size, the fact that so far none of his other teammates sport KDAs in losses below one (the closest being Woolite at 1.87), and the upside of their game scores in wins relative to losses is nowhere near as high (the closest being Nukeduck with a KDA of 10.5 in wins relative to 2.58 in losses) suggests that Overpow’s struggles could be having a massive impact.
In observing the games, Overpow has been the focus of jungle pressure from both his own team and the enemy team. His level of discomfort is clear. Laning phase dives against Overpow seem to be the preferred way of snowballing against ROCCAT. As a result, Jankos spends a lot of time hovering around his side of the map, and opponent laners take that as a free pass to hit the gas pedal.
PowerofEvil takes advantage of Jankos' appearance in Overpow's lane put the hurt on Nukeduck.
The easiest way to make Overpow comfortable might be to narrow his champion options. Two of ROCCAT’s wins have occurred with Overpow playing Gnar. Then, in the loss against Fnatic, despite Overpow receiving arguably more opponent jungle focus than he has in any other game, he came out with a scoreline of 2/6/4. His only scoreline with a higher KDA in a loss has been his Rumble game against Elements where he went 1/7/7 in a game that lasted 10 more minutes.
Because of the small sample size, it could be a coincidence. Gnar has been a very high priority pick in Europe for a reason (it’s overpow[ered]). But every game ROCCAT has won so far has also been a blue side game, and in every game ROCCAT has won, they’ve first picked Overpow’s champion.
Overpow’s comfort is important, given both the huge gap between his upside and his downside and the amount of attention he’s getting from enemy junglers. A small selection of champions to stick to isn’t the worst idea.
Nuke them in the jungle
Nukeduck spends a few moments hoping for a pick.
ROCCAT doesn’t use the jungle to find picks very often - they prefer to fight in the rivers or the lanes. Even in their closest matches of the season against Elements and Fnatic, heat map data shows that ROCCAT took very few of their kills in the jungle, even relative to their opposition.
This would be fine if not for two things:
They aren’t winning every game. Their mid laner loves to play assassins.
The best way to use an assassin mid laner is not to take a gentleman's agreement in the open lanes or the rivers, let alone in a 5v5 team fight.
Nukeduck would love to snowball off a pick in the jungle off of a couple of smartly placed wards. If one expects to find the enemy jungler harassing Overpow, the top side jungle is a good place to set up an ambush. This mechanism is also an asset from behind, where one pick can lead to an objective and turn a game.
Xerath is another champion that is both a flavor of the month and a Nukeduck favorite. He's a champion who abuses vision to snipe, or terrain to create a barrier between him and his opponents.
H2K makes better use of the jungle to take out Vander.
Nukeduck is billed as ROCCAT’s star laner. He should be set up to succeed.
Woolite who?
As with many ex-Copenhagen Wolves carries before him, the true test of Woolite’s greatness came when he was acquired by a a more successful team.
So far he hasn’t lived up to the likes of Bjergsen, but he’s been respectable. He’s done more damage than Nukeduck in half the games he has played for ROCCAT, but he hasn’t particularly stood out.
In 2014 Summer, Woolite was probably best remembered for his hyper carry Kog’Maw play, though his 1-4 LCS record on the champion is far from stellar. He actually had more success on the likes of Corki and Lucian. Regardless of what Woolite played, the Copenhagen Wolves rarely succeeded when he didn’t. Many of the Wolves’ long games extended until Woolite amassed enough gold to carry.
Woolite is not that player on ROCCAT. Even if he can outperform on occasion, he is unlikely to pull the spotlight away from Nukeduck. With Overpow finding his feet, Woolite has to be the team’s bridge. He has to be solid and reliable in the early and mid game.
With Jankos restricted to the top side of the map more often to support Overpow—a situation Woolite is not unfamiliar with from his time on the Wolves with Youngbuck and Airwaks—Woolite needs to tough it out. He won’t have the same expectation to carry the late game that he had on the Wolves, but he’ll have the early game play-making pressure of Vander. It’s no coincidence Woolite has been playing more Caitlyn and Graves than Jinx lately.
Right now, ROCCAT has a mid lane star in the making. They just need a backbone.
ROCCAT has yet to meet expectations. Their recent devastating losses to H2K and Unicorns of Love left spectators sighing. Still, a few short term fixes could yield results: find a more limited selection of champions to set Overpow practicing, set up more picks in the jungle, and let Woolite continue to develop a role that leaves him off the hyper carries and makes full use of Vander’s power.
The redemption of ROCCAT’s solo laners is far from hopeless. With Fnatic seeking more strategic development, and Elements searching for a rock to cling to, ROCCAT could get finish the EU LCS Spring split with a higher placement than they ever achieved in 2014. |
WILMINGTON, DE—Admitting that it has been a long time since he’s allowed himself such an indulgence, local 26-year-old Greg Burnet told reporters Thursday that he recently decided to splurge on an appointment with his general practitioner. “I’ve been pretty good about saving up my money and I thought now was the time to really treat myself to a medical examination of the chronic abdominal pain I’ve been experiencing,” said the part-time office assistant and freelance graphic designer, adding that he was determined to “really pamper [himself]” by resting on an exam table as his doctor searched for a possible hernia. “Normally, I wouldn’t be one to just throw money around on blood tests and X-rays like this, but today’s all about me. Who knows, when I get the results back, I might even go all out on a trip to the hospital. I’d like to think I’ve earned it.” When contacted following his appointment, Burnet informed reporters that the medical treatment had left him riddled with guilt, announcing repeatedly that he would be less impulsive and reckless with his money in the future.
Advertisement |
McCaskey’s Super Bowl goals won’t change with GM change
If Ryan Pace had wanted to leave Halas Hall and rejoice after being named the Bears’ general manager and achieving his life’s dream, chairman George McCaskey would’ve been cool with that.
Then again, that’s not the type of man McCaskey hired, and he knew it.
Pace went right to work, leading Cardinals defensive coordinator Todd Bowles into Halas Hall’s Bronko Nagurski Room for his interview just moments after signing his five-year contract to run the Bears.
“You would think it would be natural for somebody to want to celebrate a little bit after reaching this point in his career,” McCaskey said. “But he got right down to business [on Thursday night].
“I was very impressed with the way he conducted the interview, the questions he was asking and the rapport he developed immediately with the [coach] candidate.”
All of it felt right for McCaskey, who made the very un-Bears-like decision of firing GM Phil Emery after three seasons and coach Marc Trestman after only two.
This is George McCaskey’s era in Bears history. It’s his sinking ship to rescue.
“You don’t have to talk to the [GM] candidates to know that we have a lot of work to do,” McCaskey said. “Our goal is to return the Bears to greatness, and we took an important first step [with Pace]. But there’s a lot of work to be done.”
Getting right to work is what Pace and the new Bears have to do because McCaskey remains adamant in his goals.
Let’s be clear: McCaskey’s Bears aren’t the Cubs. Pace might have time and the power to enact an overhaul of the roster, but the goal, as stated by McCaskey, will never change.
“The goal every year is to compete to win the Super Bowl,” McCaskey said. “But I also told Ryan that we want to establish a foundation for sustained success. . We’re looking forward to giving him all the support and all the resources he needs to do that.”
Would that mean accepting a rebuilding year or two?
“The goal every year is to win the Super Bowl,” McCaskey emphasized.
The introduction of Pace felt different than the arrival of Emery in 2012, and that includes McCaskey, who has seemingly learned from the Bears’ past mistakes during his tenure, which started in 2011.
Pace wasn’t hired after Senior Bowl week, and the Bears don’t feel immediately behind the rest of the league. There also isn’t a beloved coach a la Lovie Smith hanging over Pace’s head from Day 1.
And then there’s consultant Ernie Accorsi, whose input and gregarious storytelling have McCaskey and president Ted Phillips glowing whenever they’re asked about him.
The willingness to add Accorsi’s voice is not only a sign of McCaskey’s determination to fix his team, but also that he was humble enough to realize that some extra, more experienced help would facilitate that.
McCaskey said Accorsi has been in every GM and coach interview after making all the recommendations.
“I had the benefit of experience in this being the second time [for a GM hire],” McCaskey said, “so that was helpful, and Ernie has been terrific.”
The Bears’ power structure will remain as it has — “It’s a structure that we think works,” McCaskey said — but the most important thing is that Pace said he feels empowered.
Pace grew through the ranks of the Saints’ organization, and he should continue to grow at Halas Hall if he’s not impeded.
And that starts with McCaskey’s support.
McCaskey isn’t concerned with Pace’s age or his limited experience with the salary cap, coaching searches or other areas. He knew immediately after interviewing Pace on Wednesday that he was the Bears’ future.
“He’s a very charismatic individual himself,” McCaskey said. “And we’re looking forward to him, as he says, leading the charge.”
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @adamjahns |
I'd always wanted to visit Mars. Instead I got Hawaii. There, about 8,200 feet above sea level on Mauna Loa, sits a geodesically domed habitat for testing crew psychology and technologies for boldly going. I did a four-month tour at the NASA-funded HI-SEAS—that's Hawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation—in 2013, and a new 8-month mission is scheduled to start in October. It's a long time to be cooped up, “so the psychological impacts are extremely important,” habitat designer Vincent Paul Ponthieux says. The key to keeping everybody sane? A sense of airiness. Yep—even on Mars, you're going to need more space.
__Power System | __ Solar panels supply power and charge the batteries for the habitat. If juice levels fall below 5 percent, a hydrogen fuel cell kicks in.
__Workshop & Airlock | __ Crew can use the 3-D printer to make hair clips, replacement parts, and anything else they forgot back on Earth. This area is also the door to the surface; they simulate depressurization and pressurization before and after sorties.
__Composting Toilets | __ Repurposed poop (sans pathogens) from one mission might be plant food for the next one.
__Bedrooms | __ Six pie-slice-shaped staterooms each contain a mattress, a desk, and a stool. Clothing goes under the bed, which sits at the wide side of the slice. Cozy like a closet.
__Workout Area | __ Everyone exercises in shifts, often to videos like P90X and Insanity. Other workouts: juggling and balloon volleyball.
__Communications | __ Mars is up to 24 minutes away as the photon flies, so crews have NASA-issued email addresses with an artificial delay and access to a web made of cached, nondynamic pages.
__High Ceilings | __ The 36-foot-diameter dome has a living area of about 1,000 square feet, and the second level is a loftlike partial floor. To long-term inhabitants, these spaces appear to shrink over time, so high ceilings are crucial. |
In September of Advanced Dungeons & Dragon 2nd Edition’s maiden year, 1989, product 9264 was released as REF2 Character Record Sheets. Now, this is still the most bootlegged product which TSR ever put out! With a suggested retail price of $8.95, many at the time felt that this was too expensive, especially when you could easily make them yourself at home. Those who did buy it, typically took it to a photocopier and did it that way. It is surprising how many whole and complete copies of this product are still available, especially for a product that was designed to be destroyed.
Back when this product first came out, there was no World Wide Web, desktop printing was no where near as advanced as it is today; I think that the only use that one ever got from their printer, if they even had one, was to print of these ugly banners. The photocopier was king! I remember going to the local library and paying fifteen cents per page!
So, there you are, you killed your character doing something stupid, and you are officially out of the game until you are finished with a new one. First thing first, you get out your binder of loose-leaf note pad paper, a ruler, a pencil, and some dice. While everybody else is playing, you are rolling up stats, so that you know what your character will be, and then you get your ruler and start drawing all of the slots that you wanted. Then, once you had drawn your own player character sheet, it was time to fill it out! Just the basics, but this process typically took the rest of the night. Once you get some free time, you’d go back over the character sheet with a pen so that you can see it better.
We really loved our characters too! We’d get eraser burns in our hp slots and on our own, we would just draw up a new Character Sheet to play with next time. I have drawings that I’ve made of my characters, and ones that were so special that I marked them out in pen.
Going through my Father-In-Law’s stuff, he had a variety of different character sheets, everything from basic notes written down on scratch paper, highly artistic drawings, to saving a blank drawing and photo copying that! The benefit of drawing up your own, was that you could add stuff that was important to your class, or individual to that character. Yes, they took a lot longer to draw up, but if you are playing a thief, a homemade PC Sheet is far superior to the published variety. You could also tell, at a glance, just whose character is whose because all of them were different. We don’t do this anymore either, I think that I made a custom PC sheet on the computer the last time I played, but it took even longer than just drawing my own by hand would be. For the most part, we use this book. We are much better about keeping characters alive, but back in the day, we’d really burn through this thing if we had one. To have a character go from 1st to 7th was a big deal! It was then that we’d feel confident enough to really get special with it.
The generic PC sheets, while they take some of the flavor away from the character itself, does allow us to play faster, and it is easier on the DM because he can quickly find the information that he’s looking for because it is always in the same place, however I don’t think that, when we use them, we are as intimate with our characters as we normally would be. I would get all kinds of ideas while drawing and redrawing them things up. When copying items that I had collected through my adventures, I’d remember each one and how I got it. It was fun!
It is funny, how people will look down on you for playing with bootlegged material, however they go right to Dragonfoot to download a copy of these PC sheets to print off without even thinking about it. Are they free to use? Do we have permission to photocopy them? The answer is NO! We can photocopy the special PC sheets found in the Complete Series for personal use, but as far as the original Character Record Sheets go, there was no permission ever given; at least not on the product itself. The copy on Dragonfoot and other locations around the web have been there for years! Wizards of the Coast definitely knows about them, but since they say nothing, it can be assumed that we can print off our own. Can you imagine a lawyer trying to bust all of the people who have pirated these things over all these years?
The product itself is one of convenience, it is not necessary to play the game, and it never was! Yes, it looks good and is fast to use, but the information that it contains is subpar at best. Besides the PC Sheets, you also get a good collection of spell sheets which you can fill out as you go, they work for both the mage, cleric, and all other spell casters, and those are pretty convenient! Looking up spells and reading those descriptions to the DM can take time, this product allows us to have all of the basics right at our fingertips! But, again, you can download these for free or make one yourself with you computer.
This book has been republished through the years, but as far as I know was never modified until the Player’s Options series was published. Collectors are interested in this product, but as far as the casual gamers go, if they find a cheap copy then they might pick it up. I know that I still use mine and it has lasted a really long time! The sheets are a lot stronger than loose leaf paper, and resist eraser burns, spilled drinks, cheezy poof stains, and cigarette ash. They aren’t overly detailed, but you can keep them in a folder with all of your PC memorabilia and it will last for years! It Is kind of fun finding a character sheet from decades ago that you had forgotten about and is still looks the same as when you last played it, so maybe there was more to this product than meets the eye?
I personally give it a D+, there is definitely worse stuff out there, but it isn’t nearly as useful as it claims to be. |
Bandai is going to release the HG Gon Freecss ( ゴン=フリークス ) trading figure from the manga/anime “Hunter x Hunter” ( ハンター×ハンター ). Will be released in September 2014. Around 430mm tall (with 300mm long hair), 3,178 yen (taxed in). Tamashii shop exclusive.
LOL, I can’t believe someone actually make a figure for this long hair Gon!! I don’t know how long Bandai has hidden this Gon figure to the public. Gon just turned into this long hair guy in the Hunter x Hunter anime this week and Bandai made this Gon figure announement right away. Good Job Bandai!
I was like (・ω・)? when I scrolled down the Bandai page and then I became Σ(☉д⊙) when I actually see the figure!! By the way, Bandai put this Gon figure into their Gashapon Department so technically he is a gashapon/trading figure, not a PVC figure.
For those of you who want to get this Gon, you can preorder him at Premium Bandai HERE with your proxy service before
People on internet are having fun with this Gon figure already!! |
Another 382 Detroiters were listed as voting but their ballots never showed up in the count.
Buy Photo Elections Director for Wayne County, Delphine Oden, left, officially gets the recount started as she assists counters at one table during the Wayne County portion of the recount process for the presidential election Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2016 at Cobo Hall in Detroit. Regina H. Boone /Detroit Free Press (Photo: REGINA H. BOONE, Detroit Free Press)Buy Photo
Whether the result of machine malfunction, human error or even fraud, the unexplained voting discrepancies in Detroit last month were not sizable enough to affect the outcome in Michigan of the presidential election, according to a new Free Press analysis of voting precinct records.
In 248 precincts, there were a total of 782 more votes tabulated by voting machines than the number of voters listed as picking up ballots in the precincts’ poll books. That makes up just three-tenths of 1% of the total 248,211 votes that were logged in Detroit for the presidential election. That number was far too small to swing the statewide election results, even in this year’s especially tight race that saw a Republican win Michigan for the first time since George Bush in 1988.
►Related:Immigrants are scared by what Trump could do
►Related: Michigan's recount process from start to finish
►Related: Recount mess: What if Michigan had held the key to election?
Donald Trump carried Michigan by 10,704 votes, or 47.5% to 47.3%, according to the final results submitted to the Michigan Secretary of State. But in Detroit, Democrat Hillary Clinton trounced Trump, winning 95% of the vote to his 3%.
The Free Press analysis found there were 248 precincts in Detroit where voting machines tabulated more Election Day votes than people who were counted as checking in to vote. The affected precincts represent 37% of the city's 662 precincts.
Most of those overages were by small amounts — on average about 3 votes — with the largest being 12 votes in a single precinct. Those small numbers, which add up to 782 total spread out across more than 200 precincts, tend to point to human or machine malfunction as the culprit, rather than widespread fraud.
In 158 precincts, the number of ballots tabulated by the optical-scanning voting machines was inexplicably less than the number of people who signed in to vote. At least 362 ballots were not counted in those precincts, even though the voters had been listed in poll books.
►Related:Jill Stein in Detroit: Michigan's election 'a hot mess'
►Related:Michigan Supreme Court denies Jill Stein's recount effort
Altogether, the total of over-counted and under-counted ballots was about 1,144. As a result, nearly 60% of Detroit's precincts weren't eligible for recount because the number of ballots in the ballot box didn't match the number of people listed as voting in the poll book.
The Free Press analysis came from handwritten tabulations logged by the Wayne County Board of Canvassers. The numbers are approximated because notes in eight precincts were illegible or unclear. This is the first time that actual figures for over-counted and under-counted votes have been reported
Detroit's inability to reconcile its ballots with its voter lists was exposed in the recount requested by Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein that was later ordered stopped by the Michigan Supreme Court. The discrepancy became national news, including headlines suggesting voter fraud.
Reasons for the under-counted and over-counted votes are unclear, although in some cases people may have signed in to vote, then left before casting their ballots because of long lines. Machine malfunctions also may have played a role; on Election Day, more than 80 optical vote scanners broke down in Detroit.
Detroit City Clerk Janice Winfrey and Elections Director Daniel Baxter could not be reached for comment Sunday regarding these latest findings.
Winfrey told the Free Press last week that the city's decade-old voting machines broke down and caused problems throughout Election Day and that the city has struggled for years to recruit younger people to work the polls. Most Detroit poll workers are retirees with an average age of 68 and they typically work 15-18 hours on Election Day for a $150 paycheck.
Winfrey said Detroit will be getting new voting machines in time for the 2017 mayoral and City Council elections.
Under Michigan law, precincts cannot be recounted when the number of voters in the poll book doesn't match the number of ballots in the ballot box. Almost 60% of Detroit's precincts were mismatched — either having too many or not enough ballots to match poll books — and ineligible for recount, according to the Wayne County Clerk's Office.
Detroit wasn't the only place in Michigan with recount problems. There was at least one ineligible precinct in each of the 22 counties where the recount had gotten under way before being halted by the court, according to Michigan Secretary of State records.
The state Bureau of Elections plans to conduct audits of about 20 Detroit precincts that couldn’t be recounted. Those ballots are to be brought to Lansing for an audit that should last for at least three weeks, said Chris Thomas, director of elections for the state.
“We don’t have any suspicion of fraud. We generally approach this as human error," Thomas said last week. "We’re going to take a look at them to make sure there’s not a need for further explanations."
Bill Ballenger, longtime Michigan political analyst and founder of the Ballenger Report, said Sunday that even though the number of questionable votes in Detroit was apparently too small to affect this election, the discrepancies are still disconcerting because the race was so close and they demonstrate the need for an audit.
"If there's one thing good that came out of the recount petition by Jill Stein, it's that it revealed there are some problems," he said.
Ballenger noted how the outcome of the 2000 presidential election between George W. Bush and Al Gore hinged on just 537 votes in the state of Florida. That is fewer than the number of questionable Detroit votes.
"If this election had turned out to be as close as Florida in 2000, this would be a huge story right now," he said.
Contact John Wisely: 313-222-6825 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @jwisely.
Election stats and Free Press findings:
There were 782 over-counted votes in 248 Detroit precincts.
There were 362 under-counted ballots in 158 Detroit precincts.
Nearly 60% of Detroit's 662 precincts were ineligible for recounting
Donald Trump officially beat Hillary Clinton in Michigan by 10,704 votes.
Detroit voters overwhelming preferred Clinton to Trump, 95% to his 3%.
Read or Share this story: http://on.freep.com/2hXJ7aE |
"The United Kingdom will need to quickly clarify how it wants its ties with the European Union to be in future," Merkel said late Monday at a reception for diplomats north of Berlin.
She was speaking just hours after it became clear May would lead Britain into talks to quit the European Union when her last rival in the bid to succeed David Cameron pulled out.
Merkel reiterated that it was now up to London to formally trigger Article 50 to leave the EU following last month's shock referendum backing a "Brexit" or British exit from the Union.
Only then could negotiations on any future relationship between Britain and the EU begin, she added.
Merkel stressed that Britain would remain an important partner for Germany, Europe's top economy, but underlined that its access to the EU's single market depended on respect for key principles including the freedom of movement of EU citizens.
May has said immigration controls would have to be included in any deal for Britain to access the EU's single market.
Merkel once again expressed her regret that Britons had opted to turn their backs on the EU.
"It's a bitter turn of events," she admitted.
"Yet I am firmly convinced that the European Union is strong enough to survive this turning point." |
Copyright © 2017 Albuquerque Journal
Susan Ricker was never thrilled about the Albuquerque Rapid Transit project.
But the silver lining was knowing that when it was done, she’d have new, wider sidewalks in front of her Nob Hill costume shop, making the area more pedestrian and family friendly.
Then, she received the March 1 email informing her that the curbs and sidewalks in front of several businesses, including her Off Broadway store, weren’t being replaced. Ricker, who has operated her eclectic shop in Nob Hill for more than 30 years, was upset.
ADVERTISEMENTSkip
“Suddenly, we’re not going to have a (new) sidewalk. I’m going to have this pitted, rutted mess out here,” she said.
“I feel I’ve been lied to. We have been lied to all along.”
Ricker is one of many Central Avenue merchants frustrated with the construction mess outside their front doors, the substantial drop in business due to people avoiding the area, and what they see as a series of broken promises from the city, including a months-long delay in making loans available to struggling businesses along the construction route.
City officials say they’re working on the loan program and hope to have money available for the businesses in the near future. As for the sidewalks in Nob Hill that aren’t being widened, a top city administrator says it’s just not safe to widen them given the limited right of way available.
And even if that weren’t a factor, said Michael Riordan, the city’s chief operations officer, widening the sidewalks now would delay the project’s completion date by at least four to six months and add about $500,000 to the price tag.
“We’re trying to limit the amount of time we’re on Central Avenue, not extend it, so at this time we’re not in favor of doing this project,” Riordan told city councilors last week.
ART will transform Central Avenue into a rapid transit corridor with a nine-mile stretch of bus-only lanes and canopy-covered bus stations.
Mayor Richard Berry has said he believes the project will help inject new life into Central Avenue. His administration points to projects in excess of $300 million in building permit value that have been announced since ART went into project development. Some of those projects are publicly funded.
City officials are banking on nearly $70 million in federal funding for the project, which is scheduled to be completed by the end of this year. The City Council approved the project last year by a 7-2 vote.
Wider sidewalks
But even one of the councilors who voted in favor of the project says that some Nob Hill businesses aren’t getting what they were promised.
ADVERTISEMENTSkip
District 6 Councilor Pat Davis said during last week’s council meeting that the neighborhood associations and business associations – particularly in the Nob Hill corridor – endorsed the ART project after receiving assurances that the businesses would be provided wider sidewalks that would encourage more commerce and walkability in the Nob Hill area.
Davis is sponsoring a resolution requiring that in the area of Central Avenue, between Girard and Aliso, total lane widths be reduced by 2 feet in each direction to allow for 2 additional feet of sidewalk throughout the corridor. The resolution also pledges up to $500,000 in District 6 set-aside funds to pay for the change.
“I think it’s important that we do what we promised to do for the folks who are most impacted by this and are having the hardest problem,” Davis told his colleagues.
The council deferred action on the bill until its March 20 meeting, asking Davis to try to work something out with the administration. Davis said he met with Riordan on Friday.
Riordan told the Journal that the city has researched its notes from neighborhood meetings, and the current design “almost exactly mirrors the plans that we developed in 2014.”
“The project includes more than 4,000 feet of widened sidewalks in Nob Hill,” he said. “This includes some entire blocks such as Tulane to Amherst, Hermosa to Aliso, and Montclaire to Graceland. When we are complete, more than 80 percent of the sidewalks in Nob Hill will be greater than 8-feet wide while maintaining parking.”
ADVERTISEMENTSkip
Loan program delay
Charles Akkad, the owner of Olympia Cafe, agrees with Ricker that the city isn’t living up to its promises, although the big issue for him is the loan program promised to small businesses along the ART route.
The city announced the loan fund more than seven months ago, with a goal of implementing the program by early fall. It later said the program would be unveiled during the last week of February, and the money would be available March 1.
Those timelines came and went, and Akkad, who has already laid off two of his workers and cut the hours for his remaining staff, is still waiting.
“Whatever reserves we had, we’ve spent,” Akkad said, noting that there’s still months left to go on the project.
Gary Oppedahl, the city’s economic development director, said Friday that the city is working on final legal documents every day and that the goal now is to be able to accept applications by the end of this week.
ADVERTISEMENTSkip
Akkad said his business needs the lifeline the city promised, although he said he’d keep his doors open, whatever it takes.
“This is my livelihood,” he said. “I have to survive, one way or another.”
Like Ricker, Akkad is frustrated.
“They haven’t fulfilled any of (their promises), and they promised time and again,” he said.
And it’s not just the sidewalks and loan program they’re upset about.
Akkad said he was assured that the trees near his business wouldn’t be cut down, but they were.
ADVERTISEMENTSkip
Business owners also raised concerns about motorists not being able to turn left through much of Central and about how difficult it is for customers to navigate through the construction zone.
And Ricker and other Nob Hill business owners say they were assured that ART construction wouldn’t start until after December of 2016, given that the fourth quarter is typically the busiest time of year for most businesses.
But crews began ripping up the median in October, they said. Riordan said the city made a commitment not to have active construction work between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day.
“Some work started before Thanksgiving, but all work was stopped before the moratorium and all lanes, parking and sidewalks were opened as promised during the holiday season,” he said.
As for the trees that were cut down, the project team states that in order to maintain westbound left turn access onto Yale, a small part of the median in front of Olympia Cafe had to be removed. But the ART team says Akkad asked for two parking spots to be added in front of his restaurant, which the design team was able to secure.
Several merchants along the ART route are also skeptical that the nearly $70 million in federal funding for the project is going to materialize, particularly now that Donald Trump is president. Berry, who was in Washington, D.C., earlier this month meeting with other mayors and administration officials, said he has heard nothing to indicate that the funding won’t materialize. |
Bangalore: India’s relationship with the global tech industry has become increasingly fraught. This year alone, the government has banned Facebook’s free web service and declined to exempt Apple from local sourcing rules and open its own stores. Now India could force companies to use technology cooked up in a government-funded lab.
The initiative is part of a national biometric identity programme called Aadhaar. Millions of Indians use fingerprint and iris-scan authentication to access a range of public and private services that now includes banking. Failure to join the effort could limit the tech industry’s access to a vast and growing market, but companies like Apple and Google are expected to resist opening up their phones and operating systems to the Indian registration, encryption and security technology.
“There will be lots of pushing and shoving by the technology companies," said Neeraj Aggarwal, managing director of the Boston Consulting Group in India. “It will be a battle of ecosystems, and companies will do their best to hold on to their own."
A few weeks ago, government officials invited executives from Apple Inc., Microsoft Corp., Samsung Electronics Co. and Alphabet Inc.’s Google to a meeting to discuss embedding Aadhaar encryption into their technology. None of the companies will comment on what transpired at the gathering—and Apple didn’t show up at all.
Ajay Bhushan Pandey, who runs the Unique Identification Authority of India and convened the meeting, said the industry representatives listened politely and were non-committal. But Pandey said he was frank about the government’s position, telling his visitors: “Go to your headquarters and work this out so that we can have Aadhaar-registered devices."
India’s biometric identity programme is something of a path breaker. While the Federal Bureau of Investigation and US VISIT visa programme use similar technology to respectively track criminals and foreign visitors, no other country has taken the concept as far as India.
In September of 2010, it began collecting citizens’ biometric and demographic data, storing them in a centralized database and issuing a unique 12-digit ID number to every man, woman and child. Aadhaar is the world’s largest such programme; as of April this year, more than one billion people had signed up, or about 83% of the population.
Designed in part to help thwart criminals who siphon off billions of dollars in welfare payments each year, Aadhaar helps authenticate millions of poor citizens so the government can send money in lieu of food, fuel and fertilizer subsidies, as well as pension and guaranteed work payments directly to their bank accounts electronically.
Civil liberties and citizens’ groups say the programme violates Indians’ privacy; others warn that Aadhaar’s servers could be hacked and compromise national security. But the government is moving ahead and in recent weeks has rolled out a digital payments infrastructure built on top of the programme. The idea is to bring financial services to a nation where millions have never set foot inside a bank, let alone opened an account.
As India’s billion-user Aadhaar jigsaw fits into place, the government plans to ramp up and add a host of other services including education and healthcare.
“We are doing 5 million authentications daily, and with Aadhaar-compliant devices that number will grow exponentially," Pandey said. “There is a solid business case for technology companies to enable Aadhaar services."
Indians will still log into their smartphones using the manufacturer’s biometric authentication—typically a fingerprint or iris scan. But once they access Aadhaar using the government’s encryption, the likes of Apple and Google will lose the ability to track users online, forfeiting the ability to mine that data to sell ads or other products and services. (Indian law, by the way, bars the government from collecting or using customer data.)
Tech companies will probably also object to allowing the government to install its authentication software on their gadgets for fear of security breaches and hacking attacks. Apple has strenuously resisted the US government’s demands to build a back door into its operating system so law enforcement can track the movements of terrorists and criminals. “There should be clarity and provisions about security," said Amresh Nandan, a research director at Gartner Inc.
On the other hand, foreign tech companies could be at a competitive disadvantage if they don’t go along because Indian companies like Flipkart, Paytm and Snapdeal are already making their digital payments and services compatible with Aadhaar. “Once the Aadhaar system grows to scale, technology companies will find it tricky to prevent people from using it," Aggarwal says.
Samsung is the only global device-maker currently making an Aadhaar-friendly device, a tablet that’s reportedly selling well. Microsoft is said to be working with the government to link Skype with the Aadhaar database so the video calling service can be used to make authenticated calls. Fresh from battles with Washington over encryption, Apple, Google and other US tech companies are less likely to compromise without a fight.
For now, Indian authorities are asking politely. That could change. Earlier this year New Delhi mandated that, starting in 2017, all mobile phones sold in India must have a panic button women can push when attacked. Nandan Nilekani, who co-founded the leading tech services firm Infosys Ltd and helped create the national authentication programme, says the government could do exactly the same with Aadhaar. Bloomberg |
It’s official, bitcoin-based payroll is coming to North America. Online payroll management firm Wagepoint is planning to integrate the feature into its product for Canadians next Monday, with a US rollout expected in January.
Virtex’s role
The Halifax-based company is working with incumbent Canadian exchange Virtex to transfer payments into bitcoins for its customers’ employees.
Employees must set up a bitcoin wallet themselves (employers cannot do this for them) and tell the system how much of their net pay they want converted into bitcoins. Wagepoint then converts this amount via Virtex at the exchange’s current ask price.
Bitcoins will hit employee wallets once the payroll has been processed. Any tax deductions will be handled before the bitcoins are converted, meaning that the employee will only receive bitcoins from their net pay.
In theory, this avoids any potential tax hurdles further down the line, should the Canadian Revenue Agency revisit its rules on taxation. Earlier this month, the CRA reaffirmed its original position on bitcoin, which was to treat it as a barter transaction.
Advantages for employees
One of the advantages for Canadians who want to receive bitcoins in this way is that they’ll get a better rate.
Virtex normally charges 1.5% on transactions less than 400 BTC in a 30-day period. Employees accepting bitcoin payments via Wagepoint will be charged a 1% fee. Virtex normally requires an exchange of 1,200 BTC to 1,600 BTC – that’s at least $1m at the time of writing – to give that rate.
According to reports, Wagepoint Pay has processed $40m in payroll since launching in July.
Additionally, Virtex has introduced a debit card that can be used to spend bitcoins by converting them to dollars automatically at an ATM or point of sale. However, this service requires people to own a Virtex account, rather than a third-party wallet.
Leema Thampan, Wagepoint’s chief marketing officer, hopes to promote the feature primarily to merchants who already accept bitcoin payments, she commented: “As they are already comfortable with the concept, they will be likely to consider a payroll solution that supports bitcoin to pay their own employees.”
Risks for employees
This focus on companies that already take bitcoin could mitigate another risk – the uneducated employee. Bitcoin is notoriously volatile, thanks to a market that still lacks liquidity. Indeed, speakers at Tuesday’s banking Senate hearing even suggested it was closer to a commodity than a currency because it tracked currency so poorly. Thampan commented:
“We expect employees who set up a bitcoin wallet to understand the implications of their decision, given the volatile nature of bitcoin. We are simply enabling them […] to buy bitcoin at the time they get paid.”
Thampan added that the company would not provide advice to employees about bitcoin, saying: “Employees are definitely taking a risk when accepting payment in bitcoin, but it is no different than employees making decisions to invest their money in stock options.”
The firm will be rolling out a similar US-based service in January with an undisclosed US bitcoin exchange. US company Coinvoice already provides an invoicing system for freelancers and contractors who wish to invoice in US dollars and get paid in bitcoins.
Image Courtesy of Wagepoint’s website. |
California sexual misconduct bill creates a consent muddle.
California politicians are aiming to entrench and expand an Obama-administration policy that has questionable implications for the rights of the accused.
Senate Bill 967 would require California universities whose students are receiving financial assistance to change their sexual-misconduct policies. Colleges would be required to follow a standard of “affirmative consent” from students engaging in sexual activities and follow a “preponderance of evidence” standard for disciplinary measures.
Advertisement
Advertisement
The bill, co-sponsored by California state senators Kevin De León (D., Los Angeles) and Hannah-Beth Jackson (D., Santa Barbara), is in part a reaction to the newly established White House Task Force to Protect Students from Sexual Assault, which encourages universities to take action against sexual misconduct. The bill passed the California senate by a resounding 27-to-4 vote May 29. It will be heard by the assembly judiciary committee Tuesday.
Supporters claim that its measures are needed to “flip” a status quo that makes it too difficult for victims to come forward, but critics allege that two provisions undermine the rights of the accused.
The preponderance standard essentially means that California universities will be forbidden to give accused students the benefit of the doubt that is accorded in criminal court proceedings. The standard is not only broader than the “beyond reasonable doubt” standard applied in criminal courts but also broader than the middle-bar standard of “clear and convincing evidence.” SB 967 would require schools to take disciplinary action against all students deemed more likely to have committed a sexual offense than not.
Advertisement
Claire Conlon, a press and legislative aide to De León, said that the preponderance standard is widely used in civil courts. Moreover, the preponderance standard is already in effect mandated nationwide by an April 4, 2011, “Dear colleagues” letter issued by the Department of Education Office for Civil Rights, which said any higher standard is inconsistent with Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972.
Advertisement
Joseph Cohn, the legislative and policy director of Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE), noted that upon the dissemination of this letter, many universities lowered their standards from the intermediate “clear and convincing” standard to preponderance in order to avoid lawsuits for failing to comply with Title IX. “Preponderance” is now nearly ubiquitous.
The mandate for preponderance in SB 967 is significant because it makes the change a matter of state law, rather than compliance with the Department of Education’s interpretation of Title IX, Cohn said. As things now stand, the federal mandate for preponderance would disappear if a subsequent administration’s Department of Education interpreted Title IX differently. Universities can in principle challenge the current interpretation of Title IX in court, though the stakes are so high that none are likely to do so. If ratified, SB 967 would give the preponderance mandate an independent and a more permanent legal foundation.
Advertisement
Cohn, a critic of SB 967, said the law “further retrenches a bad outcome and bad policy.”
Advertisement
#page#
The analogy between civil courts and university disciplinary action, often invoked by supporters, is questionable. It is uniquely damaging to carry the stigma of being declared a rapist. Institutions of higher education should not be able to punish a student as a sexual pariah on the basis of a mere 55 percent confidence in that student’s guilt. Moreover, as a February 13 FIRE statement criticizing an earlier draft of SB 967 noted, university students facing disciplinary action do not have the ability to settle out of court, nor are they guaranteed due process.
The bill’s “affirmative consent” provision gives rise to similar concerns. SB 967 mandates “an affirmative, unambiguous, and conscious decision by each participant to engage in mutually agreed-upon sexual activity.” The burden is on the initiator to ensure that he or she has consent – so understood – and misunderstanding is ruled out as an acceptable excuse.
“I think the ‘affirmative consent’ standard is particularly problematic because it’s so hard to prove,” Cohn said. He added that the SB 967 “almost ensures that there will be a greater number of students expelled or punished with serious questions as to whether or not that’s fair.”
Advertisement
Proponents of SB 967 emphasize that “affirmative consent” provision is that it will make it easier for victims to come forward with complaints, since investigations will place less significance on the absence of a verbal “no.”
“Instead of trying to figure out ‘did they say no?’ it asks ‘did they consent?’” Conlon said. “It takes the status quo and flips it. The status quo is obviously nor working. It seems stacked against survivors.”
In a similar vein, De León’s press release about SB 967’s passage in the senate described the bill as “changing the equation” so that “only ‘yes’ means ‘yes.’”
Advertisement
These quotes by supporters give the impression that the bill replaces an antiquated, overly permissive conception of “consent” with a carefully calibrated higher standard. An earlier version of the bill literally required a verbal “yes,” but that provision was dropped. Without that provision, it’s not clear that “affirmative consent” amounts to more than a redundancy. Tellingly, neither Cohn nor Conlon could provide an example of a sexual encounter that would be permitted before, but not after, acceptance of “affirmative consent” as the standard for sexual consent.
Despite the nebulous language, both supporters and opponents of SB 967 expect that “affirmative consent” provision will lead to more allegations of sexual misconduct at California universities if the bill is ratified. The absence of due-process protections for the accused on campuses make that a troubling development.
Advertisement
— Spencer Case is a philosophy graduate student at the University of Colorado. He is a U.S. Army veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan and an Egypt Fulbright alumnus. |
Ariel Matthews’s son Ronan only lived for 11 days, but because of his life, Matthews was able to help three other families: The 25-year-old California woman donated a staggering 2,370 ounces, or 18.5 gallons, of breast milk. The milk went to two women whose milk didn’t come in and another who’d adopted a foster baby.
Ronan was born on October 3 with a heart defect and underwent surgery to repair it, but died days later. During his life, Matthews pumped 398 ounces, and she continued to pump after his death, setting a goal of 1,000 ounces, which she achieved on October 24. She told People, “I just decided to keep going with it once I hit it.”
Her new goal: donating her body weight in breast milk. On November 28, she posted on Instagram that she’d surpassed that mark, pumping 2,370 ounces in total, or 148 pounds — more than her weight. This is not the first time Matthews has done this. After she had a stillborn birth a year ago, she managed to donate 510 ounces. She has a 3-year-old son, Noah.
Matthews is grateful for the support from the moms who received her milk, and from total strangers who’ve commented on her posts. “It felt really good to donate it all, especially because I would get hugs from the moms when they came to pick it up and thank yous,” she told People, adding that good things can come from a loss. “I like to know that there’s actually people being encouraged by this. I’ve even gotten messages on Facebook saying ‘this has really helped me, that I hope I can be like this.’” |
The Chinese Embassy in Ottawa has warned citizens living or travelling in Canada to "strengthen their personal security" after the gruesome killing and dismemberment of a Chinese student living in Montreal.
The warning was posted to the Embassy's website in Chinese on Friday, but left out of its English and French statements on the homicide. It comes amid growing discussion in China of whether Canada remains a safe place to travel and study.
The grisly murder of Concordia University computer science student Lin Jun, allegedly at the hands of fugitive Luka Rocca Magnotta, has provoked widespread shock and anger in China, where many believe the crime was racially motivated. It was the second killing of a Chinese student in Canada in just over a year, following last April's murder of York University student Liu Qian, part of which was watched on Skype by her boyfriend back in China.
Story continues below advertisement
A friend of Mr. Lin's family said his mother had initially been in denial about her son's murder, and told people as recently as Saturday that the stories could not be true because she had just spoken to her son. By Sunday, however, the working-class family appeared to have accepted the bad news and was travelling to Beijing from their hometown in Hubei province. It's believed they will now head to Montreal to collect their son's remains.
Mr. Lin's death now dominates Internet discussion in China – his personal account on Weibo (a popular Chinese social-networking site) was the most searched-for page on the sina.com web portal. The No. 2 search was for the latest news of the case.
"The Chinese Embassy in Canada reminds Chinese citizens traveling in Canada, as well as students and the staff of Chinese organizations in Canada, to improve their self-protection [and] awareness, and to strengthen their personal security," reads the final paragraph of the Embassy's Chinese-language statement on Mr. Lin's murder, which called condemned the "heinous criminal act." A similar warning was posted on the webpage of the Chinese consulate in Montreal.
The Canadian Embassy in Beijing, meanwhile, posted a brief statement on its own Weibo account reporting that Foreign Minister John Baird had called Chinese Ambassador Zhang Junsai to express his "deepest condolences" over the killing.
That did little to mollify the Chinese Internet users who replied with anger and disbelief.
"I heard of the murder of friend's relative in Canada before, now there is this other case ... can people go to this place?" wrote one Internet user from central Henan province, in reply to the Canadian Embassy statement. The author was one of many who raised questions over how safe Canada really is, a worry that could pose a particular threat to Canadian universities, which were already in damage-control mode in China in the wake of Ms. Liu's murder.
"The impact of the case will be very bad on Canada," Meng Xiaochao, the boyfriend who witnessed the attack on Ms. Liu, said in an interview. "Last year when Liu Qian's case happened, many parents said they were no longer willing to send their children to Canada. Now here comes this other case."
Story continues below advertisement
Story continues below advertisement
More than 50,000 Chinese students currently live and study in Canada. Like all foreign students, they pay higher tuition than their Canadian-born classmates, making them highly sought-after by cash-strapped universities. Another 242,000 Chinese came to Canada as tourists last year, a number the travel industry had been hoping would increase by as much as one-fifth this year.
Hamilton's Mohawk College was concerned enough about the impact the case could have on its bottom line that it intervened in the debate on the Canadian Embassy page with a Chinese-language posting that pleaded "please believe [us], Canada is a country with good public security protection. Canadians are very friendly. This individual case is not big enough to influence the trust between people of China and Canada… [it's a] country worth of the trust of foreign students and parents."
Meanwhile, messages of condolence from Chinese-speakers around world continued to pile up all weekend on Mr. Lin's Weibo account. The photographs and writings on the microblog revealed a 33-year-old with a soft heart but a hint of an darker side – someone who loved his cat and romantic French music, but who was also prone to bouts of narcissism and self-loathing.
The account had more than 20,000 comments on it by Sunday. "I've read through all your [postings] and looked at your last photograph. This is very hard to accept," wrote one netizen from coastal Zhejiang province. "The next generation does not need to go to Canada. China is big and warm." |
The United States’ abandonment of global migration and climate change agreements in the same year could be disastrous for climate refugees.
When it comes to addressing the growing problem of climate change induced displacement, neither the UN’s Global Compact on Migration nor the Paris Climate Change agreement go far enough. With or without the support of the United States, we need both of these agreements to be more ambitious and implemented faster, to protect some of the world’s most vulnerable people.
Yet despite the challenges, here at the epicentre of climate displacement, across the Pacific, people are searching for higher ground, rather than giving up. That’s why this week, we, civil society leaders from around the world, are making a global declaration on climate change induced displacement.
During this week’s International Civil Society Week (ICSW) meeting in Suva, Fiji, we’ve heard from people from around the world, who are grappling with global problems at the local level.
They include leaders from across the Pacific who are fighting the twin global problems of nuclear waste and climate change. In the Marshall Islands, leftover nuclear waste from US nuclear tests have already left Runit Island uninhabitable. Now rising sea levels are leaving the people of the Marshall Islands with fewer and fewer options of dry land that is also safe from radiation.
The good news of 2017, although it will not help the Marshall Islands, is that UN member states - 53 so far - banded together to introduce a nuclear test ban treaty. It may be a pipe dream – as rhetoric between North Korea and the United States escalates – but it was a show of unity, that together we can achieve seemingly impossible global goals.
That the Nobel Prize committee chose to honour the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) with the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts to achieve the treaty, was also a major recognition of the work that civil society coalitions do, often behind the scenes, to solve global problems.
SCROLL TO CONTINUE WITH CONTENT Help Keep Common Dreams Alive Our progressive news model only survives if those informed and inspired by this work support our efforts
Civil society is also working tirelessly behind the scenes on other global issues, including climate change and migration. Collectively we believe that now is the time to sound the alarm on an emerging global problem unlike any we have seen before.
While conflicts, natural disasters, poverty and famine have all caused mass displacement in the past, climate change induced displacement will be like nothing we have ever seen before. And, it will come on top of the displacement from conflicts, poverty and inequality that we are already struggling to coordinate.
This year’s disastrous hurricane season in the Caribbean was particularly severe because of warmer oceans. We’ve season unprecedented cyclones in the Pacific over the past two years. Already, entire islands are being left uninhabitable for months, but soon the equation may change and that time period may become years.
And while climate induced displacement is often associated with small tropical islands, that’s far from the whole picture. Droughts spurred on by super El Ninos force farmers off their land. Monsoonal floods of low-lying highly populated river delta areas leave millions homeless year in year out. And these are all events that are happening already. As temperatures rise, oceans warm and acidify, weather events become more severe, the situation will only get worse.
That’s why, this week, CIVICUS, together with the Pacific Islands Development Forum are calling for the UN’s global migration compact to recognise climate change as a driver of both internal and international displacement. In the words of my colleagues from the Pacific Islands, this means striving first and foremost to limit warming to 1.5 degrees: “1.5 to stay alive.”
We also need governments to recommit to the human rights of people who are forced to move because of climate change. It’s also important that we commit to those who are the most vulnerable to climate displacement and include them in our efforts to find solutions.
For those on the frontlines of climate-induced migration, there is really no choice. We have to act now, because “we’re not drowning,” not yet, not now, not ever, “we’re fighting.” |
The international credit rating agency Standard & Poor's (S&P) on Monday said it was downgrading VW's long-term debt rating to A- and could cut "by up to two more notches" again in future in face of the "wide-ranging negative credit consequences following its admission that it installed software designed to manipulate diesel engine exhaust emissions in 11 million vehicles."
The downgrade comes at a time when VW has been struggling to contain the fallout from the company's biggest scandal in history.
Revelations last month that the automaker had installed faulty software in its diesel-powered cars to sidestep tough emissions restrictions caused a huge dent to the firm's reputation worldwide. The company is also facing the prospect of huge fines running into billions of euros.
"We believe that VW's breach of US environmental law and potential other laws outside the US represents a significant reputational and financial risk to VW over the medium term," S&P said in a statement.
VW has already said it will set aside 6.5 billion euros ($7.4 billion) in provisions in the third quarter, but its new chief executive has said that sum would only cover the costs of repairs, and that much more was needed to meet potential fines and damages arising from any lawsuits.
EIB loans
Meanwhile, the European Investment Bank (EIB) said it could demand billions of euros in loans back from Volkswagen, if it determined that Europe's largest carmaker misused its loans to cheat on diesel emissions data.
Since 1990, the EIB has extended loans to VW worth some 4.6 billion euros ($5.2 billion) for the development of cleaner motors and production sites in South America.
"The EIB rules may have been violated, because we have to fulfill certain climate targets with our loans," the bank's chief, Werner Hoyer, told German daily Süddeutsche Zeitung in an interview published Monday.
'Very thorough investigations'
Around 1.8 billion euros of the EIB's loans to VW are still outstanding. Hoyer said the bank would conduct "very thorough investigations" to determine whether VW had used any of the funds for nefarious purposes.
Should that be the case, Hoyer said he and his colleagues at the EIB would "ask ourselves whether we have to demand loans back."
The VW cheating scandal has shaken trust in Germany's automobile industry and tarnished the country's reputation for engineering prowess.
Conflict of interest
Former VW CEO Martin Winterkorn stepped down last month, but he did not relinquish his other positions within the company, including one as chief executive of Porsche SE, the holding company owned by the Porsche and Piëch families that controls a major stake in Volkswagen.
But now Winterkorn could resign from these other positions as well, according to German media reports.
Winterkorn's successor at VW, Matthias Müller, also works at Porsche SE as head of strategy and business development, and is thus Winterkorn's subordinate. VW has so far said it was up to the supervisory boards of the companies in question to decide whether Winterkorn's involvement represented a conflict of interest.
German media also reported that Winterkorn had analyzed his situation and decided to step down from all of his remaining posts, which also include the chairmanship of VW's luxury brand Audi, its trucks division Scania and the group's Truck & Bus holding.
sri, cjc/hg (Reuters, AFP, dpa) |
Introduction
Jodel is an anonymous social media app allowing you to broadcast short text posts and images to other users in a 10km radius. It doesn't have user names and the only information you see about other users is how close they are (“close”, “very close” and so on).
It is marketed towards students and combined with the anonymity, posts frequently are about sensitive/personal topics, sex and love and stuff like that.
I found some unofficial pages in the Internet that archive interesting threads and noticed there seems to be a user id which is hidden in the app itself so I started to investigate but it seems like they are semi-random and can't be used to connect users between different threads. I then got curious about the distance field returned with posts and replies and that's what this post is about.
tl;dr
You can locate Jodel users with a way better precision than the in-app information (i.e. “very close” is < 1km distance and the lowest indication available). From my testing I'd say I got locations somewhere in the range of 100m or so.
This works on posters (i.e. Jodels) as well as their replies. The latter also have a distance field but apparently showing that in-app is only available to some users. As I have been using the API directly I could locate people responding to posts just as well even though my mobile app doesn't have that feature yet.
How does it work
When you log in to Jodel, you specifiy your current location. For every post and reply you get a distance field which is an integer in the range 1-100. I haven't checked it too much but the numbers seem to correspond with kilometers distance. That fits the description of “very close” posts which are closer than 1km – and return a distance value of 1.
Now the trick is that this distance field is updated whenever you relog and update your own position, specified as latitude and longitude – or when you use the API you can just tell Jodel your new position directly.
This basically gives us an oracle that we can feed an arbitrary latitude/longitude pair, a post id for a post whose author we would like to locate and it returns a number between 1-100 describing the proximity.
So what we do is, we just feed positions into it until we get distance values of 1 so we have a 1km area where the target is, then just dissect that circle with further queries until the overlapping area is sufficiently small. There's probably smarter people who have great algorithms for how to do it but I was lazy so build an interactive tool for that.
For the netsec crew, feels a bit like Blind SQL I guess.
API access
The Jodel API isn't public but there are numerous reverse-engineered libraries available. I used a python lib called jodel-api, https://github.com/nborrmann/jodel_api for that
I wrote a bunch of tools to do the work, a few scripts to fetch current posts (so I can grab the post id) and replies (so I can grab reply ids for locating people responding).
For the main tool I decided I want a visual solution so I got myself a Google Maps API key and hacked together an HTML page which loads Google Maps, allows me to set markers and draw circles around them.
What I wanted was that I click on the map, it fetches the distance to a previously specified user/post id and then draws a circle. This way I could just click around on the map until I had a nice small intersection area in which the target would be.
Because I have really no clue about JavaScript and couldn't be bothered, I had to find a way to glue my python scripts to the hacked together Google Maps thingy.
So I wrote the ugliest piece of code I've ever written, added a small HTTP server to my python scripts and had the JavaScript talk to it via HTTP requests to have it fetch the distance from Jodel. There are JavaScript Jodel APIs but I'm not smart enough to use them.
As the saying goes, if it is stupid and it works it isn't stupid.
Picture time
This is what it looks like after manually locating a random user from my home town, same as above:
The markers carry the distance as returned from Jodel. The one on the left is just the location of Karlsruhe (lat/long). Basically I just click a bunch until I get close, then try to decrease the intersection area until I'm satisfied. You definitely could automate that and make it less shitty but it takes about a minute of clicking to locate anyone so I really didn't bother to automate this. It's not like I want to use that tool at all, it's creepy.
I've marked the area contained in all circles below. It quickly gets confusing when adding more circles but I could've gone further to make it more precise of course.
Or zoomed in:
That is pretty narrow. I tested it on my home and I got a location which was at most 100m off, instead of my home it looked like I should be at the next street corner, roughly. That's close enough to be uncanny.
Conclusion
I don't really know. I personally feel like this puts a damper on Jodel for me. I enjoyed talking about random, possibly personal stuff because nobody will know who I am, and at most should know I'm in a 1km circle. Especially for people who are further away the area is huge. For some Jodels I've tested it on, I could pretty much pin-point down suburbs of my hometown, something I never would've known from the closeness tag itself (matches pretty much the whole inner city for people far enough away).
Another thing I haven't mentioned above and is another issue: In a Jodel thread, replies contain a post id, as mentioned above. The thing is, that this ID is fixed for the whole thread. In the app you have no way to distinguish between replies unless it's the thread author (who gets a special mark). With API access you can identify all posts the same user posted. I also find this a bit iffy. Not because I want to troll or impersonate others in the same thread, but because now you have to be careful what you post in longer threads. Maybe a single reply cannot identify you, but all posts together might.
Solution
I don't really know either. The feature is part of the charm. As long as you get updated distance values if you change your own location, this “attack” is possible. I don't even need to spam a lot of requests to zone in on a target, so aggressive rate limiting would probably not even prevent it.
Not my problem though. I just wanted to see if it works and yup, it does. |
The Baltic nation is hosting the 27th European Film Awards on Dec. 13
Walking around around Riga, the capital of Latvia, it's clear that while this tiny Baltic nation borders on Russia, its eyes are clearly turned towards the West. Whether its the Italian-style coffee shops, the German cars that crowd the streets, or the city's ubiquitous Christmas markets – all with canned English carols piped in over the speakers – the image Riga presents to the world is that of a European nation, first and foremost.
That's the image Latvia will be showcasing when it hosts the 27th European Film Awards (EFA), Europe's premier film prize, in Riga Saturday night. In addition to capping Riga's year as a European city of culture, the awards are part of a broader campaign by Latvia of strengthening ties between its local film industry and international partners.
Read More Stars Come Out for European Film Awards
The EFAs come after 10 days of events in Riga, including the inaugural Riga International Film Festival, which is intended to showcase Latvian films for the international press and industry, and the Riga Meetings, a two-day series which runs through Dec. 13, and which outlines the benefits for producers to shoot in Latvia.
A major incentive is financial. Latvia is the only Baltic country to offer two cash rebates, for both the country and the city of Riga, which can be used in tandem. The national rebate offers up to 25 percent cash back for productions that shoot in the country while Riga's film fund boasts a 20 percent rebate for productions that shoot in the city and 10 percent for any that shoot elsewhere in Latvia but use Riga-based service companies.
“We are really seeing an increase in productions from outside now, thanks to the incentives, we've had productions from Germany, from England, from India, from Japan,” says Roberts Vinovskis, the Latvian producer of animated feature Rocks in My Pockets, which is Latvia's official entry for the 2015 foreign language Oscar.
“We are a small country so co-productions are a necessity for us and we need to establish the contacts with producers outside the country, particularly in Europe.”
Recent international co-productions to benefit from the Latvian funds include Sergey Loznitsa’s Cannes competition entry In the Fog and The Berlin Files by Ryoo Seung-wan. The local industry produces just a handful of films a year but has a strong track record. Mother, I Love You from Latvian director Janis Nords, which took the Crystal Bear for best children's film at this year's Berlin International Film Festival, also won best film at the Latvian equivalent of the Oscars, held in Riga Dec. 11.
Making the pitch for his hometown, Vinovskis notes Riga's varied history makes it an ideal stand-in. “You can shoot Germany or Russia here, Soviet or pre-Soviet times. You have modern Europe and cityscapes and you have beautiful landscapes, with four real seasons year-round.”
Read More Steve McQueen to Get European Film Honor
Another Latvian producer, Guntis Trekteris of Ego Media, notes that cooperation with Europe has become easier this year since Latvia adopted the Euro as its official currency. Work with Russia, however, has gotten harder as that country's economy spirals downward.
“The Ruble has fallen 30 percent his year and it looks like the government will be giving less support to Russian filmmakers,” says Trekteris. “We've had talks with Russia producers who have shot in Riga and would like to do so again but can't commit because of the financial problems in Russia.”
While Latvia looks West, however, the European Film Awards this year, ironically, are looking East. The two frontrunners for best film are the black-and-white Polish drama Ida and Leviathan, a Russian retelling of the Book of Job, both of which picked up Golden Globe nominations this week.
Another contender is Turkish drama Winter Sleep, which won the Palme d'Or in Cannes this year. Western Europe is represented by perennial EFA winner Lars Von Trier – the Danish director's sex epic Nymphomaniac is a best film nominee – and another Golden Globe contender, the dark comedy Force Majeure from Swedish director Ruben Ostlund.
Read More Golden Globe Nominations: The Complete List
With the exception of Nymphomaniac, all of the best film nominees this year are also candidates for the 2015 foreign-language Oscar. The EFAs aren't always the best predictors of future award success but for the past two years running the winner of the best film honor — Paolo Sorrentino’s The Great Beauty in 2013 and Michael Haneke’s Amour in 2012 — went on to win the Oscar.
Twitter: @sroxborough |
China cracks down on mobile games with new approval requirement
China’s ever-present grip on the Internet and everything related to it just got a little tighter. In an effort to crackdown on popular media, mobile game developers must get their games pre-approved by the Chinese government before launching them in the nation. The rule went into effect today, though it was first announced in early June. To avoid running afoul of the new regulations, developers must submit their games to China’s State Administration of Press, Publications, Radio, Film and Television, more commonly called “SAPPRFT,” at least 20 days before launch.
The new requirement applies to all mobile games intended for launch in China, and involves a ridiculously convoluted system of red tape and waiting which may not ultimately prove successful. As noted by Tech in Asia, developers, upon completing their game, have to submit it (and any applicable licenses and permits) to their provincial government authority, which will spend a week deciding whether the game is complete. Assuming they don’t find anything to complain about, they’ll recommend it for publication and move it on to a national government authority.
That national government authority will then spend two weeks deciding whether the game, and in particular its storyline, is inline with government values and requirements. Assuming they approve it, that approval will be sent back to the original provincial office, which will then have almost a full business week to let the game developer know.
Finally, and if the game develop does get approval, the game has to be launched within 20 days of the previously stated intended launch date, and details like when exactly it launched and on what platform have to be submitted to the government. If the game launches outside of that 20-day period, the game developer has to submit an explanation about why.
Games with storylines involving the military and/or politics are at particular risk of being censored. |
"It’s a disturbing trend we cannot ignore" begins what I can only describe as a hit piece on autistic men penned by none other than Temple Grandin's mother, Eustacia Cutler, for the Daily Beast. I call the article, entitled "A Toxic Autism Secret," a hit piece because it weaves without an iota of evidence a horror story of unfathered autistic men trapped in a preadolescence of sexuality that leads them to pursue child pornography as a salve for their sexual urges. As if it weren't egregious enough to imply all of this--again, without an iota of evidence--Cutler also introduces that debunked "divorce rates of 90%" in autism families and tosses in some infantilization of grown autistic men while she's at it.
While there's no trend, disturbing or otherwise, supported by any data in Cutler's piece for the Daily Beast, the article itself is, to say the least, disturbing. It's evidently not enough that autistic men must deal with a public perception that they are unempathetic, that they are violent. No. Now people must also, by allusion and innuendo only, imply that autistic men also are pedophiles, at least at heart, and infantile pedophiles, at that.
Cutler opens with an anecdote of an autistic man labeled for life as a predator for being busted with child pornography on his computer. She then goes on to say:
One of the least understood and least discussed aspects of male sex offenders is the sexual response of those who live with autism. Part of the reason is that the group is very small; numbers are not available, and few arrests are on record. However, its significance points to a major lack: we don’t yet understand the social neurology of autism, nor its link to the role of supportive parental guidance. Particularly that of fathers for their sons.
Yet, in spite of this open admission that data are lacking, that numbers are not available, and that "few arrests are on record," she then tries to trace a connection from this undocumented alleged phenomenon of autistic men pursuing online child pornography to how their alleged infantile self perception leads them to younger aged persons as objects of sexual interest, how their obsession with computers takes them online in that pursuit, and how that disproved "high divorce rate" among autism families means that no fathers are present, which means that fathers aren't teaching their autistic sons about sex (and somehow, doctors are AWOL, too), which means that their autistic sons then ... seek out child pornography online. Got that?
Culter gives us only two pieces of data in this article, and one of them isn't even correct. The divorce rate isn't what's widely reported or what Cutler cites. Perhaps aware of this, Cutler also offers up a lack of fathers at autism-related conferences as evidence that fathers aren't around to teach their sons about sex, but ... um, couldn't that simply be because the fathers are ... working and not attending conferences?
The entire article follows this theme, one assumption after another, one tenuous extrapolation after another, relying only on one paragraph of quoted musings from an expert and the "wonderings" of a forensic psychologist. And it offers up one insulting description of autistic men (or, as she calls them, "ASDs") after another. This one's a gem:
The other big help—one that many teachers use—is the computer. Computers and ASDs think alike: both substitute memory and logic for social spontaneity. ... Along with struggling with social spontaneity, ASDs also have trouble with context, i.e. the relationship of one object to another, of one situation to another. So does a computer. A computer cannot distinguish the relevant difference between a misspelled e-mail address and bringing a gun through airport security. Nor can a computer deal with random. At best it carries a program that imitates random. Ditto those on the autism spectrum.
Autistic men: Unempathetic, infantile, computer-like entities incapable of real human love or adult sexual appreciation, unaided by their absent fathers, torn by broken homes, computer obsessed (because computers are inherently bad!), and turning without understanding to online child pornography. And it's a "trend."
People do research how autistic people approach and think about sex, and perhaps not shockingly, just as it is with violence and autism, the real risk for autistic people is being the victim, not the perpetrator--the one bit of correct data that Cutler does include in her article. It's one parents certainly are aware of. And if you really want some detailed anecdotal insights into autism and sexuality, Amy Harmon wrote a wonderful piece in the New York Times, "Navigating Love and Autism," and Laura Shumaker has written movingly and candidly about her son Matthew's own search for an adult relationship. An autistic blogger, C.S. Wyatt, responding to this article, not only writes about his own adult sexuality but also is working on a pocket guide for autistic people about sexuality. He calls this Daily Beast article "absurd on some levels."
Autism parents and autistic people aren't operating in a vacuum. We have resources, and we frequently discuss in our communities topics of sexuality and sexual behavior and relationships and autism. We even have fathers around for all of this back and forth. [Full disclosure: I am a volunteer editor at the last-linked site.] If there is some small risk that an autistic man will pursue online child pornography viewing (and no one's produced any evidence that such a risk exceeds that of the general population), then the way to address that issue isn't to manufacture blame against allegedly absent, uncaring fathers (and doctors and computers) but to weave that aspect into all of the other discussions of sexuality in the autistic community.
Anecdotes obviously are just that: Personal stories that can be illustrative, but not global, examples of a particular phenomenon. Even when told fully, they at most capture the individuality of the humans they involve but at least don't reduce those humans to harmful caricatures and offer up equally harmful assumptions. And regardless of how compelling they might be, they don't form a "trend," disturbing or toxic or secret or otherwise. "A wise man proportions his beliefs to the evidence," said David Hume. The wise reader, when taking in anything having to do with autism, would do well to do the same.
[Update: John Elder Robison has also written about this much less critically at Pyschology Today. While he makes a possibly valid point that some autistic men who do view child pornography might do so from different motivations and vulnerabilities than the general population, there still are no data provided. In addition, it is one thing to acknowledge differences in motivation between populations but another thing entirely to assert that autistic men have a greater risk for committing this crime than the general population when there is no evidence suggesting that, much less to trace this alleged greater risk to speculated factors. Update as of 2 a.m. EST: Robison has made some amendments to his post based on feedback from the autism community.] |
Tuesday on CNN’s “Legal View,” after giving a speech at the European Union parliament, UK Independence Party (UKIP) leader Nigel Farage said the Brexit vote was necessary because the United Kingdom, “literally” has “lost our sovereignty, lost our borders,” and the “nonsense” going on in the financial markets will stabilize.
He said, “I think for the United Kingdom, I think Trump will be better for us than Barack Obama has been, no doubt.”
“They were abusing me. twice, the president of the parliament had to cease proceedings,” Farage continued. “What I said to them, can we be grown up about this? Can we talk about trade deals? They all laughed and giggled. That’s when I said, the trouble of you people is, none of you have ever had a proper job, which wasn’t wrong…They called me all the names under the sun. I teased them that they are basically a bunch of bureaucrats that don’t have a proper job.”
He added, “What they tried to do is build a political union without consent. I have been in there to fight against it. Finally, a member said, we wish to succeed. They didn’t like it much.”
On the panic in the finical markets after the Brexit vote, Farage said, “Sterling is marginally lower than February so can we stop this nonsense about the market. The pound has been in a bear market since July, 2014, fact. Now, American viewers, imagine if NAFTA was a political union. Imagine if a court in Mexico could overrule, and imagine if you had free movement of people with Mexico. How would you feel? You wouldn’t like it. What we are doing in the U.K., we are reasserting our Democratic rights and in terms of business and trade, we’ll go on trading.”
When asked about Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump He continued, “Donald Trump dares to talk about things other people want to brush under the carpet. What Mr. Trump is doing in America is very different than what I am trying to do in the United Kingdom. My problem in politics is far greater than Donald Trump’s. We literally have lost our sovereignty, lost our borders…The problem you have in the U.S. is illegal immigration. our problem is legal immigration to half a billion people.
He continued, “I think for the United Kingdom, I think Trump will be better for us than Barack Obama has been, no doubt.”
He added, “There is nothing on earth could persuade me ever to vote for Hillary Clinton. Absolutely not. She represents the political elite. It is almost as if she feels she has a divine right to have that job.”
Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN |
Through the years Apple has provided thoughtful details for Mac, iPhone, and iPad. For example, the nifty amber light on the Mag-Safe power connector (not to mention the magnetic connector itself) tells you a Mac notebook is charging, which turns green when the notebook is fully charged. Nice right? Is there a similar touch with iPhone and iPad?
Yes, but it’s in the plugin chime– the sound an iPhone or iPad makes when you plugin the charging cable. That’s a reassuring sound which tells you all is well and your device is now charging appropriately.
How would you like to have a similar chime on your Mac? Plug in the Mag-Safe connector and you’ll still get the amber charging light, but insert this code into your Mac’s Terminal.app and then when you plug in the power connector you’ll be treated to a charging chime just like the iPhone and iPad.
The steps to get the chime running on your Mac are simple and straightforward. First, make sure you’re running OS X 10.10.3– the latest version of Yosemite. Then, un-plug your Mac notebook from the Mag-Safe power cable. Next, open Terminal.app (it’s in the Applications folder, inside the Utilities folder), and enter this text (copy and paste is your friend):
defaults write com.apple.PowerChime ChimeOnAllHardware -bool true; open /System/Library/CoreServices/PowerChime.app &
That’s it. Now when you plug the Mag-Safe connector back into your Mac notebook you’ll hear the familiar iPhone and iPad charging chime. Newer Mac notebooks with PowerNap should play the chime even when the Mac is asleep.
What if you want to get rid of the charging chime? Enter this into Terminal.app and Voila! No more chime.
defaults write com.apple.PowerChime ChimeOnAllHardware -bool false;killall PowerChime
Done. |
Spanish riders will get an opportunity to test their legs on the World Championship course ahead of the event in September. Related Articles Ponferrada World Championships safe
No uphill time trial at Ponferrada Worlds
Cassani: Sagan is favourite at the World Championships
Riders boycott Spanish national championships
Spanish Federation (RFEC) president José Luis López Cerrón and Ponferrada Mayor Samuel Folgueral announced yesterday that the Spanish National Road Race Championships would be held over the same course as the Worlds.
López Cerrón said that it will prove just as vital for the organisers as it will the riders. “It will be a test for Spanish riders ahead of their participation in the World , as well as to gauge the organizational details Ponferrada in a previous competition, such as road closures and other aspects," he explained.
The courses for all the events at the World Championships were announced last December. The 254.8km course that the men will tackle features only two small climbs, leading many to predict that a classics type sprinter will be the one to win.
Spain’s big hope is likely to be Alejandro Valverde, who has finished on the podium five times. Three-time world champion Oscar Freire rode the course after it was announced, saying that is was a course that would have suited him in his heyday.
The decision told hold the national championships here will no doubt attract a strong field. A good performance here could prove vital for selection for some riders. Spain sit fourth on the medal table in terms of total medal haul at the world championships, with 22. They finished with two riders on the podium last year, but haven’t taken gold since Freire in 2004.
It won’t just be the Spanish that could benefit, with other national selectors being able to see if their predictions are true and which riders come to the fore on this type of parcours.
The Spanish National Championships will take place between 26-29 June and Jesús Herrada (Movistar) will be the defending champion. The men's road race at the World Championships will be on 28 September. |
Today we’re going to talk about another member of the 2007 Marvel Comics series The Twelve called the Fiery Mask.
What’s interesting is that out of all the twelve Golden Age heroes that were in the comic book series the Fiery Mask is a hero with one of the longest and most interesting Golden Age careers out there. He had pedigree and he had some pretty interesting Golden Age stories. Let’s take a look.
Origin and Career
The Fiery Mask debuted in the Timely Comics book series Daring Mystery Comics #1 in January of 1940.
That’s him on the cover of the book, so he already had much more exposure than most of the heroes we’ve talked about on this blog. This makes sense considering that the hero was actually created by comic book legend Joe Simon,
who helped create a little known superhero named Captain America (you’ve probably never heard of him, he’s really obscure).
His origin story was titled The Fantastic Thriller of the Walking Corpses.
Jack Castle was a doctor who worked with the police and one day he was called in to investigate a strange case where corpses were coming back to life thanks to a mysterious beam of light.
So right off the bat we have zombies and weird science fiction, a good start.
Jack investigates this strange phenomenon until he is eventually kidnapped by the zombies and dragged before their leader. Side note: it should be noted here that at this time in pop culture history a zombie was a creature who was a mindless slave to a single person, not the brain hungry hoards we know and love today.
The leader of the zombie hoards was a twenty foot tall monster of a man who simply called himself “The Zombie Master”
who was using the ray to turn the city’s homeless population into a zombie slave army.
Unfortunately for the Zombie Master the ray didn’t work on Jack and in his rage the villain cranked up the power causing a massive explosion that killed him and gave Jack super strength and the ability to control fire. Naturally being the noble spirit that most superheroes of the Golden Age were Jack Castle decided to use his powers to become a superhero.
So after a pretty awesome origin story The Fiery Mask’s next appearance was in The Human Torch Comics #2. Here he faced the villainous Dr. Simon Sendach, a scientist obsessed with creating artificial organs to transplant into humans.
He had even had success in creating an artificial stomach that could sustain the human body on a diet of blood. However it had the side effect of turning the recipient of the device into a bloodthirsty maniac similar to a vampire.
Again, awesome.
The Fiery Mask would go on to have two more solo adventures where he would fight an evil scientist named Dork
who sought to take over the world by creating a strange blob like creature that ate human flesh.
and in his final battle he fought a demonically possessed baby,
and traveled to Hell where he fought and beat a demon who was committing a string of gruesome murders in out world.
So what happened?
Sadly the Fiery Mask was much to awesome to last for very long. I guess the flame that burns brightest burns half as long (pun very much intended).
The hero would fade into obscurity until 2007 when he was featured as an important character in J. Michael Straczynski’s The Twelve.
Like the rest of his teammates the Fiery Mask was captured by the Nazis and placed in stasis, only to be forgotten until they were rediscovered in 2007 and returned to the United States where they were slowly reintroduced to society.
The Fiery Mask wouldn’t play much of a role in the beginning of the series. Around the middle of the series it was revealed that his origin story was simply made up. Instead of gaining his powers from the science of the Zombie Master he had actually been granted the ability to control fire by a man who had been killed by a mob hit.
To that I say…BOOO! BOOO! They had the gall to change one of the coolest and cheesiest Golden Age origin stories to a man gaining his powers thanks to a simple set of circumstances?! Poor form Mr. Straczynski! Poor form!
Sadly this new revelation, that the Fiery Mask’s powers could be transferred to other human beings, would prove to be integral to the plot of the story. At the very end of the series all the heroes confront each other over the death of the Blue Blade at the hands of Electro. The Phantom Reporter reveals that it was one of their own who committed the crime: The Dynamic Man. Fiery Mask attempts to keep the peace.
But he fails and the Dynamic Man is revealed to be a half crazed android who attacks the group.
Dynamic Man manged to crush the Fiery Mask’s windpipe but just before the Mask died he managed to transfer his powers to the Phantom Reporter.
Who then proceeded to use his new gifts to end the fight and destroy Dynamic Man for good.
The Fiery Mask had one of the longest lasting Golden Age careers ever enjoyed by his colleagues from The Twelve. Granted, that may not be saying much but the stories he was a part of were some of the strangest and most interesting stories in an age where strange characters and events ruled comic book.
It’s just a crying shame they all turned out to be lies.
Advertisements |
Moscow could propose to China and India to create a joint manned orbital station at the summit of the BRICS emerging economies in Russia’s Ufa in July, a document drafted by the expert council at Russia’s military and industrial commission said on Tuesday.
The experts recommend “working out the possibilities of an international manned project with BRICS countries as part of a common strategy of creating technological alliances.”
“We can start this work now and include the issue in the agenda of the BRICS business council in Ufa,” the document reads.
In particular, Russia should make such a proposal to India and China, which have been actively developing their manned space programs, the experts suggest.
Other perspective areas for further research could be modular rockets using methane as fuel and also the creation of an aerospace vehicle, which could be used in the future to construct a fighter or a bomber of the sixth generation.
Courtesy of TASS. © 2015 TASS |
Tucked into a nondescript strip mall in Plano, Taipei Station Cafe is the kind of place people who love food want to know about but have yet to discover. Not that it isn't popular — on weekends around lunchtime, Taipei is packed to the gills and the line stretches past the door. Eager customers chat in Mandarin or Taiwanese as they wait for a table. And there aren't many — 15 tables, give or take, occupy the rather unremarkable interior. Weekday evenings are slower but still brisk and seem dominated by regulars: people who converse with the owner and who order big bowls of spicy beef noodle soup without a second glance at the menu.
But if you aren't a regular, you'll need that second glance. In fact, you'll probably need a few, plus a nap and a Morgan Freeman-style pep talk before placing your order. The menu isn't exactly expansive, but every dish on it sounds appetizing.
Continue Reading
First, the appetizers. Start with an order of the beef loin, tendon and belly. Served cold, this dish balances heat with sweetness, but the texture is what impresses. Between the elastic snap of the tendon and the fatty beef belly, each bite proves more interesting than the last.
The fried taro takes cubes of the starchy root vegetable — a favorite of African and Asian cuisines — and adorns them with strips of shiitake before frying them in a light, tempura-like batter until the edges turn a caramel color. The richness of the meaty taro is balanced by a sweet dipping sauce and cilantro leaves, which add a refreshing verdant note.
For a lighter start, try the boiled Taiwanese lettuce. Think more bok choy, less iceberg. The hearty lettuce green stands up well to the heat and is transformed into a vegetable almost anyone can appreciate thanks to a dressing of soy and sesame seeds.
One could easily make a meal out of Taipei's starters alone, especially the house-made pot stickers. They're like little burritos, with a filling of ground pork and leeks, or pork and shrimp, tucked neatly inside. The pot stickers are pan-fried on one side until crusty, while their underbellies remain supple from a steam bath. Dip one in some vinegar oil flecked with chili flakes for the full experience.
The pot stickers aren't the only thing made in-house: Taipei also makes its own noodles, as evidenced by the noodles' craggy and imperfect appearance. The long egg noodles are the star of several dishes here, from cold Taiwanese noodles to tomato beef noodle soup. If you look around a restaurant and see plate after plate — or in this case, bowl after bowl — of the same dish, it's a good indicator that the dish is worth ordering. At Taipei, tables are weighed down by big bowls of steaming-hot spicy beef noodle soup. The broth is, indeed, spicy. Slurp carefully, lest your throat be overwhelmed by the beautifully aromatic, chili-intensive liquid. This would be a wonderful soup on a cold winter's day, with its warm spices and thick, chewy noodles. But 108-degree Texas summers be damned. Enjoy this soup now, too.
The beef noodle soup isn't the only dish that draws people to Taipei — there are also pork chops, and not just any pork chops. These are massive, covering the plates they are served on. Pounded thin, the chops are coated in a dense, nutty crust. More sweet than salty, and served with a side of bok choy, this is the Taiwanese version of the blue plate special.
The oyster pancakes — a hallmark of Taiwanese cuisine and the stuff of late night, open air markets — are also as big as their serving platters. Taipei makes them three days a week — Tuesday through Thursday — so devotees of the potato starch cakes should plan accordingly. The starch gives the pancake its characteristic sumptuous texture, akin to the fat on a strip of pork belly, but the edges cook up thin and crispy. Oysters are interspersed throughout, their briny flavor contrasted by the sweet tomato sauce that blankets the pancake. A word of warning: The sauce is quite sweet, so proceed with caution if you dislike ketchup.
Somewhere on the menu, tucked among dishes whose names read like a siren's song of big, exciting flavors, resides a dish called milkfish soup. It's easy to overlook, but don't: While meek in name, it's big in flavor. Pieces of milkfish, a popular white fish in Southeast Asia, are tucked into a steaming hot, tofu-laden broth that has been perfumed with fistfuls of basil and julienned ginger. The fish is cooked skin-on and a fatty band separates the skin from the flesh, giving it a silky mouth-feel.
If silky is not your thing, try the pork chuckles. Otherwise known as pig's feet, what the chuckles lack in muscle they make up for in fat. Sticky, sticky fat. If you pick up a paper napkin after handling one, the napkin will adhere to your fingers. The chuckles taste faintly of molasses and pair well with the accompanying noodles. For those of you who still need persuading to try this particular cut of meat, our waitress mentioned that eating pig's feet is good for a woman's skin. (Sorry, guys.)
But the best dish on the menu involves a generous slab of marinated and braised pork belly. Pork belly is a culinary darling anyway, but Taipei's rendition, with fall-apart tender meat beneath a strip of fat which can only be described as pudding-like, should be culinary legend. This is the kind of pork that could inspire a person to write sonnets, to conquer countries — or, at the very least, to eat far more than their stomach allows. The pork is served with finely diced pickled mustard greens made in-house, an egg hard-boiled in stewing juices, bok choy and rice. Even the rice comes with accoutrement: a cup of rich, meaty broth.
Taipei takes pride in the food it serves. This is evident in every element of every dish, from the fried shallots atop the noodles to the shiitake strips on the taro. These touches, little though they may be, are what separate restaurants that care from restaurants that don't.
Part of me, selfishly, wants to keep this place a secret. But then I think about the people who make Taipei tick, and I'm pretty sure they wouldn't share my sentiment. In a time when most restaurants are owned by massive corporations focused on selling the idea of a good meal rather than delivering one, places like Taipei deserve all the recognition they can get. |
Last week, NHL.com released their list of the top-250 fantasy hockey players for this season and it looks as though they really don’t think any Colorado Avalanche players are worth a whole lot to your fantasy team.
Nathan MacKinnon is the first Avs player you come across - and it takes a lot of scrolling down before you find his name on the list. You’ll find MacKinnon all the way down at number 101 on the list - behind players like Alex Wennberg, Ryan Kesler, Jason Spezza and Mark Stone.
Avalanche Players in the top-250 Rank Name Rank Name 101. Nathan MacKinnon 159. Matt Duchene 180. Tyson Barrie 199. Gabriel Landeskog 217. Mikko Rantanen 233. Tyson Jost MH Semyon Varlamov
I get that there’s good reason to be pessimistic about the Avs this season, but do we really think that the best Avs player is going to crack the top-100 in production? I sure don’t.
101. Nathan MacKinnon
Nathan MacKinnon is coming off of a year where his shooting percentage was at a career low, the law of averages suggests that can’t be maintained. To expect less than 60-points from the 22-year old seems rather silly to me. He generates offense at a high rate and has the potential to be one of the top offensive players in the league. He’s not an elite player in the NHL right now, but he’s definitely got the capability of being in the second-tier and you could do a lot worse than having him as the 2C on your fantasy team. Prediction: 25 goals, 42 assists
Has Matt Duchene fallen so far in the eyes of the media that there are people that think he isn’t even in the top-150 fantasy hockey players. This is a player that once put up 70 points in 71 games. There is the weird belief among some segments of the fan base that Duchene was so bad last year because he ‘quit’ on the team. I find it hard to think so little of a professional athlete that I’d believe he gave up and didn’t try for three months.
Duchene was bad last year, that is undeniable - but so was the rest of the team. What is also undeniable is that when he’s on, Duchene is one of the best offensive players in the league. For him to be ranked below players like Patrick Maroon, Anthony Mantha and Evgeny Dadonov is just plain ludicrous. Prediction: 24 goals, 37 assists
At his best, he’s one of the most dynamic offensive defensemen in the NHL. At his worse, Tyson Barrie is a mistake-prone turnover machine that leaves fans wondering what he was thinking. Fortunately, the good most often outweighs the bad when it comes to Barrie’s play.
Coach Bednar gave him the highest percentage of offensive zone start on the team last season and if that usage continues, Barrie will be a very useful fantasy player. The biggest question will be whether or not the Avs powerplay can improve this season. Prediction: 10 goals, 30 assists
After producing at a 61 point average (over 82 games) through the previous three seasons, the captain’s production cratered last season - like everyone else on the team. He’s not going to drive offense the way MacKinnon or Duchene do, but for him to be ranked below Nikita Zaitsev is ridiculous. Prediction: 21 goals, 30 assists
This one is just plain silly. As a rookie last season, Rantanen was the only Avs player to break the 20 goal mark and that is coming off a year where he produced at a historical rate in the AHL. He’s got the potential to be one of the top young forwards in the league. If he gets to spend most of the season on MacKinnon’s wing, putting up 35 goals shouldn’t be out of the question. Prediction: 32 goals, 28 assists
I know I’m higher on Jost than many, but I think he has a legitimate chance to be in the Calder conversations all season. He was one of the best freshmen in the NCAA last season and was able to get a taste of the NHL, so he’s not going into this season completely green. One underrated factor that could give Jost’s production a boost is the Avs forward group - especially if Duchene is still on the team. Coach Bednar will have the opportunity to shelter the rookie with a high percentage of offensive zone starts and keep him away from tough matchups. Given the opportunity, Jost could dive the offense on a very productive 3rd line this season. Prediction: 19 goals, 32 assists
It seems as though these rankings entirely reflect last season and completely disregard the history of these players. If we were talking about older players, on the downturn of their career, that might make sense, but in the case of the Avs we are talking about guys in their prime - or not there yet - that have a history of being dynamic offensive players.
I guess the one good thing, is that if people in your fantasy league also devalue the Avs this badly, you’ll be able to get some great steals on draft day. |
Pretty sure the giant, fire-spewing lizard is the fittest
Studio Wildcard has announced a new, free-to-play spinoff of its massively popular Ark: Survival Evolved.
Titled Ark: Survival of the Fittest, the new game is an eSports-focused ‘MOSA,’ or 'Massively Online Survival Arena,' that began life as a mod for Survival Evolved, before being spun-off into its own thing.
The idea’s pretty straightforward: take up to 72 people, throw them in a map with some environmental hazards and dragons, let them kill each other to death until only one remains alive, and declare that person the winner. It’s The Hunger Games, but with dragons and Survival Evolved’s popular features like player tribes and creature taming.
It’s interesting to see that Studio Wildcard is aiming this new game squarely at the eSports scene, where there isn’t really anything quite like this. Minecraft’s Hunger Games mode is hugely popular on YouTube and in-game, so seeing how a studio takes that idea and presents it alongside more traditional eSports will be pretty cool.
Survival of the Fittest is currently in Early Access, with development due to be completed by Q4 2017.
You are logged out. Login | Sign up |
President Donald Trump refuses to publicly accept that Russia is engaged in an ongoing cyber-war against the United States. To this day, he continues to insist that such allegations are a Democratic Party scam to undermine his Electoral College victory in November. That’s all. This alone should be evidence enough that Trump is desperately attempting to cover up the attacks as well as his alleged involvement by shutting his eyes, plugging his ears and yelling, “Not happening! Not happening! La-la-la-la-la!”
The very fact that the president refuses to acknowledge even the aspects of the story that have nothing to do with him or his staffers, especially in the face of incontrovertible evidence showing, at the very least, that Russia interfered in the campaign season, gives us no choice but to presume that he’s up to something sinister on this front. Add to the mix the fact that every time Russia appears in the news, Trump starts flailing — he either struggles to change the subject, or he tweets something whiny about the “fake news,” or, as Rachel Maddow noticed recently, he simply ignores the question .
On Monday, in the hours before former acting Attorney General Sally Yates’ testimony to the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism, the president engaged in a predictable tweet-storm, complete with an attack on the “fake news.” It’s entirely possible that one of those Monday morning tweets constituted felonious witness tampering. Here’s the tweet in question:
Ask Sally Yates, under oath, if she knows how classified information got into the newspapers soon after she explained it to W.H. Counsel. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 8, 2017
Translation: That’s some really nice testimony ya got there, Yates — shame if something were to happen to it. And by “it,” I mean “you.”
It’s important to note at the outset that this wasn’t the first version of this tweet. Indeed, Trump tweeted a previous version in which he misspelled “counsel,” writing instead, “W.H. Council.” Fine. We all make mistakes (though he’s the president and we’re not). The problem here is that he once again violated the Presidential Records Act (PRA) by deleting the misspelled tweet and replacing it with the corrected version. The deleted tweet should’ve been retained as an official record of the president’s public remarks, but he scrubbed it anyway.
This issue has popped up before. You might recall how the President of the United States needed four tries to correctly spell “hereby.” He deleted all of the misspelled tweets in that case. In the wake of another deletion incident, White House spokesperson Kelly Love told CNN , “We have systems in place to capture all tweets and preserve them as presidential records; even if they have been deleted.”
A system for capturing tweets? What system is that, exactly? Love didn’t elaborate.
In addition to possible violations of the PRA, Trump’s tweet about Sally Yates is very likely witness tampering, a felony under Title 18 of the U.S. Code. Trump, via Twitter, was clearly attempting to mute Yates’ testimony by accusing her of leaking classified information about Michael Flynn. You remember the leaks, right? At the time, Trump called the leaks about Flynn’s nefarious contact with Russia’s ambassador to the U.S., Sergey Kislyak, “absolutely real, but the news is fake.” We’re still deciphering that one, but he seemed to have verified that the leaks were accurate and not fabrications, which, in and of itself, should have triggered the appointment of a special prosecutor. |
Real People Fill In For Statue In Trafalgar Square
Enlarge this image toggle caption Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images
Enlarge this image toggle caption Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images
Enlarge this image toggle caption Jim Dyson/Getty Images Jim Dyson/Getty Images
In the northwest corner of Trafalgar Square, in the heart of London, there is an empty base, or plinth, for a statue. Unlike the others there, the Fourth Plinth, as it is sometimes called, never had the bronze likeness of a British hero placed upon it.
Now the vacant plinth, built in 1841 for an equestrian statue that was never created, is being put to use for a new art project that began Monday. Officially called "One & Other," the project will involve 2,400 members of the general public — chosen randomly from 18,000 applicants — acting, singing, jumping, shouting or doing whatever they want upon the plinth for one hour each, around the clock for 100 days.
It's being called the ultimate democratization of art — whereby Joe or Josephine Schmo gets to stand on a plinth in the heart of the nation's capital for a whole hour under the gaze of Lord Horatio Nelson, the hero of Trafalgar, and other heroes of the Empire.
"In a way, this place is all about people who have done great and heroic deeds in the past," said the organizer, sculptor Antony Gormley. "I'm more interested in now. I'm more interested in, in a way, discovering what we are now. And this is a way of doing that."
One of those getting his 4x15 minutes of fame on opening day was 34-year-old Scott Illman, dressed up as a town crier, who spent his time on the platform advertising his two bars in London. Then there was 51-year-old Jill Gatcum, who released 60 green balloons for 60 charities before being winched down to safety.
"That was fantastic," Gatcum said.
But, as always, there's just that nagging question: Is it art? Plenty of the bystanders seemed to say yes.
"Each person gets to choose what they want to do, so in their terms, I think it's art, yes," said Londoner Denis Brooks.
"I would say yes probably," said visiting Frenchman Ben Borrell. "We are involved in the art-making, in a way. And I like it. Good concept."
But John Clothier, visiting from Toronto, wasn't so sure.
"I guess it's a bit of a joke, really. ... I can't see it as being art," he said. "In no way at all."
And with that, he turned and headed for the nearby National Gallery, with its collection of paintings. |
Waiting. That was the hardest part. Kate already had a shower and was now pacing up and down in the motel room she checked in not so long ago. The Stardust Inn was Hillrose’s only motel, and was run by Inga Pike, a local lady with a great smile and the air of openness observed mostly amongst small town folks. She lasted a whole five minutes before started questioning Kate about the investigation. Although Inga couldn’t tell her anything new, she had theories about gangsters and vendetta killings. Kate promised her she will consider this angle and locked herself away in the airy room, with a view at the small garden out front.
They were invited to the Sergeant’s house for dinner at 8, so she still had about an hour and a half left. Kate tried to take a nap to get rid of the headache that was squeezing her temples the whole day, but her mind was wandering. Inga Pike had no painkillers, but brought her a herbal drink that she just called “the old family secret”, and swore it will help Kate in an instant. After sniffing at the green sludge she risked a sip, but regretted instantly when the bitter liquid made her stomach turn upside down. She thanked Inga and decided to suffer in silence.
It would have been great to talk to Ben, put their heads together and mull over the information they gathered this afternoon. But being the gentleman as always, he had offered to drive Maggie Grey home to Pine Creek – a sleepy town just half an hour drive from Hillrose -, and won’t be back for at least another half an hour, and then it will be time to leave for the dinner. Kate unpacked her bag, and put on a fresh black shirt. She let out a sigh when she realized everything she brought with her are either black or grey. Great…
A quick call earlier to Doctor Franklin confirmed that June Sanders was indeed five weeks pregnant, however he did not want to go into further details before he finished checking everything. Another call placed to Tim Hawkes’ neighbour also backed up the bar manager’s story about the previous night.
Kate’s mind kept replaying the last few minutes of the conversation with Maggie in the café.
“You met David last night?” Ben asked in a neutral tone.
“He was at the bar. I’m not sure when exactly he arrived, because I was working upstairs yesterday. He had a beer downstairs, so it was around midnight, I think. By the time I spoke to him, he was quite drunk. Like I imagined, he did not take June’s news very well. I can’t say I blame him. I tried to call June, but she did not pick up. I remember I thought she probably wants to be left alone, you know, spend the night crying at home. I planned to go and see her today…” A sad head shake. Another squeeze on the shoulder from Ben.
“Did he tell you what happened?”, came the question from Kate.
Maggie nodded. “They met in that barn, around 10.30ish… this was nothing new, they did that a few times, you know, for the excitement. But then he told me she was somehow different. He was not happy about the baby. Like I said they barely even knew each other. David told her he will take care of it, offered to pay for… you know, but June found the thought horrifying. He told me they argued… David told her he wants no part of this, and although she begged him, and screamed and cried, he left her. June was my friend, but I felt sorry for David.”
“What was the relationship between you and David Foster?” Kate interjected.
“Oh, not what you think”, Maggie said, and looked away. “I know I said he spent the night at my place, but not because of what you have in mind. He was drunk, and couldn’t even walk straight. I didn’t want to let him drive, so I told him, he should come back to mine, I drive. It wasn’t the first time he was there, they used to come over a few times with June. I normally have my own car, but it was at the local garage, so I thought this is still better than getting a taxi.”
“Did he tell you anything else?”
An annoyed look passed over Maggie’s face, but when she spoke, her tone was shaky, but not irritated. “Listen, I was working last night, okay? It was quite busy, so I didn’t have time to talk to him much. By the time my shift was over at 2am, he was barely conscious, and slept all the way in the car. When we got home I gave him a blanket and he curled up on my sofa. This morning he had one hell of a hangover, so he was not exactly in a talkative mode, but he kept telling me the same thing: June tried to force her into something he didn’t want, and he wanted no part of it whatsoever.”
*
The dinner at the Ellers house was nothing like what Kate expected. She hadn’t been looking forward to spend the entire time discussing the murder on hand, but she was in for a pleasant surprise. After he handed over June’s diary to Kate, Sergeant Ellers informed them that he put out an APB for David Foster based on Maggie’s testimony, gave a brief interview to a journalist from Montclair, and that was the last time they spoke about the case for the rest of the evening.
“I tried to convince Greg to retire early”, said the sergeants wife when they were sitting in the living room, enjoying the red wine she brought up from their special collection for this occasion. “But it’s like talking to the wall.”
“Tansy, you are sweet”, the sergeant replied, patting her hand affectionately, “but you would be the first one to run away if you were locked up with me the whole day.”
They all laughed at that, but Kate couldn’t miss the worry in Tansy Ellers’ eyes. Although they lived in a small town, where nothing really brutal ever happened, until now, that is, their job was not exactly easy, or safe. She saw the same look on Matt’s face every time she came home after a long day, and she could hear the heavy stone roll off his chest. She made it once more.
“So how did you two meet?”, Ben asked, to lighten the mood.
The Sergeant and his wife looked at each other with a mischievous smile and launched into the story that they had probably told many times already.
“It happened nine years ago, when I took two weeks off and went fishing”, Ellers said. “It was a beautiful day, and I just sat down by the lake to have my lunch at the lake…”
“… and I happened to pick that day and that time to fall off my horse and land head first in Greg’s picnic basket”, Tansy continued and snuggled up to her husband even closer, laughing at the memory.
By the time they learned how the sergeant rescued his future wife from a horse gone mad, and then later endured long months of courting, during which he thought this lovely lady will surely realise what an old moron he is and sends him packing, Kate’s headache was gone. She lent back on the sofa with a satisfied sigh, and smiled at the odd couple. It’s never too late for love.
*
The hot water swallowed her body like a warm hug. The scent of lavender filled the tiny bathroom where Maggie lay still in the tub, flickering candles around her. Memories of last night flashed up in her mind. David. His frustration was like an ugly mask. She covered her eyes with her palms, feeling the water dripping down her face. This doesn’t mean anything. He had every right to be outraged. That doesn’t make anyone a killer. This is what she told the detectives as well. They don’t have to know about David’s outburst. It meant nothing. Surely…
*
Kate bolted upright and threw his arms up to shield her eyes from the blinding light. What was this noise? Where am I? She felt around with her left hand while trying to keep her eyes open. She jumped when her fingers ran into something cold and she heard a crashing noise.
The door. Someone was trying to open the door.
“Kate! Are you all right?”
Crap, it’s Ben.
“Damn it!”, she swore when her foot landed in a cold puddle and she nearly slipped.
“Kate?”, Ben rattled the door again.
“Give me a second!”, she grumbled.
Finally her eyes were open, and she realized she’s still in the Stardust Inn, standing in the middle of something that used to be some herbal drink and now is just a spilled mess on the carpet. She carefully stepped over the broken glass, and unlocked the door to find Ben standing there in his pajamas.
“Sorry, I think I fell asleep reading June’s diary. What time is it?”, she said, wiping her eyes.
“3 am. They found David Foster”, Ben said, his face grim.
Advertisements |
When you hear the name "ThinkPad", a few things will probably come to mind: their minimalist bento-box design, second-to-none keyboard, and legendary reliability. While the originator of the ThinkPad name, IBM, sold the brand off to Chinese manufacturer Lenovo in 2005, the ThinkPad traditions of minimalist design, usability, and reliability have been stewarded fairly well since then. However, Lenovo did oversee two major changes to the ThinkPad line that some cannot get past to this day: the switch from classic to island-style keyboard (along with the removal of the top 7th row of keys), and the complete abandonment of the 4:3 screen aspect ratio (today's Windows laptops are almost exclusively 16:9).
It's understandable why many people didn't like the change to an island-style 6-row keyboard layout, but why are there sticklers for a 4:3 display? Maybe it's got something to do with the document-centric business heritage of the ThinkPad, as some say text is easier to read in 4:3. Still, many more people find the 16:9 style much preferable and have never looked back. Truth be told, it probably comes down to simply preferring the classic feel of it. Released in 2007, the last laptop Lenovo with a 4:3 screen was the X61. The X61 was a solid performer for its time, but, a decade later, the Intel Core 2 Duo that it utilized has trouble rendering anything but the most basic of today's webpages. Thus, if you love classic ThinkPad design and yearn for a 4:3 laptop to use in your day-to-day, you are out of luck.
...Or so you would be, if not for some incredibly clever ThinkPad enthusiasts operating out of China. In 2015, the admin of 51nb.com's ThinkPad Community forum, known as "HOPE", began working on a modded motherboard for the X61 with his team. The project grew in popularity and scope until, eventually, the 51nb team started selling a fully assembled modded X61, complete with a custom motherboard based on HOPE's own design. This completely custom machine with modern internals was dubbed the X62—the sequel to the beloved X61.
The X62's specs are quite a boost from the X61's in nearly all areas: The screen has been updated from a 1024 x 768 TN to a 1400 x 1050 IPS panel. The Core 2 Duo has been replaced with an Intel i7-5500u, and the motherboard has been completely revamped as well. The team has added support for up to 32 GB of RAM, mSATA SSD and 2.5-inch SSD support, and mini HDMI, mini DP, and USB 3.0 ports (unfortunately, the VGA, dock, and Cardbus ports were sacrificed for this modernization). |
Image caption The shark glows from its stomach - but it also has "lightsaber-like" spines that light up from above, acting as a warning beacon to passing predators
A glow-in-the-dark shark scares off predators with "lightsaber-like" spines on its back, a study suggests.
The research was carried out on the velvet belly lanternshark, a small species found in the deep waters of the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea.
The scientists believe that while the light-up spines can be seen by larger, potentially dangerous fish, they are harder for the shark's prey to spot.
The study is published in the Nature journal Scientific Reports.
Invisibility cloak
This species of lanternshark (Etmopterus spinax) lives in the mesopelagic zone of the ocean, which has a range between 200m and 1,000m in depth.
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Dr Claes explains how the glow-in-the-dark shark can both hide and advertise itself using light
It is a diminutive shark; the largest can measure up to about 60cm in length, but most are about 45cm long.
Until recently, little had been known about this species, apart from the fact that like many deep sea creatures it has the ability to glow - a trait called bioluminescence.
Previous research found that the shark has light-producing cells called photophores in its belly, and it uses this light to camouflage itself.
"Imagine you are below the shark, the shark is swimming and you have the light from the Sun coming down," explained Dr Julien Claes, a shark biologist from the Catholic University of Louvain in Belgium, and the lead author of the study.
"If you are just below the shark what you are going to see is a shadow. So imagine if the shark can actually produce a light, which is identical to the light produced by the Sun. Then the shadow of the shark is going to disappear."
Any prey lurking below, typically a small fish called Mueller's pearlside, will not see the shark coming.
However, this new study revealed that the shark is also luminescent on its top side.
Dr Claes said: "There are two spines, one in front of each dorsal fin, and just behind them you have two rows of photophores. They are like lightsabers - they illuminate the spine.
"It was surprising - why would you try to be invisible from below but visible from the dorsal side?"
Warning beacon
Visual modelling experiments revealed that potential predators could see the light from several metres away.
Image caption The shark is attempting to show of its spines to any animals hoping to eat it
The shark's prey, however, could only see the glow from a distance of about 1.5m, giving them less chance of making an escape.
The team concluded that the glowing spines were acting as a beacon, illuminating the shark's threatening spines.
Dr Claes: "It's a way to say: 'Don't bite me, I'm dangerous, I have spines on my back. You could be hurt.'
"When you live in this dark place, what you try to do is avoid is to be seen by other animals, because there are no places to hide.
"It can be very dangerous - you put yourself at risk when you produce light from your back, unless it acts as a warning system."
He said it was unusual to find an animal that was using light to both hide and advertise itself at the same time.
"It's surprising that these two apparently opposite behaviours can occur in a single organism at the same time. It is really paradoxical." |
Ramdas Athawale, leader of Republican Party of India (RPI) on Friday gave caste undertones to Mumbai's underworld don Chhota Rajan's arrest.
He asked why Dawood Ibrahim was still not nabbed and asked whether Chhota Rajan was arrested because he was a Dalit. "Chhota Rajan did nothing against the nation yet he got arrested. However, Dawood is still free. Is it only because he is a Dalit?," he asked.
He said that India had enough information on Dawood Ibrahim. "Not against Rajan's arrest but Dawood has committed more serious crimes. India has not been able to nab him despite information available with them.
Chhota Rajan aka Rajendra Sadashiv Nikalje was arrested after arriving at Bali's airport from Sydney, based on a red notice from Interpol and following a tip from Australian authorities in Canberra. Rajan's younger brother, Deepak Nikalje, is Maharashtra Vice President of Republican Party of India (RPI). He had lost two consecutive assembly elections from Chembur.
Born in Mumbai, Rajan is wanted for multiple charges including murder and possession and use of illegal firearms. In 2000, there was an attempt on his life when Dawood Ibrahim's men tracked him down to a hotel in Bangkok but he managed to escape through the hotel's roof. |
Consensus 2015 Makeathon
8-9 September, General Assembly NYC
2015 Makeathon Winners
Who took part in the Makeathon
The Makeathon was designed to find new use-cases for digital currencies and blockchain tech across two briefs: Financial infrastructure and financial inclusion.
Sixty-five participants from diverse, multi-disciplinary backgrounds were put in teams to brainstorm and develop new use-cases.
Participants – or Makeathoners – came from consumer internet companies like Etsy, financial institutions like the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Citi and the the Federal Reserve, and design-led studios like Ustwo.
Makeathoners flew in to General Assembly NYC from all over the world. Luggage tags from Seoul, Singapore, Sydney and more were in evidence.
The Makeathoners were mentored by an equally diverse group that included the NGOs like the International Rescue Committee, telcos like Orange, fintech startups like PeerIQ, law firms like Manatt and startups in the blockchain space like Gyft, Skuchain, KeepKey and Bitspark.
Be among the first to hear updates on future events:
What happened at the Makeathon
Over two days, the teams explored ideas ranging from an ‘open accounting protocol’ to microlending solutions for rural communities. Here’s our coverage of the Makeathon’s first day.
At the end of the two days, teams presented to a panel of judges that included Citi Ventures’ blockchain lead, Ian Lee; Chain.com chief executive Adam Ludwin – news about his firm’s latest $30m funding round broke during the presentations; Alan Grundy who heads payments development at International Rescue Committee; Elizabeth Stark, a former entrepreneur-in-residence at StartX at Stanford; KeepKey founder Darin Stanchfeld and Coinbase business development manager Nick Tomaino.
Team 15 won the Makeathon with a blockchain insurance solution that could produce verified, immutable ‘blockchain receipts’ that could be used in the insurance claims process. The team took home $5,000 in prize money, paid out in bitcoin and US dollars, for their effort. It also presented at Consensus 2015 the following day, showcasing its idea to the more than 600 attendees.
Check out a gallery of photos from the Makeathon here.
How we designed the Makeathon
CoinDesk collaborated with Citi Ventures and Ideo Futures to design a framework that would yield original use-cases from the teams.
We depended on Ideo’s Venture Design framework for their own Make-a-thons, with input from Ideo Futures team members in designing the team selection, agenda over the two days, and methods for teams to brainstorm and generate ideas to work on.
CoinDesk then worked closely with Citi Ventures to develop the briefs, identifying use-cases in both the financial infrastructure and financial inclusion areas that could benefit from original thinking and fresh applications of the technology.
Check out the agenda and briefs we used here. |
SSH (Secure Shell)
You can access the command line of a Raspberry Pi remotely from another computer or device on the same network using SSH.
The Raspberry Pi will act as a remote device: you can connect to it using a client on another machine.
You only have access to the command line, not the full desktop environment. For a full remote desktop, see VNC.
1. Set up your local network and wireless connectivity
Make sure your Raspberry Pi is properly set up and connected. If you are using wireless networking, this can be enabled via the desktop's user interface, or using the command line.
If you are not using wireless connectivity, plug your Raspberry Pi directly into the router.
You will need to note down the IP address of your Pi in order to connect to it later. Using the ifconfig command will display information about the current network status, including the IP address, or you can use hostname -I to display the IP addresses associated with the device.
2. Enable SSH
As of the November 2016 release, Raspbian has the SSH server disabled by default. It can be enabled manually from the desktop:
Launch Raspberry Pi Configuration from the Preferences menu Navigate to the Interfaces tab Select Enabled next to SSH Click OK
Alternatively, raspi-config can be used in the terminal:
Enter sudo raspi-config in a terminal window Select Interfacing Options Navigate to and select SSH Choose Yes Select Ok Choose Finish
Alternatively, use systemctl to start the service
sudo systemctl enable ssh sudo systemctl start ssh
When enabling SSH on a Pi that may be connected to the internet, you should change its default password to ensure that it remains secure. See the Security page for more details.
3. Enable SSH on a headless Raspberry Pi (add file to SD card on another machine)
For headless setup, SSH can be enabled by placing a file named ssh , without any extension, onto the boot partition of the SD card from another computer. When the Pi boots, it looks for the ssh file. If it is found, SSH is enabled and the file is deleted. The content of the file does not matter; it could contain text, or nothing at all.
If you have loaded Raspbian onto a blank SD card, you will have two partitions. The first one, which is the smaller one, is the boot partition. Place the file into this one.
4. Set up your client
SSH is built into Linux distributions and Mac OS. For Windows and mobile devices, third-party SSH clients are available. See the following guides for using SSH with the OS on your computer or device: |
Notes / short topics
Jtimon asked for some codereview on PR #8493 (Untested: libconsensus: Expose VerifyHeader)
Jl2012 has suggested some changes to prevent DoS attacks with segwit (PR #8499), sipa asks what the opinions are on adding a per txin witness size limit policy. Luke-jr notes matching the P2SH consensus limit is too small for N-of-15 multisigs, so a slightly larger limit may be desirable. Sipa will make a proposal by next meeting.
Sipa raises awareness around the different sets of flags, namely mandatory flags, consensus flags and standardness. Nodes who send transactions violating rules wich are mandatory will be banned, which causes the network to partition if there are nodes relaying those transactions.
Main topics
softfork to make low-s required
0.13.0 RC3
softfork to make low-s required
background
A source of malleability is the ‘S’ value in the ECDSA signature which can have 2 values, a high and low value. Last year a policy was introduced to have nodes require the low-s value (talked about in the 2015-10-08 meeting). Sipa now proposes to make this a consensus rule, instead of just a policy.
High-s transactions have been non-standard for a long time and not present on the network for over a year. As this is non-controversial and easy to do (one line of code) the main question is whether to deploy it simultaneous with segwit or separate. Sipa argues it might be hard to do this as a separate softfork as it has very low benefit while miners still need to update their software. GreenIsMyPepper and sipa note it would be cleaner to never have high-s values in segwit.
meeting conclusion
Combine the enforcement of low-s rules together with segwit.
0.13.0 RC3
background
The Bitcoin Core team is working towards the 0.13.0 release (full schedule) and RC3 is available since 2016-08-13.
Wumpus wonders if there’s anything that still needs to be merged/backported to 0.13.0.
Luke-jr wants to make a PR to map blockmaxsize to blockmaxweight while segwit is unactivated to make PR #8459 uncontroversial.
There’s a PR for the blog post about 0.13.0 which could use review.
Cfields wonders whether default_witness_commitment should be added to GBT with to witness data for 0.13.0. Sipa thinks a miner on 0.13.0 should never produce a segwit commitment, this way we don’t have sudden behavior changes at times which are far away from updating the software which might break downstream mining infrastructure, gmaxwell adds.
meeting conclusion
Review blog post
Comic relief
wumpus can anyone do the giant highlight list? cfields gmaxwell: paging bot gmaxwell #bitcoin-core-dev Meeting: wumpus sipa gmaxwell jonasschnelli morcos luke-jr btcdrak sdaftuar jtimon cfields petertodd kanzure bluematt instagibbs phantomcircuit codeshark michagogo marcofalke paveljanik NicolasDorier michagogo cfields: I think last time he said it's not a bot... wumpus michagogo: all bots say that! jtimon yay 0.13.0! gmaxwell jtimon: careful, you're going to trigger some confused reddit posts. jtimon oops, sorry, yay ack rc3
Participants
Disclaimer
This summary was compiled without input from any of the participants in the discussion, so any errors are the fault of the summary author and not the discussion participants. |
Asked what she’d like for a gift this year, Premier Rachel Notley doesn’t hesitate: “I’d like to see the price of oil pop right back up.”
So would nearly everybody in Calgary, the city Notley acknowledges has been hit very hard — harder than Edmonton — by the price crash.
In a year-end interview at McDougall Centre, Notley talks freely about her government’s problems in Calgary — the twin perceptions the NDP doesn’t have a strong sense of the city, and isn’t very good on the economy.
“We need to continue to build the relationships with key players in Calgary, that we started to build since we’ve been elected,” she says.
“As you know, we went from zero to 15 seats in Calgary overnight, and so we have some work to do strengthening those relationships.
“Some of that work has just started. Our cabinet ministers, our MLAs are out there all the time, but we need to do more of that — I need to do more of that.
“We need to work with job creators and diversifiers in Calgary in partnership … We need to do that work in Edmonton too, but Calgary has faced more immediate results of the downturn, so we need to be working here.”
Edmonton is no festive picnic, but Calgary’s crash has been deeper and deadlier to jobs, partly because we lack the big institutional cushion of a provincial civil service.
Notley is certainly right about having plenty to do in Calgary, to build both trust and confidence that her government can help pull the city out of this mess.
Perhaps to that end, she’s quick to say Calgary’s economic solutions won’t be designed by bureaucrats in the capital.
“The diversification program we have in place, this isn’t something that we draw the architecture of up in Edmonton.
“Our cabinet ministers and our minister of economic development (Deron Bilous) are down here a lot working with innovators to talk about ways we can partner, either through our economic stimulus plan or through the climate leadership plan.
“Because there are opportunities there … tremendous opportunities. The key is to get down here more and roll up our sleeves and start working with some of those innovators, have them see us as partners.”
Asked to respond to the common Calgary perception that the NDP is weak on the economy, the premier says sharply: “That’s fundamentally untrue.
“The climate change plan is a very sophisticated plan that was put together with important leaders of the energy industry. It paired and aligned environmental objectives with economic opportunities. That was done in a very pragmatic way under our leadership.
“That’s the first piece of evidence that people ought not to worry too much about our ability to work with business and to work collaboratively and to understand the need to attract investment.”
Notley’s budget woes are severe, with oil at US$35.52 a barrel. But she feels the province will be able to keep its deficit at about the projected number, $6.1 billion, already a runaway record for the province.
“Even at this low price, we’re not too far off what was projected in the budget,” she says. “(Oil) was much higher than budget in the first part of 2015-16, so it should average out at roughly what was projected in this budget (US$50).”
But the government is “keeping an eye on the issues we have to deal with, on the indicators. As we go forward, we’ll be making adjustments with respect to that.”
The adjustments would either be less spending or more revenue. The premier isn’t revealing what she might have in store in 2016, beyond saying it will be more about making her programs work than launching new ones.
“We’ve done a lot in the last seven months. Now we’re going to focus on … job security, job availability, economic stability, those are the things which are front and centre of my mind and will be over the holidays.
“Our focus is going to be how our government can be … an effective collaborator.”
And while she’s at it, she’d love to get that special present.
Don Braid’s column appears regularly in the Herald
[email protected] |
Transit Police are investigating whether a 20-year-old woman of Vietnamese descent had her civil rights violated this Saturday when a man called her a racial epithet and blocked her from entering a Red Line train, authorities said.
According to Transit Police Lieutenant Richard Sullivan, the woman was at the Downtown Crossing station around 6 p.m. and was trying to board a southbound Red Line train when a man “stepped in front of her in a threatening manner and issued a racial slur directed at her.’’
Once the woman boarded the train, Sullivan said in a statement, the man allegedly continued to harass the woman. When she did find her way onto a subway car, the man allegedly followed her and then sat down across from her, Sullivan said.
Advertisement
With both people sitting in the subway car a few feet from each other, the man allegedly “repeated his racial slur, again directed towards the victim,’’ Sullivan said.
Get Metro Headlines in your inbox: The 10 top local news stories from metro Boston and around New England delivered daily. Sign Up Thank you for signing up! Sign up for more newsletters here
The woman got off the Red Line train at the Broadway station in South Boston and contacted a Transit Police officer in the station. The train had left the station with the man on board.
Sullivan said detectives are reviewing surveillance videos as they try and identify the man. He said once the person is identified, Transit Police will consult with Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley’s office to determine whether criminal civil rights charges should be filed.
Sullivan said that Transit Police are investigating a total of four civil rights cases, including the woman of Vietnamese descent, this year. Transit Police have made arrests in the three other cases, Sullivan said.
John R. Ellement can be reached at [email protected] . Follow him on Twitter @JREbosglobe |
Does Classpect confuse you? The endless series of titles and ranks, charting some unfathomable system that is wondrously complex, terribly complex, but overall just seems way too important to the story for something Hussie doesn’t seem willing to explain? Well good news! Under the tutelage of my friend and mentor bladekindEyewear, I have the learned the basics, and through spending way too much time thinking and writing about the classes and aspects, I have come up with working definitions and ideas behind them! So read on, and look at a few very well defended and defined ideas and theories behind them all.
This system was primarily developed by Homestuck, so reading the comic would be a great asset in understanding it, but by no means should a study be limited to fans of the comic. It would be very interesting to see a non-Homestuck get into the system.
It’s all under the cut. Questions, additions, theories, criticisms, compliments, and gifts are all well appreciated. Especially the gifts. But be warned: there are approximately 9,000 words here, and you are getting yourself into something big.
What is Classpect?
Classpect is a system introduced in the popular webcomic Homestuck that catalogues the total impact on reality that a person has. There are two components two Classpect roles: an aspect, which is a piece of reality, the one which the most energy and attention is focused, and the class, which determines how the aspect is interacted with. This is arranged in an “X of Y” format, for example, an Heir of Breath, or in another way of thinking of it, Breath’s Heir. A Classpect role seeks to chart someone’s personal growth and their impact on reality, not such things as personality and abilities or powers. Often times, a correlation can be seen, but just as often it can be subverted.
In theory, every person would have a title. However, in works of fiction many times sufficient information is not given about a character to the point that they could be reliably assigned a role, nor does every single person in life impact reality enough to be given a role. In addition, children and other such people are often not developed enough to hold a role themselves. It is also important not to limit yourself or others based on this or any other classification system. This system is intended to help you learn more about yourself, others, and the world around you. Basing who you are off of such a system can only limit your potential. Act like who you are, then use this to determine what Classpect role that would be, not the other way around. That would be stupid. This is also in the name of fun, so don’t take this too seriously.
That said, Classpect potentially has many uses. You can use it to learn more about yourself, or to understand another fan of this system more quickly. We can use it to learn more about problems we face and to analyze literature easier. We can determine what we like best about ourselves and our biggest failings, and build off of that. And, we can all connect together in this big stupid system and experience the human emotion called friendship.
Determining Your Classpect
As soon as you hear about this, one of your first thoughts will probably be “What’s my Classpect role?” First, I would advise you to look at the aspects and make a decision which few most likely represent you. From there, you can decide what you think your best impact on reality is represented by and claim that as your aspect. From there, look at how you interact with your aspect: do you tend to be more active or passive? Do you control your aspect, or do you conduct it in a more casual manner? From there, a more specific type of impact will be possible. Finally, look at the implications of the combination, and try and decide what it would look like, and if that fits you. If you are having some trouble with this, go ahead and drop me a question: I’m always willing to help. And don’t be afraid to look at all the possibilities. There are 168 possible Classpect roles, and it’s perfectly alright to net get the first one a few dozen times!
There are a few tests available for Classpect roles at this time, but with so many possibilities, and so many possibilities within each role, I don’t particularly like any one at this time. The described method is currently one of the better ones, though it is possible to use the test for a sort of baseline if you are absolutely lost as to what your Classpect role is. Also note that you could have one million of each individual class, and not a single replication of a person, and just because you aren’t like someone with a similar role doesn’t mean that it’s not your role.
Aspects
Aspects are the twelve ideals and points that make up all of reality. Each has an opposite, and with this opposite, they form 6 individual spectrums that make up all of reality. Two of them form the physical world: Space and Time, and the rest focus on the ways that people interact with reality. Everyone has a bit of all the aspects in them, but there tends to be one that people can identify with more than any others. This aspect will probably come to define them in subtle ways, and they gain an instinct for the flow and feel and shape of this aspect, and it largely comes to represent them whether they know it or not.
Every idea can be traced, in some way, back to these aspects. The concept of a spectrum cataloguing everything might seem alien, but it is in fact well explored. Consider the four classical elements or the five colors of Magic: The Gathering. This is simply another schema available for looking at it, and looking at people. There is probably some perfect arrangement of the aspects, but it has not been found yet, just rough ideas of where the aspects lie in relation to each other.
Space
Space is one of the cardinal aspects, and one of the two that are absolutely necessary. It’s most obvious meaning is spatial distance, the actual location, with minor emphasis on size and velocity. Space players tend to be good with these things, like Jade’s skill with a rifle and Kanaya’s extreme ability with the clunky SGRUB cursor. As such, many of their powers could be speculated to deal with these portions of the aspect. However, Space is more than just that. Space represents substance, everything that is. Information ties in with this, like Kanaya’s interest in fashion or the Calliope’s ability to give accurate information on almost any topic, and creation, especially from parts. Space Heroes tend to be good with what is there, rather than abstracts, and are usually more physically oriented.
Creation can be speculated to be tied in with Space, usually from pieces. Jade was using Space when she helped create the bunny, by putting it together and creating something new out of all of the components. Also consider Calliope’s fan-fictions and drawings, which use pieces and ideas already existing, but combined in new and interesting ways. In relation to the body, Space seems to correlate to personal image, such as Jade, a Witch, loving the furry fandom, Calliope’s consistent hatred of who she is and desire to look beautiful, Maryam, who modified her body in fashionable ways, and Kanaya, who is one of the only trolls who has any skill in fashion and has problems with the way her Rainbow Drinker status works. Space’s opposite is time: not only are they different dimensions, they also represent the twin points of creation and destruction.
Life
Life is the raw energy to influence reality, and the consumption of the energy for strength. If confronted with a problem, Life consumes energy to overcome it if possible, and if not, will grow stronger until it can. Life players tend to be joyful and optimistic: just look at Jane, Feferi, and even Meenah. This aspect hates restrictions and unnecessary rules, especially when they create limitations. Feferi had constant plans to fix the troll’s system of ruling, Meenah rejected the possibility of being Empress because she hated the possibility of not being free, and Jane despised the limitations imposed upon her by her father and the Condesce, not to mention Nanna Egbert rebelling against Betty Crocker the only way she could: surpassing her ability to bake. A Life player’s main skill is growth, and grow they will, overcoming anything that gets in their way.
There is a lot of connection between the aspect of life and nature, though not always shown in Homestuck. We have Feferi and her lusus who is the top of the food chain and the very best. Moreover, many other Life oriented ideas fall squarely within nature, like the constant fight for survival, consumption of energy to survive, and rejecting laws that place restrictions. In the comic, Life tends to be represented by cake and utensils, as it represents the energy to impact reality. This can clearly be seen by the Condesce creating a baking empire, Jane’s love of baking, and Meenah’s apparent godlike skills in the craft herself. It’s also important to note that though Life player’s appreciation for energy and ability to overcome problems tend to make them more optimistic, this is not always the case. Aspect orientation tends to have certain personality traits, but they are by no means set in stone. Life’s opposite is Doom: whereas life is overcoming difficulties and defeating systems, Doom is abiding by systems and sacrificing ability to impact reality.
Breath
Breath is about motivation, direction, freedom, and quest. Breath sees a goal it wants, and it pursues it, overcoming anything it may face in the way. Breath players tend to be carefree and a little bit silly, like John’s love of pranks or Tavros’ faltering manner and desire to be a fairy. However, as they become more realized, they can become driven, determined, and powerful, without ever losing any of the freedom or joy that was originally who they were, just like John’s incredible drive without losing his sense of humor or his ability to overcome such trials as his father’s death. And Tavros, who was a very unrealized Breath player, was always a failure in his inability to decide what he wanted and pursue it, showing a clear lack of the principle Breath is founded on. Breath players also have a unique ability to deal with problems emotionally, like John’s lack of angst at anything that’s happening to him, or Tavros not making a huge deal about what Vriska was doing at any given moment.
In Homestuck, flying is the biggest symbol of Breath. Karkat, as a Blood player, was never able to fly, and even lacked wings in his God-Tier form unlike the rest of his cohort. Meanwhile, Tavros’ had a constant desire to fly that linked up with his desire to be able to do what he wanted and not be torn down by other people. Also, John’s constant flying to and fro with his jetpack became a symbol of his decision changing at all random points, particularly in the whole debacle with Terezi and Dave. Breath has also been linked to mail, with the Peregrine Mendicant being someone who is driven forward by her internal motivations and doesn’t let such petty things as reality and physical space interrupt her quest to deliver that motherfucking mail. Breath players also have a tendency to shrug off incredible pain, such as Tavros losing his legs, but not letting it bother him too much, or John ignoring the massive amounts of emotional trauma that was sent towards him for a long time. Breath’s opposite, as noted above, is Blood: instead of remaining free and not having responsibility, they give themselves up for loyalty and bonds.
Mind
Mind represents the way people act: the images they put on, their internal logic, and what they do independent of who they are. Terezi, for example, uses her intense ability to chart the flow of people’s decision making and can use it FOR GREAT JUSTICE. Latula, as a Knight, uses it as a shield to keep everyone from knowing who she is and what she wants, creating a fake “gamer girl” attitude to be safe. Trickery is associated with Mind, especially because a really good trick requires knowing what a person is going to do in advance. Mind also knows that “luck doesn’t really matter”, and acts accordingly to get the best result. It is also associated with dishonesty, as it represents not being true, to yourself or others.
Mind players have a tendency to do whatever they want and disregard how people feel. Terezi wasted no time is stepping all over Karkat’s façade of his blood color (which was actually fairly necessary to keep himself safe) and arranges for Dave to get into a scenario he REALLY doesn’t want to be in, one that absolutely shatters his trust for her. Mind is also associated with justice: since justice is all about punishing people for actions they have done, and also deals with a consistent internal logic, and tries to not allow emotion to stand in the way. This could be a simple quirk of the Pyropes, or there could be something greater to it, depending on the situation. Mind is often used as a defense of sorts, to keep the true nature of a person safe and hidden. Mind is the opposite of Heart, because it represents ignoring your internal emotions and desires in order to impact reality in a different way.
Rage
Rage is all about limitation. Whenever you limit your options, you have used Rage in your decision. More broadly, rage is about all negative emotion, and negative emotion is what makes you limit your decisions. For example, anger can make you limit your choices, as can fear and determination. Any limiting of your perspective is a function of Rage, and this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Think of characters like Batman, who inspire fear in the hearts of criminals to keep them from acting, or how Jake, as a Hope player, often just could not make his mind when it mattered, causing severe strain on himself and on others around him. Rage also has to do with subjugation and domination of your will over the will of others. Gamzee goes batshit insane and starts killing people so that he can get what he wants done and he doesn’t much care about who he has to kill to do so, and Kurloz brainwashes a couple of people so that they can serve the Mirthful Messiahs like he desires.
Rage is one of the more pessimistic of the aspects, but negative does not mean bad. It is common to assume that anyone but a Bard or Prince of Rage would be useless, but there are no useless titles and no useless aspects, nor any useless combinations of the two. Rage is heavily focused on the fighting spirit, it being necessary to get troops all whipped up and raring to go before combat can start. Rage primarily deals with limitation of one’s perspective, whether it is on their own (through fear or cowardice) or by somebody else (subjugation and enslavement). Commonly associated with Rage is religion and leadership, though not necessarily exclusively. Rage is the opposite of Hope in negative vs. positive emotions and also limitation versus opening of perspective.
Void
Void is about obfuscation and destruction of information. Void hides and avoids, cloaks in shadows, deals with secrets. At its very core are submission and destruction: basically, Void is nothing, but that lets it be a lot. Roxy can pull secrets from nowhere, taking through void and giving obscurity in return. Equius destroys everything he touches, consistently pursued and controlled by the all consuming Void that surrounds him. Void, in many ways, also represents misfortune and death. Horuss, despite not being too bad a guy, was an utter failure in romantic pursuits and failed at almost everything until he started listening to the subtle whisperings of the Void. Void is subtle, quiet, and maddening, and obscures everything, hiding information, and souring luck to achieve their ends.
That is not to say Void is necessarily dreary. Negative yes, bad no. After all, we have Roxy, a Rogue of Void, who is quite cheery, and though she does hold true to the characteristics of her aspect, she manages to be kind, loving and helpful at the same time. Void is about nothing, and sometimes that’s better than something. Void players tend to have the ability to pull something out of nothing, just look at Roxy’s secrets and Horuss inspiration to build mechanical devices out of the maddening whispers. Also, they are uniquely capable at working with nothing, such as Equius lack of knowledge as to what was going on with Gamzee, but ability to move forward without fear regardless. Void also deals with lack of certainty, which can in many cases lead to potential. Void is the opposite of Light in that Light is information and reality whereas Void is secrets and shadows.
Time
In many ways, Time is the most pessimistic of the elements, but also one of the most vital. It is uncertainty and inevitability, two of the things that human beings hate the most. More than just the passive flow of seconds, Time is a palpable force that deals with when things happen. Time players tend to require patience, such as Dave’s Medium-entering challenge, or Aradia’s understanding of waiting ‘til the opportune moment to get done what was needed. It has destructive ties, such as Lord English embodying destruction in Paradox Space or the Demoness using her powers to obliterate everything. Time is timing and patience aspectified. Time players understand this flow of time and use it to their benefit, giving them incredible skill with timing and patience.
Time is, typically, represented by clocks. We see this is Doc Scratch’s clock measuring Vriska’s onward progression as a character, in the Felt’s massive collection of clocks, and the endless countdown timers available in Homestuck. Time is also endlessly linked to mortality and death, though not necessarily as an ending, since many characters still impact reality after their death or continue on in an afterlife or two. The time player’s role in a session is to make sure the Alpha Timeline stays pure and can continue in order to continue the progression towards creation or destruction. Time’s opposite is Space, because they different dimensions of reality as well as representing Creation and Destruction.
Doom
Doom is systems and restraint. It represents things that are going to happen, such as death as an end, and systems that cause them to happen. Sollux uses a computing program based on death, such as the ending of the universe and uses it well somehow. Restraint is also a large part of it, such as Sollux limiting himself, to the degree that it was a relief when he no longer had to do it again. Furthermore, we see his calm acceptance of not being a leader anymore to increase the odds of his teams total success. However, it also has to do with sacrifice, giving up your ability to affect reality in order to effect great change. Think of Sollux’s constant death and losing of pieces of himself in order to do things like move the meteorite, fight Eridan, things like that, and of course the big, mysterious sacrifice perpetrated by Mituna. It also focuses on death: a lot of the imagery is focused on it, like the Captor’s vision Two-Fold.
One way to think of the sacrifice portion of Doom is that it ties in to knowing your limits: you know how much you can do without hurting yourself, which means that in time of need you can push yourself beyond the limits in order to accomplish something big. It’s also hard to tell what the sacrifice ends up doing: you could see it as a standard sacrifice, or add the stipulation that it has to curb your ability to effect of reality, or maybe both are possible effects. Doom players tend to be somewhat gloomy and also aware of their shortcomings, but at the same time possess great power and capability. Doom is the opposite of life, subjecting itself to systems and limiting its ability to impact reality, whereas Life does the opposite.
Blood
Blood is bonds and loyalty, limiting your freedom in order to help something or stay true to a system that is in place. Particular attention is paid to friendship: think of Karkat’s use of friendship and bonds to guide the team to victory and calm down Gamzee, two of the biggest acts he has accomplished. It also deals with society and societal restraints, like the Sufferer’s understanding of the Hemocaste system as well as his vision the potential for a kinder and happier world. Furthermore, there is Karkat’s obsession with his blood color and his lowly place in the spectrum. Relationships of a romantic sort are probably linked in with Blood, as it relates to limiting yourself for beneficial results as well as the evidence in Karkat’s obsession with romcoms.
Other, non-main characters have represented Blood before. The Wayward Vagabond is heavily linked with the aspect, from his quest, to his uniting the pawns of the separate kingdoms, to his long span carrying the ring (which is itself a major symbol blood). Then we have Jack, who at first glance has nothing to do with Blood, but at the same time has a tight-knit band he cares about, is excellent at paperwork, and combines the power of the prototypings in order to wreak major havoc. It’s also important to note that John, as a Breath player, is majorly motivated by Blood and his friends and family to get things done, which, along with the comparisons between him and Karkat, solidify Breath and Blood as opposites. Blood’s opposite is Breath, which eschews the impact of bonds and loyalty in order to remain free and pursue their quests.
Heart
Heart is the very core of your soul, who you are and your internal emotional desires. This is expressly told us by Calliope. Heart doesn’t care what people think about you or how you act; it’s all about who you are and what you feel. It also has to do a lot with internal strength and where you draw it from, like Dirk’s use of his sense of self to accomplish all that he does, using it as a fuel to inspire him. It can also be the mode of true change, such as Terezi’s gambit of Mind causing a breakdown of Heart when she betrayed Dave, and the Disciple’s works causing people to be incredibly inspired, to the point that they had to be wiped out to avoid insurrection. Also note Heart’s effect on passion and emotion: Nepeta, as a Rogue of Heart, was continuously arranging her friends into shipping pairs, as well as taking Equius’ fits of rage and violence to keep him from flipping his shit.
Heart tends to be represented by hats, but I ask that instead of having me elaborate on that you flood bladekindEyewear’s inbox with endless queries about it. Honestly. Do it. Other than that, motivation can largely be a mixture of Heart and Mind conflicting, since it becomes what you want to do versus what you want to be seen as. Examples are Karkat’s actions with Sollux: in his Heart he wants to be friends with Sollux, but his Mind urges him to keep up the pretense of hatred and anger that dominates him. Heart’s opposite is Mind, as Heart is all about who you are as opposed to what you act like.
Hope
Hope is possibility and positive emotion. Hope is all about seeing all of the possibilities, as well as believing in things, sometimes even when they are a bit silly or ridiculous (though I’m not sure whether Hussie is serious or sarcastic about that one). We see this element of belief in Eridan’s dear devotion to science, which he does not understand at all, which later lets him do incredible acts like defeating Sollux, Kanaya (briefly) and stare down Vriska and Gamzee when both have gone batshit insane just like him. On the other hand, it also deals with possibility, and your ability to see options. We can see this Jake’s lack of ability to make up his mind, Eridan’s destruction of Hope leaving him unable to see different paths to ends, and Gamzee’s destruction of Rage letting him encourage others to see all of the possibilities out there, and indeed believe in miracles.
Many of the “cheery” aspects are not nearly as happy as they seem, and this is the case here, too. Eridan’s delusion leads him to destroying many people, and Jake’s constant dithering and dallying causes significant strain and stress on his teammates, leading to many of the problems the team is having. However, it can still be an incredibly powerful thing, such as Jake’s amazing potential to grow and realize all of his powers through belief, seeing possibilities, and positive emotion. The opposite of Hope is Rage, because Hope is about positive emotion and opening up your perspective, while Rage is about using negative emotion to close your perspective.
Light
Light is information, probability, in fortune. Whereas Void is nothing, Light is everything, but just everything. Vriska constantly thieves information, luck, and fortune (as well as more often than not actual fortunes) from her fellow players and enemies. In addition, we have Rose using her inherent feel for knowledge and truth, as well as reliable, consistent, and honest sources to get her information to try and guide her teammates. Agency is often linked as well, considering Vriska’s ability to take control of people’s choices and actions, and Rose’s understanding of what makes people do what they do continuously growing as she becomes a better and better Seer of Light. The most important factor of Light seems to be information and illumination of topics, such as Rose’s search for information at every turn, Aranea’s love (to the point of detriment) of giving out exposition, and Vriska’s search for information in the afterlife.
Light players apparently have a habit of expositing endlessly and joyfully, which certainly fits their aspect quite well. We see this in Aranea and Rose particularly, though even Vriska has been picking up the habit, as well as Mindfang’s gloriously hammy journals. They might also have some supernatural abilities of revealing things, such as Calliope’s extreme fear when Rose showed up in her area of the dream bubble. Luck is linked to Light (say that three times fast), but it is better to say “fortune” because luck in Homestuck is less about some strange guiding force and more about probabilities and how people influence them. Indeed, NOTHING is left up to luck in Paradox Space. Light is the opposite of Void, as it focuses on reality, information, and fortune, where Void is all about lies, secrets, shadows, and misfortune.
Classes
There are 14 Classes in Homestuck: 12 Normal Classes and 2 Master Classes. The Normal classes are extremely well explained, with many examples of each and in-depth explorations available. The Master classes are a bit more obscure, with not a lot being revealed about them as of yet.
It is interesting to note that the non-master Classes are all actually named to be a sort of “servant” or “lower classman”, while only the two Master classes are not. Also note that all classes have two functions, which can be broadly explained as “through their aspect” and “of their aspect”. You’ll understand later.
Each class has a “keyword” and is either passive/active. The keyword describes what avenue the impact on reality takes, such as understand, change, create, destroy, allocate, or exploit. Passiveness vs. activeness roughly describes how much direct control over the aspect the class maintains.
Mage
Mage is an active understanding class. Their focus is on doing what needs to be done, whether or not other people understand why. Most people have a somewhat inherent feel for their dominant aspect, but the understanding classes take this a bit further: they understand their aspect, and they understand through their aspect. Sollux, our best example of a Mage, used the systems and patterns of Doom to create a bifurcated system that he could use to survive, and was also incredibly good at programming and working within the constraints of temporal paradoxes. A Mage’s job is to use is this understanding to change reality. They use their aspect like a scalpel, or a sword if necessary, and take control for themselves. Sollux was continuously complaining about how everyone was going to die and they were all doomed, showing the understanding, but he never really began to act for himself, which is what caused his friends to suffer for it. So the job of a Mage is to first understand, and then act.
Understanding classes seem to have incredible problems understanding their opposite aspects. We see this in Sollux’s incapability to overcome the systems and thoughts of death that consumed, as well as Rose’s complete lack of understanding about Void and hidden information, Terezi’s ability to predict people’s actions but not always what they wanted or what was best for them, and in Meulin’s totally moronic attempts to help Horuss change how he acted to be happier. The word Mage harkens back to the court magician in days of old, the wise men who acted in order to help preserve the country they worked for using their learning gained. The inversion of a Mage is an Heir, who passively changes and invites change through aspect, almost drifting instead of taking control and command like a Mage is intended to do. The passive counterpart of a Mage is a Seer who guides others through their knowledge.
Seer
A Seer is a passive understanding class. They, true to their name, can see the flow of their aspect, perhaps to a greater degree than any other class. And with this knowledge, they move and shape the world, usually by lending aid and advice to others, sometimes through their own actions. The Seer is one of the most passive classes, focusing their intents almost entirely on working through others, but wielding enormous influence even as they do so. Rose was almost useless when she tried to go out and create effects on her own, but as soon as she started issuing orders and giving advice, the whole plan started to come together. However, even the Seer is capable of impacting reality themselves, such as Terezi’s use of Mind to outwit and defeat Vriska when she attempted not to take control of the coin flip but rather play reactionary, reacting to another’s actions and try and use her understanding, rather than take control herself.
From mythology, we can see the role of prophets almost from the beginning of time, such as Telemachus, who did not demand change but rather foretold grave consequences unless change happened. A Seer in the SBURB sense does not always know the future, but can usually use their understanding of their Aspect to chart or plan it, even help shape it. These prophets were often subservient to a higher power, kept in a court to help a leader plan, fulfilling the “lower” nature of the non-Master classes. The opposite of Seer is Witch, which actively shapes and focuses their element in order to effect change rather than passively understanding and conducting their element. The active counterpart of a Seer is a Mage, who guides themselves as opposed to others with their aspect.
Witch
A Witch is an active change class. Their role is to take charge of their aspect and shape it as effectively as they can in order to create the change they desire in reality. We see this in Jade, who twists and changes the planet’s size in location to get what she wants done, and in Damara, who uses Time to prevent her session from doing anything after she goes crazy. They also invite change in their aspect, like Feferi’s desire to change the current system of growth for her species and make it more friendly and happy. Their inherent understanding of their aspect is usually used so that they can make known the current state, and thus know how they need to change it in order to achieve their goals. This is scene in Jade’s quick ability to assess the state of the meteors raining down on Skaia and still take Skaia out of the fray, and in Feferi’s knowledge of how the food chain works in relation to Life.
Witch probably derives from the mythological explanation and not from practitioners of Wicca, but I’ll overlook that glaring oversight for the Hussie’s sake. (This is sarcasm, if you cannot tell.) Witches were told to cut deals with the devil for their amazing power, which is a sort of subservience. In the same way that Witches would submit themselves to the devil for power, you can imagine a Witch submitting themselves to their aspect, such as Jade giving up who she was in return for the amazing teleportation powers she gained, or Damara losing herself to a more direct devil figure (Doc Scratch) as well as becoming lost to time in order to gain power. But I could be stretching there. Anyway, the opposite of the Witch is the Seer, who instead of actively shaping their aspect is empowered by passive understanding of it and tends to direct through others. The passive counterpart of Witch is Heir, who changes their aspect through inspiration rather than direct control.
Heir
Heir is a passive change class, focused on inspiring change both in their aspect and through their aspect. We see this in John, who has the funniest habit of moving everyone’s mind around like crazy, completely altering their Breath and decisions without using direct control to do so. At the same time, their aspect also seems to move them, like Equius being shaped by the subservience of Void or Mituna being inspired by Doom to make the great off-screen sacrifice we have yet to see. It forms a complex dance of Heir and Aspect, one so inspiring that people start to tap their toes to the beat. The key is that although both have a piece in the dance, the Heir has to learn to lead, just like John deciding his motivation rather than being privy to every spare idea that strikes his fancy, and learns to conduct the Breath and even guide it into a palpable form.
Heir, to my estimation, comes from the idea that an Heir is given a lot of stuff, in this case their aspect, and must learn to use it for themselves. If anyone is reading this still, you are a fucking saint. I am going mad and I’m 5,000 words in and this is pointless what am I doing with my life. The Heir is subservient in that they still answer to the higher power until they come into their own and inherit the throne. The opposite of an Heir is a Mage, who actively understands and seeks to understand the world around them rather than passively changing it. The active counterpart of an Heir is a Witch, which controls and shapes their element rather than inspiring change in it.
Maid
Maid is an active creation/healing class. They tend to focus on the creation portion of their aspect, both making their aspect and creating through it. Creating their aspect can take many forms: we see Aradia spamming timelines to create Aradiabots and thus dominate the Alpha Timeline, and Jane and Grandma Egbert create baked goods, which often represent Life with the energy they impart to help influence reality. Then there is the flip side: creating through their aspect, like God-Tier Aradia using her powers to stop Bec Noir to allow the creation to go forth, as well as Grandma Egbert actively destroying the imps and ogres in order to aid in the effort of creation, and Maryam Porrim’s using her image and control over Space to create new ideas and help spread the future of the race in new direction. Finally, although they tend to be downplayed, Maids still have pieces and portions of healing to them, though it tends to be focused on active healing, such as Sprite Grandma going off to find Dad Egbert and also very actively finding John so she can heal him and help him, as well as Maryam’s quest also involving healing broken ideas about gender in her species, and Aradia using her powers in order to maintain the Timeline (though this IS a duty of all Time players, and may not apply).
In history, a Maid has been the servant of a lady, and it has been her job to aid the lady in any way necessary. Through this task, they gained great autonomy, to the degree that they were in control of themselves and simply did what they felt was necessary to get the job done. This links to their active nature, and the taking care of the lady is both creation and healing. The name is also a pun: Maid sounds like made, which is quite appropriate for a class that makes their aspect as necessary. The opposite of a Maid is a Bard, which passively erases and destroys their aspect as opposed to active creation. The passive counterpart of a Maid is a Sylph, who focuses on healing and dealing with problems that they are given rather than going out and fixing problems on their own.
Sylph
A Sylph is a passive healing/creation class. Like how the Maid emphasizes creation, the Sylph seems to tend more towards healing. This is seen through Aranea, who uses her “exposition” to patch holes in people’s understanding, and will through this also try and repair problems, one of the reasons she was much beloved by the trolls in her session. We also see Kanaya, who would dress up and also had a tendency to clean and organize things like Vriska’s various piles, which is an example of “fixing Space” by making it look nicer. Also look at Kanaya’s reputation as the go-to auspistice. While we never see this in effect, it is clear she is focused upon healing and repairing reputations. Finally, note Mindfang’s use of information and fortune to keep her crew going despite constant hardships and struggles that they faced, and also her passive creation of the journal, slowly building up information for a later generation to use.
There has actually been a great deal of contention for the Witch and the Sylph to be an active/passive pair, based on one of Kanaya’s comments. However, this is only one point of evidence against a lot for Maid/Sylph being a pair (Maryam and Kanaya, God-Tier shoe theory, actions of characters). There’s not a lot of basis for Sylph in mythology, but it acted as a sort of wise-woman, presumably someone who could give advice and help with problems that people took to them. The opposite of Sylph is Prince, who destroys and destroys through their aspect rather than passively healing it and creating it. The active counterpart is the Maid, who focuses on creation and action.
Prince
Prince is the active destruction class. They are fueled by their aspect, fueled to the point that they begin to both destroy their aspect and then destroy through it. Like Eridan, who always dreamed of a better world, to the point that he first used his hope and belief to destroy other people, defeating Sollux and killing Feferi, and then destroying Hope itself, such as blowing up the Matriorb and setting the whole team in disarray. Then we have Bro, whose constant destruction of Heart through irony and humor masked his love of puppets and ended up twisting Dave a lot through his lifetime. The Prince is inherently destructive, and this can cause a lot of problems, but the class isn’t necessarily harmful. We can see Dirk, who when he gets control of himself uses his identity as an incredible source of power to do things like bring all of his friends together. A fully realized Prince can destroy their aspect in the name of their aspect, and move everything together.
Prince most of the times were not leaders, but sort of lieutenants underneath kings to help administrate their empire. The reference in Homestuck might be to Machiavelli, which discusses the endless political machinations of the princes, who used their influence to get what they wanted done, but at the same time eroding the kingdom with their endless debates. This matches the same type of dual destruction in Homestuck, and could be the original source of the name. The opposite of a Prince is a Sylph, who focuses on healing their aspect and healing through their aspect, paralleling the Prince destruction of and through their aspect. The passive counterpart to the Prince is the Bard, who mocks and derides his aspect and others to death, rather than active destruction.
Bard
The Bard is a passive destruction class. A more appropriate name might be “Jester” if it fit the one syllable rule, because what a Bard does is take his aspect and joke around with it. In this way, he destroys his aspect passively, exploiting its flaws, mocking its excesses, and doing so to you, too. We see this in Gamzee, who would tear down the belief that things could be impossible, encouraging people to believe in miracles. Then, when he later started to invite destruction through Rage, he played on Karkat’s fears and negative emotions, a surprisingly similar method to before, just focused on Karkat instead of Rage. We see this too with Cronus, who first was fueled by his Hope, his belief that he could be or do something, but later lost that, and turned his hatred upon people like Mituna, destroying Mituna’s Hope and positive emotions to leave him sad, both destroying Hope and destroying through Hope like a Bard can do.
The Bard or jester would stay in the king’s court, amusing him all day long, at the same time playing very dangerously and mocking the king. It also relates back to Hussie’s previous work, Bard Quest, where the Bard ended up doing very little and dicked around a whole lot. It is certainly where the God-Tier codpiece originated from. The opposite of Bard is Maid, who focuses on active creation and control as opposed to the passive destruction of the Bard, and the active counterpart is the Prince, who actively destroys rather than passively inviting destruction.
Thief
The Thief is an active allocation class. What dominates the Thief control and placement of their aspect, like Vriska having ALL the luck and thus using it to control what happened next. They seem to start with simple theft, like Vriska’s obsession with snatching information, luck, and taking agency, but as they grow, they learn to use it more intelligently, like Meenah using the growth she had in order to work together a plan for defeat Lord English, or Vriska using her information to control others on her quest to find the secret treasure thing. We also have the Condesce, who uses the sheer power she has gained over a lifetime to exert major control over the Life of others, twisting and moving the growth of Planet Earth to her liking. They can also steal through their aspect, such as Vriska using information and the will of others in order to gain the money she wanted. So although it starts about thievery, the Thief grows to be about control, allocation to self, and thievery.
The master thief has been an image in folklore and myth for ages, an almost romantic figure who is skilled enough to talk whatever he or she wants, and then get away with it. The Thief flies in the face of the “subservient” class theory, because it’s hard to imagine a thief answering to anyone. However, they are certainly not as high up as a king or a lord, so it still possibly fits. The opposite of a Thief is a Page, who inspires people to use what they have instead of taking it from them. The passive counterpart to a Thief is a Rogue, who moves their aspect for the benefit of everyone and without an emphasis on control.
Rogue
A Rogue is a passive allocation class. The Rogue moves things around as they see necessary, for the benefit of all and to further their goals. Also, they move things through their aspect. We see in the comic Nepeta, who is a Rogue of Heart, rearranging and moving the emotions and desires of her friends to try and maximize everyone’s happiness through shipping, and also taking roles upon herself as she roleplays along with her friends. She is also not afraid to steal other people’s motivations and stop their emotions, just like how she morails for Equius quite expertly, listening to his problems and making sure he doesn’t do anything rash or crazy, as well as motivating him to do the right thing when it is necessary. We also see Roxy, who takes secrets and other artifacts from the Void, and moves them where it is necessary, telling her friends secrets and details in order to facilitate a smoother group dynamic, as well as giving her friends a cloak through Void in order to keep them protected. So the Rogue does not exercise tight control, nor does it move things primarily to themselves, but rather keeps a constant flow of things and their aspect to benefit everyone.
As for mythological roots, my understanding of a Rogue is limited, but they seemed to act as a sort of thief for hire, working with armies in order to gain secrets of information or the like. They were in effect similar to spies, moving things where necessary in order to help their side and damage the other side. This fits quite nicely with their Homestuck class specifications. The opposite of a Rogue is a Knight, which uses what it has instead of moving things around. The active counterpart is a Thief, who focuses on allocating things to themselves as opposed to moving it in a freeform fashion.
Knight
The Knight is the active exploitation class. The Knight uses what it has and it uses it well. Knights often start off with a dearth of their aspect: Dave, as a Knight of Time had very little patience and Karkat had few very close friends do to his off-putting nature. However, what they do have they put to good use, such as Karkat using what bonds he hand in place to form together his team, and Dave quickly learning the ropes of time travel despite the somewhat frightening implications thereof. They do not only weaponize, they use it for EVERYTHING. Dave, as a Knight of Time, has used his powers for attack, defense, information gathering, money laundering, house security, and stupid jokes. And, as they grow, the amount of their aspect at their disposal grows, eventually increasing their total power and how they can use it.
Knights seem to be predisposed toward self-delusion and coming across as different people. This is obvious with Latula Pyrope, who maintains the rad girl image to keep herself safe, but it also manifests as Dave’s obsession with being cool and Karkat’s perpetually angry actions. This is not a hard and fast rule, but it does seem to be a trend among Knights in Homestuck and out of it. The Knight in myth was a character who would go out and use whatever he had on at hand to scour the countryside and help other people with their tasks and problems, fitting the active exploitation trait well. The opposite of a Knight is a Rogue, who passively moves their aspect rather than using what they’ve got. The passive counterpart to a Knight is a Page, who inspires others to use what they have instead of using their aspect to their benefit.
Page
The Page is a passive exploitation class. They start off slow, usually lacking a lot in the way of their aspect, such as Tavros being very indecisive or Jake living in constant fear of the monsters outside his house. Another way to look at it is that they start with all of the negatives their aspects (for Tavros, it was indecisiveness, for Jake, it was lack of determination or ability to make up his mind, for Horuss, he was constantly unfortunate and never had enough information to go off of) and it is not until later they get enough and know how to use it in a productive manner. However, when they do, it can be astounding. They can inspire those around them to use their aspect for good and even give them some if they need it. When a Page is done, they have raised and army, an army who knows how to use their aspect and charge into battle. An army of Knights.
The Page is a hard class to spec on, because we have never seen an example of a fully realized Page. Thus, most of this is inference off of passive exploitation as well as mythological roots. The Page class is most likely based off of King Arthur, who spent his early years as a page to his older brother and believed that is all he would ever amount to. Plus, the Page gives others weapons so that they can use them, creating the image and idea of someone who gives people something and helps them use it. The opposite of a Page is Thief, who takes things away instead of helping people use them, and the active counterpart is Knight, who would rather use what they have at their disposal to help people rather than teach or inspire them.
Lord
Lord is one of the two Master Classes. It is impossible to say for certain, but odds are the Lord has two jobs: to embody and control their aspect. We see Lord English who represents the very unstoppable and destructive nature of Time itself, and through his goes on his merry romp through Paradox Space, destroying everything in his path. And when he does so, he gets his… hands?… claws?… into everything he can, changing the shape and flow of Paradox Space and creating infinite time loops in order to better help him dominate it. It is also apparent in one of his and Jake’s dialogues that he is supposed to ascend to the higher points of their aspect, becoming more and more comfortable with them, and then eventually as he does so, he will suddenly gain more and more control over reality. This very much describes how a Lord as an embodier and controller could work.
The Lord is the head of the castle, be it the king or whoever is in charge, and as such, he dominates. It is often used in mythology that the place a person rules comes to resemble them, and vice versa. This could very well be part of the control/embody dichotomy: Caliborn’s growth has been of him into Time, the patient, well-timed, inevitable yet uncertain point of destruction, and as he becomes this being, he gains control over the aspect. The opposite of a Lord and its passive counterpart is Muse, which passively embodies their class and inspires others, giving them control.
Muse
Muse is the most passive class, and it is probably about embodiment and inspiration. We look at Calliope, who is obsessed with her image and what she looks like to the point that she starts to continuously worry about them and tries to hide who she is. Her character arc is probably about becoming comfortable with who she is and through this more actively embodying Space. She also uses information, creation, and substance to inspire others, this very essence of who she is, and thus helps others become motivated in their quest. We also see her amazing abilities of creation when it comes to Space, and how Roxy is enable and more capable to move as she goes further and further into Calliope’s world, which could be a part of it, too.
Muses in mythology were gods, who never impacted reality except to inspire artists. They each had a piece of art they focused on, and in many ways represented that piece of art. In this way, they were extremely passive, but inspired many people and impacted reality that way. So that could be the mythological origin of a Muse. Opposite and active counterpart of a Muse is a Lord, who embodies and dominates their aspect rather than inspiring through it.
So that’s my thoughts on the 12 aspects, 14 classes, and Classpect in general. If you have any questions, particularly about the combinations of these, feel free to ask! I also adore constructive criticism and a healthy debate. I would also like to thank all of my followers: this was done as my 50 follower special, and I suspect I shall get many more to come. And of course, thanks to Andrew Hussie for ruining my life with his amazing webcomic. |
A rendering of the proposed new facade at Church and Market.
Grub Street broke the news last year that Chipotle had inked a lease for the prominent former Home restaurant at the intersection of Church, Market, and 14th Streets. We immediately anticipated that the chain, being considered formula retail, would face an uphill battle with the Castro neighborhood, and nearly eight months later that has proved somewhat true, with a petition drive launched to oppose the company moving in, and a Planning Commission hearing still two or three months away. Chipotle is trying its damnedest to play nice, though, launching their own petition, hosting pop-up events at the site, and rallying support from 29 local merchants as well as the Castro merchants association. Today Grub Street caught up with Chipotle communications director Chris Arnold about the proposed design of the space, and their community outreach efforts. He admits, “San Francisco is pretty unique,” and moving in here has been a bit tougher than it was with any of the other 1,430 locations the chain has opened.
Chipotle, as you may know, was founded in Denver by former S.F. chef (he once worked at Stars) and Mission burrito enthusiast Steve Ells. Arnold stresses that the chain “is not like other formula retail,” and “It’s kind of funny because we were never supposed to be a chain. We started as just one restaurant, and all of these formula retail issues were entirely moot.” He says that they still treat the design and management of each restaurant as if it were its own, standalone business, and despite the chain’s huge nationwide expansion, “We remain committed to serving high-quality ingredients, and to sustainability, and to acting like a chef-owned restaurant. We want people to know that not all formula retail is created equal.” (You may recall the ad campaign they first aired in 2011 touting their anti-industrial-farming stance, which obviously plays well in the Bay Area.)
There are already nine Chipotle locations in San Francisco, and this location will be a first for the chain locally in terms of it being a sit-down, urban neighborhood location serving margaritas, beer, and wine. Some neighbors are understandably concerned, however, that small local taquerias, of which are there are four within just three blocks, might suffer if Chipotle moves in.
It is likely, though, that the space is not going to get snapped up by an individual chef-owner or small independent operator, as many in the neighborhood probably want, because of the costs involved in bringing it back to life. Arnold says that though there was not much competition when they signed the lease for the property — which closed in 2011 because of a liquor license issue relating to the outdoor patio that the owners of Home could not afford to solve — they have since been approached by a few interested parties looking to take over their development rights should Chipotle’s bid fail to win approval. He won’t name any companies, but he says, “They’re not independent local operators — they’re national or regional concepts or restaurant groups.”
As one neighborhood resident, Jonathan Foulk, who signed the pro-Chipotle petitions says, “I would rather see a chain restaurant that has respect for animals, farmers, and the environment than a restaurant that is hit or miss or may close in six months. A lot of that has been going on in the Castro and store fronts stay empty because of high rent.” On the anti- side, the petitioners say that “the prominent placement of such a large chain restaurant sets an unfortunate precedent” for the neighborhood, and they would rather see the property generate revenue for a local entrepreneur.
San Francisco leads the nation in resistance to chain retail and fast-food chains, and Arnold says that of the 1,200 or so Chipotles that have opened during his tenure there, this has so far been the most contentious process. “We’ve faced some design issues going into historic districts in places like Boston and D.C.,” Arnold says, but nothing quite like this, because no other cities have such stringent ordinances against chains. As of right now, 241 people have signed the anti-Chipotle petition, and 272 people have signed the petition supporting Chipotle.
Arnold assures us that the company is not trying to create animosity with the neighbors, or “force this thing through the bureaucracy,” but that they want to “partner with the community.”
“We’re optimistic,” says Arnold, “that as people learn a little more about who we are, and how we run our restaurants, and how we design and build them, that we are not like any other formula retailer that might be interested in that space.”
And speaking of the design, check out a few renderings and a floor plan by clicking below. The new location would feature a more open patio than at Home with about eighteen seats, as well as a public art mural, and 76 seats indoors with about 22 of those being stools along a dining counter facing the Church Street windows.
Chipotle expects to be scheduled for a Planning Commission hearing over the summer, and construction would then take about six months after that. So we are likely looking at a 2014 opening if it’s approved.
Earlier: Castro Vacancy Watch: 2223 Market Snapped Up; Trigger in Play; Blue Still Dark
Chipotle Snags Home Space at Church and Market, Will Open Next Year |
MUMBAI: The Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan has an ally in India’s largest FMCG , Hindustan Unilever. The ‘Swachh Aadat, Swachh Bharat’ initiative aims to promote health and hygiene, communicating to 75 million people via a mass media ad campaign. An on-ground programme Swachh Basti is currently being piloted in Mumbai and Delhi and intends reaching 200,000 people by end 2015.This initiative gives HUL the opportunity to bring under a single umbrella various projects on brands like Lifebuoy, floor and toilet cleaner Domex and water purifier Pureit. And of course, contribute to a pet project of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Modi, incidentally, is the galvanising factor behind HUL’s participation. HUL chief executive officer Sanjiv Mehta recalls: “When our global CEO Paul Polman was visiting, Modi said you are doing so much work in rural India, but what about urban India? Can you look at mass communication as a means of spreading the message? We went back to the drawing table, had a small team working intensively to understand this and came back with an urban behaviour change programme and mass media campaign.”The company launches its mass media campaign today, aimed at children, typically change agents in families. HUL also intends harnessing its mobile-based radio station aimed at rural India which currently reaches 40 million consumers. Says Mehta of the tagline for the campaign, “‘Haat Mooh aur Bum, Bimari Hogi Kam’ is something we want to see on everyone’s lips.”In addition, HUL’s Swachh Basti is an extensive urban outreach programme being piloted in the slums of Mumbai and Delhi, in association with local municipal authorities. The objective is to educate children and parents about clean habits, via skits, demos and engagement with key stakeholders like local doctors and support groups. Such projects typically peter out, but HUL intends doing extensive pre and post studies, revisiting areas it already covered to ensure the message sinks in. Swachh Basti could be taken nationwide as early as March next year. Citing a recent report on sanitation infrastructure being underutilised, Mehta says, “It is important and necessary, but not sufficient. There has to be a change in habit, behaviour and some very deeply ingrained beliefs.”HUL is not the first or only brand to come aboard Swachh Bharat; Reckitt Benckiser’s Dettol started last year and has earmarked .`100 crore over a five year period for a widely publicised engagement, seen as its attempt to crack the sofar elusive rural market. |
Are billionaires born or made? What are the common attributes among the uber-wealthy? Are there any true secrets of the self-made?
We get these questions a lot, and decided it was time to go beyond the broad answers of smarts, ambition and luck by sorting through our database of wealthy individuals in search of bona fide trends. We analyzed everything from the billionaires' parents' professions to where they went to school, their track records in the early stages of their careers and other experiences that may have put them on the path to extreme wealth.
Our admittedly unscientific study of the 657 self-made billionaires we counted in February for our list of the World's Billionaires yielded some interesting results.
In Pictures: Billionaire Clusters
First, a significant percentage of billionaires had parents with a high aptitude for math. The ability to crunch numbers is crucial to becoming a billionaire, and mathematical prowess is hereditary. Some of the most common professions among the parents of American billionaires (for whom we could find the information) were engineer, accountant and small-business owner.
Consistent with the rest of the population, more American billionaires were born in the fall than in any other season. However, relatively few billionaires were born in December, traditionally the month with the eighth highest birth rate. This anomaly holds true among billionaires in the U.S. and abroad.
More than 20% of the 292 of the self-made American billionaires on the most recent list of the World's Billionaires have either never started or never completed college. This is especially true of those destined for careers as technology entrepreneurs: Bill Gates Bill Gates ( Microsoft ), Steve Jobs Steve Jobs ( Apple ), Michael Dell Michael Dell ( Dell , Larry Ellison Larry Ellison ( Oracle ), and Theodore Waitt ( Gateway ).
Billionaires who derive their fortunes from finance make up one of the most highly educated sub-groups: More than 55% of them have graduate degrees. Nearly 90% of those with M.B.A.s obtained their master's degree from one of three Ivy League schools: Harvard, Columbia or U. Penn's Wharton School of Business.
Goldman Sachs has attracted a large share of hungry minds that went on to garner 10-figure fortunes. At least 11 current and recent billionaire financiers worked at Goldman early in their careers, including Edward Lampert, Daniel Och, Tom Steyer and Richard Perry.
Several billionaires suffered a bitter professional setback early in their careers that heightened their fear of failure. Pharmaceutical tycoon R.J. Kirk's first venture was a flop--an experience he regrets but appreciates. "Failure early on is a necessary condition for success, though not a sufficient one," he told Forbes in 2007.(See "Flying Solo.")
According to a statement read by Phil Falcone during a congressional hearing in November, his botched buyout of a company in Newark in the early 1990s taught him "several valuable lessons that have had a profound impact upon my success as a hedge fund manager."
Several current and former billionaires rounded out their Yale careers as members of Skull and Bones, the secret society portrayed with enigmatic relish by Hollywood in movies like The Skulls and W. Among those who were inducted: investor Edward Lampert, Blackstone co-founder Steven Schwarzman, and FedEx founder Frederick Smith.
In Pictures: Billionaire Clusters |
Friday the 13th: The Game was delayed back in October, and in addition to having the extra time for the development of single-player modes, it was announced that one of Jason's greatest nemeses, Tommy Jarvis, would be playable in the horror game. Now, we get our first look at the character, who's played by Jason Lives actor Thom Matthews.
In the trailer at the top of this article, one of the preppy camp counsellors calls for help, introducing Tommy. It's unclear how playing the character will work exactly, as we have no idea of his abilities or anything else of that matter. I'm curious to see if one player will get to play as Tommy from the start or if he's a character players can spawn as when a multiplayer match progresses to a certain point. It'll be interesting to see if Tommy can put Jason down like in the movies. He is holding a shotgun, though, and if I know anything about video games, I bet he'll use it for shootin'.
The multiplayer portion of the game is set for release in spring 2017, while the single-player mode will release the following summer. Unfortunately, no specific dates have been revealed. For those who haven't already bought in, the digital version's price has risen from $30 to $40 due to the added inclusion of single-player. Anyone who purchased the game before this price hike doesn't have to worry about paying extra. |
Rio de Janeiro (AFP) - Dozens of demonstrators gathered at Rio de Janeiro's heavily polluted Guanabara Bay, demanding that officials clean it up before it is used as a 2016 Olympic sailing venue.
Amid whistles of disapproval and shouts of "shame!" demonstrators held a beachside protest, their boats symbolically kept on the shore as they waved their oars in the air.
They launched their protest at noon to coincide with low tide, when the dirtiness of the water is most evident.
Scroll to continue with content Ad
"Brazilian authorities promised a series of improvements to the bay but just a little more than a year ahead of the Olympic Games have done virtually nothing," said Mario Moscatelli, a university professor and biologist, who called the protest.
Athletes training for next summer's Olympic Games have complained about the condition of the water, where animal carcasses, sewage and tons of dead fish have been found floating.
From the shore, the demonstrators displayed examples of the trash extracted from the bay, including an intact toilet.
Moscatelli called the continued high levels of pollution the result of a "lack of leadership."
At the time of Rio's candidacy to win the Games, city officials promised to clean up 80 percent of the bay's waters, but so far they have managed only to clean about 50 percent.
Next year's Games are set to take place August 5-21. |
How to Appease the Demo Gods
When you are planning a demo, you must appease the Demo Gods, or their wrath will surely strike you down, making you appear to be a total fool in front of your professor, your fellow students, your boss, your co-workers, or even the people you were hoping might become your customers.
The following time-honored rituals are unsurpassed in their power to appease the Demo Gods, and perhaps even to make them smile upon you:
Freeze your code at least three to four days before the demo. The "simple" changes made at the last minute will invariably cause the Demo Gods to smite your software, rendering it totally useless at the most inopportune moment. Never exercise any capability in your demo that you have not thoroughly tested beforehand. If you have not tested it, it does not work, no matter how careful and clever you thought you were, and no matter how simple the code seemed at the time. Test your code early in the project on the platform that is to be used in the demo. My lab partner and I failed to perform this sacred ritual in our Winter 2000 CSE509 project presentation. Sure enough, an unexpected incompatibility caused our project to fail. We did avert the wrath of the Demo Gods, but only by hauling my desktop PC into the classroom at the last minute. Rehearse your demo as if you were rehearsing a play: Time each portion of your presentation. Brutally cut anything that causes you to run overtime. After all, if it is really all that interesting, the audience will ask you questions about it anyway. Allow no less than three minutes for every slide in your presentation. Allow at least five minutes for questions. Anticipate some questions, and prepare backup slides for these questions. Do not present these slides except in response to a question that specifically touches on the corresponding area. To figure out which questions are likely to be asked, rehearse in front of a friendly audience. Have backup hardware available. Rehearse setting it up, and time how long it takes you to set it up. Rehearse one team member doing part of the presentation while another is setting the replacement hardware up. Bring backup copies of your slides, for otherwise your laptop will be certain to fail to work with the projector. A USB memory stick works very well for storing backup copies, and, speaking as someone who has lugged tens of pounds of acetate foils through all 24 timezones and four countries in a one-week period, I can assure you that USB memory sticks are a very welcome development! Another good backup approach is to place a copy of your presentation on the web. Arrive early enough to set up and check out any equipment that you need for your demo. KISS: "Keep It Simple, Stupid!". The Demo Gods are less apt to wreak havoc with simple things. If you have not already done so, join your local Toastmasters club and work toward your CTM.
A friend of mine runs his own business writing specialty software. He sells this software at trade shows, where he must do many demos. His wife could never understand why he was so paranoid about these demos: he would run through them multiple times, bring duplicates of all the required hardware and software, etc., etc. This took a lot of time and money that she naturally felt might be put to better use.
My friend tried to explain Murphy's Law to his wife, but she just didn't buy it. After all, why would perfectly good hardware and software just suddenly fail for no reason? And if you expected the hardware to fail, why not just buy good hardware?
After much contention over his obsessive preparations, my friend eventually came up with the concept of the Demo Gods. This deification of Murphy's Law seemed to satisfy his wife (though she still seemed skeptical at times), and for the most part restored domestic tranquillity.
And his wife is not alone. I have found that many people can relate to angry Demo Gods much more readily than they can to an abstract "Murphy's Law". If it works, go with it! |
Seated on a pile of debris in a courtroom, Jonathan Crane appears as a judge in some sort of a parody of post-apocalyptic jurisprudence in the last of Christopher Nolan's trailblazing Batman trilogy — the Dark Knight Rises. In Crane's open court, guilt is assumed and justice is delivered quicker than instant coffee.
The 2012 Hollywood blockbuster was of course a work of fiction with no resemblance to any persons living or dead, but sometimes movies have an odd clairvoyance.
The sequence of events and soundbites in the last few days over AAP government's move to form a Commission of Inquiry into the alleged financial irregularities in DDCA and former Solicitor General Gopal Subramanium's "graceful acceptance" of the role has all the makings of a desi blockbuster.
The Commission of Inquiry Act, 1952, clearly states that only state governments and Centre are allowed to order a commission of inquiry and Delhi, a Union Territory, can only do so in partnership with Centre.
The legal proviso, first pointed out by Delhi Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung four days ago, was on Tuesday endorsed unambiguously by the Union home ministry which has held that the inquiry is incompatible within the existing legal framework.
It is impossible to assume that the Delhi chief minister, holder of a Constitutional post, didn't know that his unprecedented move to order a Commission of Inquiry against Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley would fail legal scrutiny. But the move was consistent with the way Aam Admi Party chief conducts his politics, through a manipulation of the media space.
The theme became clearer when on Monday Subramanium, the one-man commission head, asked for live telecast of the commission proceedings.
"I would like to make it clear that I have already promised a public inquiry. The same should be held at a suitable place. I offer it to be televised because I would like anybody in the world to watch how the commission is proceeding to deal with this matter," Subramanium wrote in a letter to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.
As if the unconstitutional nature of the commission wasn't enough, now we have its head sitting in pride of place in full media glare, calling witness upon witness to testify while millions ditch Bigg Boss, Indian Idol, saas-bahu serials or How I Met Your Mother to tune in and watch instant, piping hot justice with some crunchy popcorn or garam pakodas. Pass it on, will you?
One can understand why the AAP boss is so taken in by the idea of a commission which, he is convinced, can end up putting in discomfort the prime minister who he alleges runs into a violent temper whenever someone so much as mentions the name of Kejriwal in his vicinity.
It isn't mere delusion of grandeur from Kejriwal, who has so far used the mainstream and social media to great effect in his rapid rise from being an anti-corruption crusader.
If, in accord with Subramanium's wish — and one can assume Kejriwal will only be too happy to oblige him — the trial is held in an open court in front of TV cameras and OB vans, it would ensure dual benefit for the AAP chief. If the finance minister is made to appear before the commission — he is not legally bound to answer a summon — it would mean easy win. And if he doesn't turn up, one may always claim that the minister shied away because he is afraid to face the truth.
If the trial was held inside a courtroom without media's interference, that would have taken away from the optics of watching India's finance minister and the de-facto No.2 in Modi's cabinet being dragged to face cross examination on a corruption case.
A blockbuster DDCA trial with high TRP ratings in media would also perform two more important tasks.
One, it would wash away the corruption stains Kejriwal may have invited by publicly hugging RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav post Bihar Assembly elections or by backing Rajendra Kumar, his principal secretary against whom CBI has launched a graft enquiry.
Two, it would turn the corruption focus on BJP instead. It is important to understand that Kejriwal wants to not only establish himself as a prime ministerial contender for 2019, he also wants to ensure that he, and not Modi, is seen as incorruptible in public eye.
Also, even if we take Subramanium's claims of transparency as the prime reason behind calling for an open trial at face value, it is anybody's guess whether the commission (regardless of its status) would conduct a fair trial.
Questions, in fact, ought to be raised over the manner in which Subramainam's appointment as the commission chief was made. Did the Delhi chief minister consider any other names before zeroing in on the former solicitor general? Were any other names taken into consideration? If so, why weren't those made public?
It is interesting that the AAP chief would choose a lawyer to head a panel who has, in the past, crossed swords with the NDA government on many issues.
In 2014, the Union government is understood to have returned the recommendation for his appointment to the apex court to its collegium with a request to reconsider the decision.
It emerged that the former solicitor general withdrew his candidature from SC judge's post following media reports which said the NDA government had objected to his appointment as a Supreme Court judge, because of his 'links' with corporate lobbyist Niira Radia and a 'negative' CBI report.
Not just that.
When the Supreme Court recently tasked the Centre to frame a draft Memorandum of Procedure (MOP) for future appointments in higher judiciary, the apex court's direction was vehemently opposed by senior advocate Subramanium who said "suggestions are welcome", but the executive cannot be allowed to draft even the draft memorandum.
His objection was overruled by the apex court but these instances make it amply clear why out of all people Kejriwal elevated Subramanium as the chosen one.
We shall wait in bated breath to watch the unfolding episodes of the riveting saga. The betting ones among us may also wager their bottom rupee that whoever is held guilty in this reality show, Kejriwal will still be the winner!
Firstpost is now on WhatsApp. For the latest analysis, commentary and news updates, sign up for our WhatsApp services. Just go to Firstpost.com/Whatsapp and hit the Subscribe button. |
When Luke Skywalker has his hand cut off in The Empire Strikes Back, he simply has it replaced with a mechanical one that looks, moves, and feels like a real hand. Now, whether you have lost your limb to a lightsaber or a disease, there is a real world equivalent to Luke’s bionic fist: the Smart Hand. Developed by EU researchers, the Smart Hand is a complex prosthesis with four motors and forty sensors designed to provide realistic motion and sense to the user. That’s right, Smart Hand is the first device of its kind to send signals back to the wearer, allowing them to feel what they touch. The first time I saw this, it completely blew my mind. Take a look at the video from BBC News after the break.
Generally when we’ve discussed haptics (sense of touch interfaces), it has been in relation to remote access or telepresence robots. At once, the use of haptics in prostheses is both more intuitive and more intimate. The ability to create feeling extensions of one’s body has implications beyond the (not so) simple creation of life-like limbs. We could see bionic replacements that augment human physicality beyond the normal limits. These replacements, if accompanied by an advanced sense of touch, would have all the benefits of a natural part of your body and yet function better. Full body replacement, or rather body displacement, is the stuff of science fiction movies like Surrogates. Yet if we find a way to perfectly translate mechanical sensation to human sensation, there would be little technological obstruction to extending our consciousness outside our biological bodies.
Phantom limb syndrome is the sensation amputees have that their missing body part is still there. The brain has remained open to receiving input from those nerves although they were cut off long ago. Likewise, impulses from the brain to control the missing limb still travel down the neurons towards the sight of amputation. Scientists can use electronic sensors to pick up the control signals and relay them to a mechanical device. We’ve seen this technology used in the HAL exoskeleton from Cyberdyne, and in the i-Limb prostheses. Smart Hand is unique because it also takes advantage of those phantom limb pathways still being open. Doctors connect the sensors in the hand to the nerves in the stump of the arm. Now, patients can feel as well as control an artificial limb.
The Old You…Maybe Better?
The goal of the Smart Hand project is to create a replacement limb that is as near to identical to the lost one as possible. This means creating a prosthesis that functions and relays sensory input like a normal biological hand. In both objectives, the Smart Hand is far from ultimate success. Four motors, though providing an impressive range of motion, do not have the full degrees of freedom, nor the variation in applied strength that a human hand has. Likewise, it is amazing that the forty sensors can communicate with the human brain at all, but they do not provide nearly as much sensation as the millions of nerves in your biological hand. Yet, as mentioned in the video, the current Smart Hand prototype represents more than ten years of dedicated work.
I only point out the current limitations of Smart Hand to better highlight its enormous potential. Robin af Ekenstam (the patient in the video) can pick up objects, and can feel the fingertips of the prosthesis even at this stage of development. It is clear from his involvement in this project that this level of capability is well worth the time and effort involved. In other words, an imperfect Smart Hand is still a very desirable hand, and can perform remarkable tasks. What happens as Smart Hand gets even better?
The number of scientists dedicated to answering that question is rather astounding. In the Smart Hand project we see the work primarily of Lund University in Sweden and the Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna in Italy, but contributors include researchers in Denmark, Israel, Ireland, and Iceland. We’ve seen many other successful prosthetic companies including i-Limb, DEKA, and Ossur. A good number of robotic hand projects work in parallel with prostheses research, including the gentle SDM robotic hand we recently discussed. On the frontier of nerve-machine connectivity are projects like Braingate, which directly connect motor nerves to computers.
Clearly, there is an abundance of resources being directed at all angles of this research coming from many different regions and fields of expertise. When we consider these resources we can rest assured that although it has taken ten years to give us the current version of Smart Hand, it will take much less time to make large improvements upon the technology. Whether or not those improvements occur in this project, or another, it is likely that prosthetic work could see some sort of exponential growth in the upcoming years.
Which means that sooner than we may think, those suffering from missing limbs may be able to heal themselves to a degree beyond their expectation. In the next several years, perhaps decades, prostheses may come to match our natural bodies in most meaningful ways.
Beyond that, of course, sits the realm of abject speculation, but if artificial limbs will one day match the human ones, there’s no reason they couldn’t be further improved. We would then see bionic limbs, or perhaps entirely bionic bodies, which exceed human limitations. Could these mechanical bodies be accepted as authentically human? Already the Olympics have decided that some athletes with prostheses have an unfair advantage and are ineligible to compete. In the years to come we will see how society at large reacts when “good enough” becomes “good as new” and finally “better than ever”. |
See a TV news report on abusive treatment in New York in 1993.
Read how this treatment continues today .
For engaging in oral sex with their peers, the boys were arrested and charged with rape, aggravated sodomy and aggravated child molestation. Four decided to accept a plea bargain, avoiding 10-year sentences, but forever being labeled sex offenders.
-- Black America Web
He is looking at being put on the public registry when he turns 18, along with his picture...Because of the registry and the stigma which accompanies it, we have had suicides, attempted suicides and youths who are ready to give up.
-- Director of Citizens for Second Chances
We have encountered young teenagers (13 to 15) who, as part of their treatment, have been compelled to recite daily creeds including phrases such as 'I am a pedophile and am not fit to live in human society'...these incidents cannot be dismissed as isolated examples of overly zealous practice but are directly derived from an uncritical application of prevailing treatment models.
--Juvenile sex offender treatment experts Mark Chaffin and Barbara Bonner
As part of his treatment, the 15 year old was forced to place a round, mercury-filled plastic device around his penis, and further forced to wear earphones and listen to pornographic tapes. Afterward the youth was encouraged to masturbate.
--Newsday
�...her therapists persisted until one day she tried to kill herself, the mother said...critics point to the boy's case as an example of a child put into the program without cause, who was treated with inappropriate and potentially dangerous methods, and who may have become violent as a result...�
--The Arizona Republic See our extensive library of information to learn more
What others have to say about ETAY
�Thanks so much for your work pulling together all of this research! I'm sure my colleagues here will be very interested to look at it, too."
-- Joseph Truong, Resource Coordinator, National Youth Advocacy Coalition
"Thanks as well for your website. It appears to have much good information and I hope to read it through more thoroughly and refer to it again.�
-- Jennifer L. Bass, Head of Information Services, Kinsey Institute
"We find your web site informative in its own right and are considering linking to it in our selection of direct links.�
-- Erwin Haeberle, Magnus Hirschfeld Archive for Sexuality |
President Serzh Sarkisian has reaffirmed Armenia’s commitment to deepening ties with the European Union in a way that would not run counter to its recent accession to a Russian-led alliance of ex-Soviet states.
“Armenia is committed to taking steps together with its European partners to form a new legal basis for our relationship,” Sarkisian said at the start of a two-day EU summit in Riga late on Thursday. He stressed that a planned new Armenia-EU accord will be “compatible” with his country’s membership in the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU).
There was no such compatibility with an Association Agreement, including a significant free-trade component, which Yerevan and Brussels were close to finalizing in 2013.The EU abandoned the agreement after Armenia unexpectedly decided to join Russia’s trade bloc with Belarus and Kazakhstan.
The Armenian government and the European Commission are due to start talks soon on a less ambitious accord stemming from the EU’s Eastern Partnership program.
Sarkisian stated in Riga that Armenia has already benefited from the program. It has given new impetus to political and economic reforms in the country, he said.
“Armenia’s European agenda remains a foreign policy priority,” Sarkisian declared in another speech that was delivered in the Latvian capital earlier in the day. He attended a meeting of the leaders, among them German Chancellor Angela Merkel, of the European People’s Party (EPP), a coalition of Europe’s leading center-right parties. The ruling Republican Party of Armenia is also affiliated with the EPP.
Speaking at the EPP gathering, Sarkisian said Yerevan regards the Eastern Partnership as an opportunity to advance domestic “modernization” based on Armenia’s “common values” with Europe, rather than an opportunity to exploit the West’s geopolitical rivalry with Russia. In that context, he warned against “public statements containing one-sided rebukes,” clearly referring to strong Western criticism of Russia’s role in the conflict in Ukraine. The conflicting parties should seek to “understand each other and respect each other’s issues” instead, he said.
Accordingly, Sarkisian refused to back a draft EPP declaration that accuses Russia, Armenia’s main military ally, of unleashing military aggression against Ukraine. Yerevan also objected to similar language in a joint communique that was due to be adopted by the EU summit on Friday. |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.