text
stringlengths 14
100k
| meta
dict |
|---|---|
Wing 2 Card Analysis - The League of Explorers, Overwatch Stress Test Beta
Black Friday Sale & Year Long Stimpack, Undocumented Changes, THH #86
Legion Beta - Build 20740
PTR Updated Patch Notes
With the latest PTR patch released today the changelog has been updated with quite a few new items. The notes below contain all the documented changes from today's patch. Also note how the Mac version should be fixed now!
Originally Posted by Blizzard (Official Post) Last Updated: November 20 @ 12:00 p.m. PST. Below you'll find the preliminary PTR patch notes for patch 2.4.0. Please note that this isn't the final version of the patch notes and that some changes may not be documented or described in full detail. PTR-ONLY CHANGES Set Dungeons The objectives of a Set Dungeon will now appear in a window when you enter the dungeon The specific buffs that aid in tracking related objectives in Set Dungeons now have unique icons All Set Dungeon Achievements now have unique names All Unique monsters in Set Dungeons now have specific names The Shadow's Mantle The first objective has been redesigned Chain bonus damage Impale hits on 15 consecutive enemies 5 times The Reflects Damage affix has been removed from monsters in the Natalya's Vengeance dungeon The Jailer affix has been removed from the following Set Dungeons Immortal King's Call Unhallowed Essence Zunimassa's Haunt Several Set Dungeons have received changes to their difficulty: Crusader: Thorns of the Invoker Seeker of the Light Demon Hunter: The Shadow's Mantle Monk: Inna's Mantra Monkey King's Garb Raiment of a Thousand Storms Uliana's Strategem Wizard: Vyr's Amazing Arcana
Bug Fixes Fixed an issue that prevented Mac players from launching the PTR client Fixed and issue that could sometimes cause gems to be consumed by Kanai's Cube when augmenting an item with the Caldesann's Despair recipe Fixed several issues that caused Rift Guardians to sometimes fail to use some of their abilities Fixed an issue that caused Action Combat to award too much Experience from multipliers Fixed an issue that prevented Crowd Control resistance from being applied to monsters under certain condidtions Fixed an issue that caused Flying Dragon to proc more often than intended Fixed an issue that caused The Shadow's Mantle (2) Set Bonus to increase the damage done by your pets Fixed an issue that prevented Wand of Woh from applying its bonus to Explosive Blasts cast by Etched Sigil Fixed an issue that caused Set Dungeon totems to sometimes vanish after they have appeared Fixed an issue that prevented some Rain of Vengeance runes from maintaining the Natalya's Vengeance Set Dungeon objective Fixed an issue that prevented the Monkey King's Garb and Zunimassa's Haunt Set Dungeons from always having the correct number of enemies Fixed an issue that caused the Tal Rasha's Elements Set Dungeon Exorcist objective to always fail Fixed an issue that prevented several Set Dungeon achievements from being granted Fixed an issue that caused Fire Grates in the Tal Rasha's Elements and Uliana's Strategem Set Dungeons to be marked as enemies Fixed an issue that prevented players from repeatedly re-entering the Thorns of the Invoker Set Dungeon Fixed an issue that prevented the Set Dungeon entrance portals from appearing on the mini-map
CLASSES Crusader Active Skills Iron Skin Skill Rune - Reflective Skin Thorns damage increased by 300% (up from 100%) Note: This bonus is now in the same category as the Thorns of the Invoker (6) Set Bonus Bug Fixes Fixed an issue that could sometimes prevent the increased Thorns value from Iron Maiden from updating
Demon Hunter Bug Fixes Fixed an issue that prevented special attacks made by Sentries with the Embodiment of the Marauder (4) Set Bonus from applying Numbing Traps Fixed an issue that prevented Numbing Traps visual effect from being displayed on monsters
Wizard Shields granted by skills now scale with your maximum Life Active Skills Diamond Skin Damage absorbed changed from 93337 to 40% (up from 20%) of your Life Skill Rune - Crystal Shell Damage absorbed changed from 186675 to 80% (up from 40%) of your Life Spectral Blade Skill Rune - Barrier Blades Damage absorbed changed from 10728 to 4% of your Life Slow Time Skill Rune - Point of No Return Stun duration increased from 3 to 5 seconds Passive Skills Galvanizing Ward Damage absorbed changed from 81536 to 70% (up from 30%) of your Life Bug Fixes Fixed an issue that caused Meteor - Star Pact to gain the damage bonus for spending Arcane Power when automatically cast by Tal Rasha's (2) Set Bonus, or Etched Sigil
ITEMS Band of Hollow Whispers The duration of the Haunt cast by this item has been increased This item will now cast Haunt more often The cast range of this item has been increased Note: These changes will apply retroactively to existing items
Legacy of Nightmares Has been redesigned (2) Set Bonus While this is your only item Set Bonus your damage dealt is increased by100% (down from 800%) and damage taken is reduced by 4% for every Ancient item you have equipped Note: please refer to Wyatt Cheng's post for more information on this change
Oculus Ring No longer rolls with guaranteed Attack Speed, Reduced Damage from Elites, or Resistance to All Elements Now rolls with a guaranteed socket Bonus damage increased from 30-40% to 70-85% The damage bonus provided by this item is now multiplicative with other sources of damage The damage bonus provided by this item no longer stacks with overlapping zones Damage zone now spawns at a random location near the monster that was killed The chance to summon a zone is now 100%
Several existing Legendary items have been updated to include a unique Legendary power Note: Existing items will not be affected by the following changes. Only new versions of the items will roll with the added Legendary power.
Class-Specific Items Barbarian Might of the Earth (6) Set Bonus Increases the damage of Earthquake, Avalanche, Leap, Ground Stomp, Ancient Spear, and Seismic Slam by 800% (added) Crusader Akkhan's Leniency New Legendary Two-Handed Flail Each enemy hit by your Blessed Shield increases the damage of your Blessed Shield by 15-20% (down from 25-30%) for 3 seconds Norvald's Favor New Set bonus (2) Set bonus Gain 100% increased damage while Steed Charge is active and for 5 seconds after Steed Charge ends Pride of the Invoker No longer roll with guaranteed Critical Hit Chance Renewal of the Invoker Now roll with guaranteed sockets Roland's Legacy (6) Set Bonus Each stack now also reduces damage taken by 10% Duration increased from 3 to 5 seconds Thorns of the Invoker (4) Set Bonus You take 50% less damage for 20 (up from 8) seconds after casting Bombardment Monkey King's Garb Has been redesigned (2) Set Bonus Your damage taken is reduced by 50% while Sweeping Wind is active (reworked from 5% per Sweeping Wind stack). The Tall Man's Finger The damage bonus the single Zombie Dog is granted has been tripled This change will apply retroactively to existing items Wizard Ashnagarr's Blood Ring Increase the potency of your shields by 75-100% Delsere's Magnum Opus (4) Set Bonus Has been redesigned You take 50% reduced damage while inside your Slow Time. Allies gain half this benefit (6) Set Bonus Damage bonus increased from 750% to 2000% (up from 1500%). Firebird's Finery (6) Set Bonus Your damage is increased by 100% for each enemy that is burning. Elites that are burning increase your damage by 1000% (down from 1500%). Tal Rasha's Elements (6) Set Bonus Has been redesigned Attacks increase your damage by 300% for 8 seconds. Arcane, Cold, Fire, and Lightning attacks each add one stack. At 4 stacks, each different elemental attack extends the duration by 2 seconds, up to a maximum of 8 seconds. Bug Fixes Fixed an issue that prevented the Thorns bonus provided by Heart of Iron from updating when some sources of Vitality were changed Fixed an issue that caused Hack to deal damage more than once per attack
ADVENTURE MODE Bug Fixes Fixed an issue that caused Power Pylon to provide it's bonus for longer than the intended duration under certain circumstances
CRAFTING Bug Fixes Fixed an issue that prevented crafted Legendary items from displaying the correct stat roll ranges
USER INTERFACE Very large floating damage numbers will now be abbreviated An option has been added to disable the abbreviation of very large damage numbers
New item comparison tooltips have been added for followers
Skill buttons now flash when their cooldown has completed
Season 5 on PTR
Season 5 has now started on the Public Test Realm. If you're interested in testing this particular aspect of the new patch, give it a try.
Originally Posted by Blizzard (Twitter) Surprise! You can now start testing Season 5 on the PTR! Not sure how to PTR? Click it: http:// us.battle.net/d3/en/blog/199 40899/ …
D2 Ladder Reset
Diablo 2's ladder is being reset once again on November 24th, next Tuesday. If you still play the old Blizzard classic, see the post below for more details.
Originally Posted by Blizzard (Official Forums) It’s that time again! On the morning of Tuesday, November 24, we’ll be conducting maintenance to reset the Diablo II ladder. We anticipate the realms could be down for up to six hours, and during that time all existing ladder characters will be converted to non-ladder. All characters and items being converted to non-ladder will remain intact, but once converted these characters will no longer have access to ladder content such as ladder-only rune words.
This ladder reset, like all those before it, creates a clean slate where all ladder characters begin at level 1 with no previous items to help them. To participate, simply wait until the Diablo II realms return to service on November 24, log in to Battle.net, and select the “Ladder Character” checkbox when creating a new character. You can track ladder character leveling progress by clicking on the Ladder button from the main Diablo II in-game Battle.net interface.
For more information on ladder characters please visit the Arreat Summit athttp://classic.battle.net/diablo2exp/basics/charactertypes.shtml
Patch 2.4 Raekor Barbarian
Rhykker is back to making video guides for Reaper of Souls, and one of the first he's done is on a hybrid Raekor + IK Barbarian on the PTR. Watch it below and let us know what you think! | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Cuckolding was a regular thing for Andre and I. I loved hooking up with him anytime a tiny cock wanted to be fed.
Cuckolding sorta lost it’s charm when he would flaunt his BBC to just about anyone. Challenging every guy he deemed a bitch. I love all cock bigger or smaller then him. I just love to play out a mans fantasy…but he took it too far.
I decided his 9 inch cock needed to be put in its place. At the end of the day, my needs and pleasure were above his. I put out a sexy ad looking for a hot white bull of a man. I wanted a big white cock to fill my pussy full of cum. Make a nice treat for Andre. I wasn’t dating him so much as I was just fulfilling a cuckolding fetish for some of my friends who lacked size.
After I posted looking for said BWC (Big White Cock) I got several hits! I spoke to each on the phone and exchanged pictures. I settled on a guy who rocked his big dick better then Andre. His name was Lucas, he had 12 inches of uncut perfection and had a huge sack to match the tool.
I met up with Lucas that weekend and fucked him multiple times. His performance was stellar and I even considered making him someone I would hook up with on the reg. After the 3rd orgasm and load he delivered deep inside of me I stashed him away in my spare room to relax.
I called Andre and told him I was desperate to have my pussy licked. I had to keep pushing his cum back inside of my pussy. I didn’t want Andre to see what kind of snack I packed for him. Andre came over pretty fast since he and I hadn’t played in a few days. He didn’t care for a basic bitch…he loved my delicious little pussy.
He came into my room already and naked for me. He got in between my legs and started to lick my pussy with fever and need. He told me how my pussy tasted extra yummy, his tongue pushed in deeper, he sucked, licked and told me how creamy and sweet I was.
I couldn’t help myself when I finally giggled. He looked up from between my legs and asked why I was laughing at him. His chin was covered in Lucas’ cum! Lucas heard my laughs and came into the room with a fresh hard on. Before Andre could ask, I told him how he just licked three loads of Lucas out of me.
Lucas sported his much bigger cock and threw insults at Andre’s cock. He told Lucas a new cuckolding bull was around. Andre was furious, he still licked his lips obviously savoring Lucas. He left pretty fast feeling absolutely humiliated!
I love cuckolding men with Lucas and his huge white cock!
Jordan
888-856-5175
[email protected]
More KINKY sex stories | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Users storing bitcoin with hardware from a leading data protection company have been urged to update their devices or risk losing funds.
In a company blog post on Friday, Gemini CSO Cem Paya released details of a vulnerability he encountered that allows attackers to brute-force secret keys from SafeNet’s brand of hardware security modules, or ‘HSMs’.
These tamper-proof, specialist devices are used to safeguard all manner of cryptographic keys for the likes of governments, banks and payment companies. They’ve been hailed as the ‘next step’ for bitcoin security.
While testing the SafeNet Luna G5 for use in the forthcoming exchange‘s cold storage, Paya discovered a design flaw in its software that meant both public and private keys could be extracted – even though they are designed never to leave the device. Clients using any of Safenet’s three HSMs to manage their bitcoin keys would be at risk, he said, adding:
“Bitcoin is the one payment technology where possession of money can be boiled down to pure cryptographic capability: generating a signature with an ECDSA private key is money. If you lose control of that private key, you lose the ability to spend your funds, plain and simple.”
According to SafeNet, which released a fix last Thursday, the firm rated the severity of the vulnerability as ‘high’.
Chris Dunn, VP of technology and crypto management at Gemalto, the company that acquired SafeNet in January, told CoinDesk there have been no known exploits so far. This, he added, was partly due to the specialised nature of the hardware – which can only be accessed by a trusted client.
“Vulnerabilities with the HSM itself are quite rare and difficult to exploit given where and how customers deploy their HSM. The HSM also includes several usage and access control policies that can be used to protect against this type of vulnerability.”
Commonly, HSMs are held in air-gapped, covert locations that are only known to select staff members. Certain models are even programmed to self-destruct if they are compromised.
Bitcoin and HSMs
Though the company protects some 750 million encryption keys, relatively few of its 25,000 clients are using these machines to protect their bitcoin.
“We … have some bitcoin focused customers currently, however this is a new use case for our HSMs,” Dunn said.
The devices are still a relatively niche, and costly, product for the bitcoin industry. However, as part of a wider move to traditional security standards – also visible in insurance – venture-backed companies like Gemini and API developer Gem are now utilising these bits of kit as part of their offline (or ‘cold’) storage solutions.
“There are things [in bitcoin] we can do better than Visa, MasterCard and American Express, but they do a pretty good job of securing private keys. How do they do that? They do that through HSMs,” Gem’s COO Ken Miller told CoinDesk.
His company has been vocal about its eight-month integration with Thales, a manufacturer of military-grade HSMs, which required a team of engineers from both companies to create new software that allowed the machines to “speak bitcoin”, not RSA.
“We’ve since found out that a lot of really well-known companies in the bitcoin space have gone down this path and decided not to for that very reason, it’s too much work,” Miller said, adding that if enough people come knocking, Gem might consider reselling its custom machines.
By contrast, Paya said Gemini did not run into any significant compatibility issues when using SafeNet for bitcoin key storage. “Their HSMs supported ECDSA algorithm as well as the specific bitcoin curve out-of-the-gate without any problems,” he said, adding:
“While I’m not familiar with the specific problems Gem face, I can say that each product has a unique set of strengths and weaknesses. Some units we are evaluating did not support bitcoin until recently, while others had OS/software issues that required additional workarounds.”
Future adoption
Due to its rarity, Paya said the vulnerability – now patched – does not impact Gemini’s plans to use HSMs as part of its back-end security, or Safenet hardware in particular.
“This vulnerability serves as a reminder that sometimes even the additional layers of defence that go above-and-beyond (such as using dedicated HSMs to manage keys) can fail,” he said.
However, he added: “HSMs remain the best-practice for managing cryptographic keys.”
Gem’s COO agreed. While there is no silver bullet for companies to safeguard bitcoin and prevent attacks, the best strategy, he said, was one based on multiple layers of security – including HSM hardware.
“Any hardware or software solution is only going to be as good as the implementation of that solution so it’s critical to be rigorous and thoughtful around the implementation, management, and review of the solution. But having the best available hardware solution is worlds better than not having it.”
Circuit image via Shutterstock | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Family of four can purchase a season ticket for £776 - £41 per match
The price of a season ticket for under 16s will be cut to just £99
The club will have the cheapest pricing strategy in the Premier League
West Ham's season tickets will cost as little as £289 when they move to the Olympic Stadium in Stratford.
The Hammers will have the cheapest pricing strategy in the Barclays Premier League in a bid to fill the 54,000 capacity stadium when they make the switch for the 2016-17 season.
Co-chairmen David Gold and David Sullivan are using the boost of the enhanced television revenue, which coincides with their move away from Upton Park, to pass on savings to fans. The new TV deal starts in 2016 after Sky and BT agreed to pay more than £5billion for domestic rights and there will be another auction over the summer with overseas broadcasters.
A view of the Olympic Stadium on Tuesday ahead of West Ham's switch to the 54,000 capacity arena
West Ham's vice-chairman Karren Brady visited the club's future home in Stratford on Tuesday
West Ham's season tickets will cost as little as £289 when the club move to the Olympic Stadium next year
An artist's impression of what the Olympic Stadium will look like during a West Ham match
Co-chairmen David Gold (right) and David Sullivan (left) will use enhanced TV revenue to pass savings to fans
According to a document that will be issued to West Ham fans on Wednesday, every season-ticket band will be reduced when the club move. The lowest priced basic adult season ticket will cost £289, the price for under 16s will be cut to just £99, and a family of four will be able to watch all 19 home games in the top flight for £776.
Disabled season-ticket holders will also see a huge reduction, with prices dropping by up to £205. The news comes just one day after Sportsmail revealed massive price hikes at Manchester City. Supporters in City’s East Stand have been been told they will have to fork out £1,750 to watch their team, almost double the £885 they currently pay.
West Ham's vice-chairman Karren Brady said: 'We have always said that the move to our magnificent new stadium would be a game changer for West Ham; a chance to increase revenue, invest in the team and improve our performances on the pitch, but crucially without putting an extra financial burden on the supporters who already come to watch every home match.
'Today's announcement proves that we have kept our promise.'
Football Supporters Federation backed the club's drive and Chair Malcolm Clarke said: 'The FSF strongly believes that top-flight clubs should use their newly-signed media deal to cut ticket prices for both home and away supporters.
'We hope that other clubs follow suit and reduce ticket prices across the board, as West Ham United have done.'
The club also announced a new VIP area in homage of the club's most famous sons. With 2016 marking 50 years since since Bobby Moore, Sir Geoff Hurst and Martin Peters lifted the World Cup for England, the '1966 seats' will offer fans impressive views from the halfway line.
In addition, West Ham will donate a seat each to the families of Moore, Hurst and Peters for them to use for a charity of their choice.
The Hammers will be under pressure to fill their new stadium after taking the huge decision to leave Upton Park, where they have played since 1904. Gold and Sullivan have taken a 99-year lease on the Olympic Stadium.
The club also have a decision to make over manager Sam Allardyce’s future — but insist they will not make a final call until after the end of the season.
Breakdown of how existing price bands will change following West Ham's move Category Band 1 Band 2 Band 3 Band 4 Adult £899 (Down 3%) £799 (Down 7%) £599 (Down 25%) £499 (Down 23%) Over-65s £450 (Down 3%) £399 (Down 7%) £299 (Down 26%) £250 (Down 23%) Under-21s £450 (Down 3%) £399 (Down 7%) £299 (Down 26%) £250 (Down 23%) Under-16s £99 (Reduction of up to 61%) £99 (Reduction of up to 59%) £99 (Reduction of up to 57%) £99 (Reduction of up to 51%) Disabled adult £450 (Down 1%) £399 (Down 12%) £299 (Down 34%) £250 (Down 45%)
West Ham trio Diafra Sakho, Winston Reid and Mark noble smile for the camera at the Olympic Stadium
West Ham insist they will not make a final decision on the future of Sam Allardyce until the end of the season
West Ham vice-chairman Karren Brady hit out at suggestions that Jurgen Klopp is set to replace Allardyce
Allardyce won promotion with West Ham two seasons ago and took them to a mid-table finish in their first year back in the Premier League. His contract expires at the end of the season and they have yet to open talks over a new deal.
Real Sociedad boss David Moyes, Besiktas manager Slaven Bilic, a former West Ham player, and Borussia Dortmund’s Jurgen Klopp have been linked with the job. But on Tuesday vice-chairman Brady hit out at suggestions that Klopp — who will leave Dortmund this summer — is set to replace Allardyce.
‘It is just nonsense,’ Brady told Sky Sports News. ‘Sam is the manager, we have talked to him about sitting down at the end of the season, which we will do. We have to see what he wants to do. That’s how these things work. We’ve done that since he joined and we’ve done that when his contract has run out before.’ | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Istanbul’s gay and transgender community gathered for a small rally that ended with tear gas and rubber bullets on Sunday after their annual march was banned for the fifth consecutive year.
Slideshow ( 11 images )
The march used to see tens of thousands of people parade down Istanbul’s main Istiklal street, but Sunday’s rally saw just a few hundred people gather on one of Beyoglu district’s side streets to wave rainbow flags and shout slogans.
March organizers LGBTI+ Pride Week said they had reached a deal with the police allowing them to read a public statement and then disperse peacefully. But they slammed the Istanbul governor’s ban on a march as unlawful and discriminatory.
“It is one more time demonstrated that those who ban our Pride March with copy-and-paste reasons such as public peace and security, terror, public morality, and public health can not govern the state,” the organizers said.
“Our demands neither disturb the public peace nor threaten the public security. Our demands are essential in a constitutional state in order for us to have equal citizenship rights,” they said.
Police used tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse demonstrators who remained after the statement was read.
Istanbul’s governor was unavailable for comment on Sunday.
DIVIDED SUPPORT
Sunday’s rally comes a week after a renewed mayoral election in the country’s largest city that saw the main opposition earn a decisive victory over President Tayyip Erdogan’s AK Party for the first time in 25 years.
Istanbul’s new mayor, Ekrem Imamoglu, voiced support for the LGBT march in a meeting with foreign media on Friday, saying any demonstration should be allowed as long it was peaceful. He said he would ask the governor why the march had been banned so far.
Over the weekend, several opposition municipalities across Turkey shared posts supporting gay and transgender rights on their social media accounts. Some of Istanbul’s districts have also voiced support for the march.
Istanbul has traditionally been seen as a relative safe haven by members of the gay community in Turkey. Although homosexuality is not a crime in Turkey, there is widespread hostility to it across Turkish society.
Similar LGBT rallies were also banned in the capital Ankara and the coastal city of Izmir, the country’s third largest city.
Civil liberties in Turkey have grown as a concern for Western nations after an attempted military coup in July 2016. The ensuing crackdown resulted in more than 77,000 being formally arrested and some 160,000 people being dismissed from their jobs over alleged ties to the abortive putsch.
Critics say Erdogan and his Islamist-rooted AKP have shown little interest in expanding rights for minorities, gay people and women. The government, however, says it has improved rights and freedoms since it came to power more than 16 years ago. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
(Click here, if you are unable to view this photo gallery on your mobile device.)
The Warriors came out of the All-Star break on a seven-game winning streak, but after road losses to Portland on Friday and Minnesota on Sunday, the Warriors now are in jeopardy of a bad weekend turning into a real-deal, bonafide losing streak when they play the Lakers Wednesday at Oracle Arena.
The Warriors simply haven’t been the same team over their last two games, and the reason is obvious: Golden State is without Stephen Curry.
And while injuries to Andre Iguodala and David West have played a role in the Warriors’ mini-skid as well, it’s the absence of Curry — the two-time MVP — that looms largest.
“Steph is the system here,” Warriors forward Kevin Durant said after Sunday’s loss to the Timberwolves.
Now, the Warriors are a good team without Curry — they still have three All-Stars, after all — but Durant is right to call Curry the system. It’s a truth that’s been exposed over the last three games.
Because without Curry on the court, the Warriors don’t look anything like the team that has struck fear into the hearts of the rest of the NBA and are the prohibitive favorites to win a third title in four years.
No one has taken the absence of Curry harder than Klay Thompson. The other Splash Brother remains a lock-down defender when Curry isn’t playing, but no one benefits more than Thompson from the space that Curry provides by merely being on the court — defenses have to respect Curry from the time he crosses half-court, lest they give him an open shot.
Anyone who has watched the last three Warriors games — Curry was injured in the opening minutes of Thursday’s game against the Spurs — could recognize that things have been different for No. 11 without No. 30 around.
The truth is, that’s been the case all season.
Curry and Thompson often play staggered minutes. They start games together, and they end games together, but Thompson plays a role with the Warriors’ bench units while Curry often rests. They both get roughly the same playing time, but it’s broken up in different ways.
Thompson really, really, really prefers to play alongside Curry, though.
With Curry on the court this season — creating chaos and stretching defenses — Thompson has an offensive rating of 140, per NBAWowy.com. That’s a baffling number, but it makes sense when you see that Thompson has an effective field goal percentage of 66.5 and a true shooting percentage of 67 when Curry is on the floor with him.
With Curry, Thompson is operating with space and defenses can’t focus on him as often — even if Durant is not on the floor with the duo. Thompson gets open looks at the basket, and one of the purest shooters to ever play the game takes full advantage of those opportunities.
Without Curry… well, things change.
Thompson has an offensive rating of 112 and puts up league-average shooting percentages (52.2 EFG, 54 TS) when Curry is not on the court with him this season.
When you start with almost impossibly efficient numbers and then drop down to league average — all because one player isn’t on the court with you — something is up.
The difference is in the number of wide-open shots Thompson is getting. In January and February, 26 and 19 percent of Thompson’s shots of greater than 10 feet, respectively, were considered “wide-open” — meaning that there wasn’t a defender within six feet of him, per the NBA’s player tracking data.
And while, yes, three games is a small sample size, the returns show that Curry’s absence is affecting the amount of wide-open shots Thompson is getting: Since Thursday’s game, Thompson has only taken six wide-open jumpers — 11 percent of his total shot output.
Thompson has missed five of those six wide-open shots — that’s rather inexplicable and shouldn’t be considered sustainable — but the lacking volume of wide-open looks should concern for the Warriors. Thompson is no doubt incendiary, but it should go without saying that it’s easier to score when no one is defending you. Thomspon is a 50 percent overall shooter and 44 percent shooter from behind the arc this season, but those numbers are at 39 percent and 30 percent over the last three games and sit at 44 percent and 38 percent in minutes played without Curry on the floor this season.
It’d be ridiculous to say that Thompson is a byproduct of Curry, but he’s certainly a big beneficiary of the attention his point guard demands.
Thompson isn’t the only one struggling without Curry. Durant has been asked to take on a much larger offensive load without Curry in the lineup, and while he lifted the Warriors to victory on Thursday with 14 straight points in the fourth quarter against the Spurs, the kind of one-man offense the Warriors ran against Portland and Minnesota simply wasn’t good enough to overtake those two Western Conference playoff teams.
The Warriors are known for their perceived aversion to isolation basketball (where the offensive team clears out and lets one offense player take on a single defender one-on-one as a “play”), but the Warriors have been running more isolation, particularly with Durant, in Curry’s absence.
It’s hardly a bad idea — Durant is one of the greatest scorers in NBA history and at 7-foot has a nearly unblockable shot.
But the result is hurting the Warriors in two different ways: It means less passing and the ball in Durant’s hands for extended periods of time.
To put it simply, not passing the ball undercuts the Warriors’ chances of offensive success. Now, that’s something that’s up for debate, but I firmly believe moving the ball is not only the most aesthetically pleasing style of basketball, it’s the most successful. The Warriors’ best offensive games have come when they assist on nearly every field goal they make.
Over their last three games, the Warriors are averaging 24 assists per game (juiced by 30 in the Thursday win over the Spurs and perhaps come home cooking of the books) which is six fewer than their season average heading into that game against San Antonio.
The deterioration of the passing numbers bear that downtick in assists: The Warriors are averaging 319 passes per game this season, per NBA.com, but over the last three games, they’ve only passed the ball an average of 274 times per game. Over the last two games, they’ve averaged fewer than 250 passes.
This is not the Warriors’ offense we’ve come to know and admire. And, simply put, it’s not as cunning, incisive, or dangerous when the ball is relatively stagnant.
So much of the Warriors’ offense has run through Durant since Curry went down with his ankle injury, and while giving the ball to No. 35 and letting him go to work seems like a logical offensive gameplan, the stats bear out that it’s better for Golden State to try to manufacture more ball movement and flow, even without Curry on the court. (Easier said than done, but you get the point.)
This season, 20 percent of Durant’s shots have come when he’s held the ball for six or more seconds, but he has only posted a 53.4 effective field goal percentage on those shots, a number slightly better than league average.
The less time Durant touches the ball before he shoots, the better. Forty-two percent of his shots this season have come on touches of two or fewer seconds, and he has a gaudy EFG of 70 on those attempts.
Over the last three games, though, the Warriors have trended the wrong way when it comes to the length of Durant’s touches.
Thirty-one percent of Durant’s shots have come on touches of six-plus seconds since Curry has been out, resulting in a gross and detrimental 41 effective field goal percentage.
And while Durant maintains a high effective field goal percentage for his quick-touch shots (two or fewer seconds) — 68 — only 27 perfect of his shots have been of that ilk over the last three contests. .
That’s math that doesn’t bode well for the Warriors, should Curry continue to miss games, but there aren’t many — if any — alternatives to the current strategy.
After all, on Sunday, the Warriors closed a close game with Durant, Thompson, Draymond Green, Nick Young and Quinn Cook.
No disrespect to Cook or Young, but two of those players are not like the others.
And there were significant periods of time on both Friday and Sunday where the Warriors had only two viable 3-point shooters on the floor, allowing the opposing defense to leave three players open from outside free-throw line — you can overload on Durant and Thompson when the offensively unthreatening Zaza Pachulia, Kevon Looney, and Shaun Livingston are on the floor at the same time.
Furthermore, the Warriors are finding it difficult to recreate their Curry-free success from earlier in the season — they went 9-2 without Curry in December — because of the lack of Iguodala, in particular.
While Iguodala oftentimes seems like an offensive burden, he does so many small things, particularly when he’s engaged on the defensive side, to swing the game in the Warriors’ favor. And when Golden State was without Curry earlier this season, they relied on excellent defense to lead them to victory.
Green is trying — man, is he ever trying — but it’s hard to get that some kind of lock-down defense when Cook and Young are playing 20-plus minutes a game.
Golden State might have already kissed the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference playoffs goodbye, and there’s no realistic way they fall to No. 3, but it’s clear that the Warriors need Curry — their system — back in the worst way. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
The oldest Dutch work of art is a 13,500 year-old carved bison bone dredged up from the bottom of the North Sea, archaeologists write in an article published in Antiquity magazine earlier this week.
Late Ice Age hunter gatherers roamed the area that became the North Sea but very little evidence of their presence has been found. But sometimes the sea floor yields treasures that shed light on the period. This is a confirmation, the article says, of ‘the importance of continental shelves as archaeological archives’.
In 2005 a Dutch fishing vessel caught a bison bone in its nets on the border of the Dutch part of the continental shelf. The bone, which had a distinctive zigzag pattern carved in it, ended up in the hands of a collector who, the NRC writes, ‘had good contacts with fishermen’ and agreed to let experts at the Leiden archaeological museum take a look at it.
Carbon isotope analysis showed the bone to be 13,500 years old and part of a culture that decorated animal bones with zigzag and herringbone motives. Only three other similarly carved objects have been discovered so far: a horse’s jaw in Wales, deer antlers in Northern France and moose antlers in Poland.
Main author of the article and prehistory curator at the Leiden museum Luc Amkreutz thinks these objects were not used as tools but belong in a ritualistic context. ‘I wouldn’t know what else you would do with a decorated horse’s jaw’, he told the paper.
The decoration on the Dutch bone shows a typical geometrical motif of the period. According to Amkreutz the carving is ‘very precise to start with but a bit haphazard towards the end, as if the person doing the carving lost interest.’
What the carvings mean is unclear. Some have interpreted the zigzags as symbols of movement, rhythm, water or a need for symmetry. ‘But we will never really know,’ Amkreutz said.
Skull
The article also describes a piece of a human skull that was fished up from the North Sea in 2013 and which dates from roughly the same period. The parietal bone, which may have belonged to a woman, is 13,000 years old and one of the earliest examples of Homo Sapiens remains found on Dutch territory.
The scientists have also found tiny indentations which may point to anaemia or a lack of vitamins, which would lead to scurvy or rickets. The search is now on for DNA in the skull fragment so more tests can be done.
Findings from the North Sea used to be discarded because they lacked context, Amkreutz told the NRC. ‘But by careful dating and researching the material we can show that the objects are interesting in themselves.’ | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
A group opposing Donald Trump Donald John TrumpObama calls on Senate not to fill Ginsburg's vacancy until after election Planned Parenthood: 'The fate of our rights' depends on Ginsburg replacement Progressive group to spend M in ad campaign on Supreme Court vacancy MORE is targeting Mormon voters online with an ad featuring the Republican presidential candidate's wife posing nude.
The super-PAC Make America Awesome launched a Facebook campaign last week with three ads ahead of GOP contests Tuesday in Utah and Arizona.
ADVERTISEMENT
One of the other ads refers to anti-Trump remarks from Mitt Romney, a devout Mormon and 2012 GOP presidential nominee who lives in Utah. And the last one portrays Trump as pro-abortion-rights.
Each ad is expected to reach around 10,000 voting-age Mormons per day, Liz Mair, the GOP strategist behind the group, told BuzzFeed. She said the Melania ad is also being promoted on Instagram, targeting Mormon women. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Now that Feige been placed in charge of creative decisions across all of Marvel’s divisions — in the process, giving divisions like the comic book publishing arm, Marvel TV and Marvel Family Entertainment the freedom from Perlmutter that Feige received four years ago — it’s tempting to imagine a sea change could be headed for Marvel en masse. But the reality may be somewhat more complicated.
For one thing, while the man at the top of the food chain might have changed, the systems — and personnel — put in place under Perlmutter remain. Marvel’s comic book publishing division, for example, will retain the chain of command that runs individual editors — to editor-in-chief C.B. Cebulski — to Marvel Entertainment president Dan Buckley, with Buckley now reporting to Feige, instead of Perlmutter.
Indeed, former Marvel editor-in-chief Joe Quesada will continue as both executive vp, creative director and creative lead for Marvel Entertainment, reporting to Buckley in the new corporate reality, meaning that it’s unlikely to expect a drastic shift in the output of Marvel’s publishing arm, at least in the short-to-medium term. Considering that Marvel is at something of a marketplace high currently, at least in terms of the comic book store market, this might not be seen as a bad thing by Disney execs.
It should also be noted that, despite Feige’s new placement, Buckley will continue to report to Perlmutter for a number of areas, including games, licensing and sales. Perlmutter is not necessarily as out of the picture as some may think from this news, and remains Marvel Entertainment chairman and CEO — meaning that he continues to make decisions regarding the money side of things, traditionally the area where Marvel has found itself the subject of both rumor-mongering and criticism under his control.
So, is this a case of much ado about nothing while the status keeps being quo, then? It depends how such things as measured. More likely than the sudden cancellation of Marvel’s entire comic book line before a reboot called The Feigeverse is a slow and, in likelihood, subtle shift towards Feige’s vision, in multiple ways, matching the movement of Marvel Studios post-Perlmutter emancipation. After Feige's break from Perlmutter, it took a few years for projects like Captain Marvel and Black Panther to come to fruition. However, since movies take much longer to develop than comics, theoretically if Feige ordered a change in the comic book status quo today, we could see that reflected on stands in a matter of three months.
Given Marvel publishing's success — in cultural, if not always financial, terms, at least — with characters such as Miles Morales, Kamala Khan and Lunella Lafayette in recent years, it doesn’t seem like too much of a leap to imagine more focus on creating new characters with a more diverse background than, simply, “white guy who’s probably blonde.” Not only will it keep Marvel culturally relevant, it also will create more material for Marvel Studios to pull from in future projects.
Along similar lines, the idea that Marvel’s comic book and animation projects could prove key in testing concepts and stories for future movies and live-action shows — long assumed by fans to be a reality, even if the truth may have been less concrete — might become a formalized strategy, leading to guidelines impacting creators on the former projects in a manner different to, but not necessarily worse than, those than already exist in each division.
The attempt to centralize Marvel’s creative output under one authority might have an entirely separate outcome that is at once more abstract and more impactful in the real world than simply shifting creative duties on any given project. It’s not outside of the realm of possibility that Marvel Entertainment could end up following DC in leaving New York and moving west, to join Marvel Studios in Los Angeles, allowing Feige to have easier access to all divisions he’s overseeing. Remember, DC’s move west was the result of similar thinking six years ago; then-president Diane Nelson told The Hollywood Reporter, “it was never optimal to run any business, but certainly not a creative business, on two coasts." Would Feige agree?
Such a move — actually the subject of much speculation earlier this year, although nothing came of it — would be a significant one not just for Marvel, which has long purposefully identified itself as specifically a New York-based entity, but also comic culture as a whole. The industry started in New York, but a Marvel move would finalize the impression that the West Coast is where it’s at, with DC, Image Comics, Dark Horse, IDW, Oni Press, Viz Media and Fantagraphics already in residence. (Sorry, New York Comic Con.)
All of this, of course, is speculation. For now, all that’s known for sure is that Feige has even more on his overfilled plate, and a number of decisions lie ahead for him — with whatever his eventual choices turn out to be primed to impact pop culture drastically going forward. No pressure. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
The PSNI will mount a major security operation at Belfast City Hall tonight as dissident republicans gather to protest against a police officer addressing a meeting on cyber safety. Stock image
The PSNI will mount a major security operation at Belfast City Hall tonight as dissident republicans gather to protest against a police officer addressing a meeting on cyber safety.
Heavily armed members of the Tactical Support Group (TSG) will surround the building before 5pm as other officers take up positions inside City Hall.
The protest has been organised by dissident republican party Saoradh, whose members are expected to try and gain access to the event, at which a police officer will address parents on how to better protect their children from online dangers including cyberbullying, sexting, social media risks, gaming and online grooming.
Advertising its protest, Saoradh said its supporters would be "attempting to gain entry to (the meeting) in order to highlight the PSNI's continuing psychological abuse of children via stop and searches, home invasions and threats to parents' lives".
It is understood that loyalist flag protesters plan to stage a counter-demonstration at City Hall.
Security arrangements were discussed at a meeting in Tennent Street PSNI station yesterday, attended by Belfast City Council's security manager, John Terrett.
An internal memo circulating around City Hall, which has been obtained by the Belfast Telegraph, said: "It is believed that both groups (republicans and loyalists) will initially make their way to the cobbled area outside the front gates.
"Both groups may then move to the back gate of City Hall. There will be a significant PSNI public order operation in place for these protests."
The memo continues: "Neighbourhood officers will be inside City Hall and TSG units will be in position in the vicinity of the building.
"Silver Control (police) will be overseeing the event.
"Additional Belfast City Council security will be deployed inside City Hall.
"The event is a ticket-only event, however it is not known if any members of the protest groups have obtained tickets - this, however, remains a possibility."
The memo states that all attending the meeting will be screened at the back gate and main staircase before being registered by event organisers at the Rotunda.
Around 230 people are expected at the meeting.
The memo states that the security operation will begin at 5pm and that the council's security team will "work closely with PSNI and organisers to ensure that the event passes off with the minimum disruption".
Belfast Telegraph | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Oulun poliisilaitos oli tehnyt Oulun seksuaalirikoksista epäillystä ulkomaalaistaustaisesta miehestä etsintäkuulutuksen myös Suomen rajojen ulkopuolelle.
Oulun poliisilaitoksen rikosylikomisario Markus Kiiskinen kertoo, että miehestä oli annettu marraskuun lopulla SIS-järjestelmän (Schengen Information System) avulla etsintäkuulutus, joka näkyy Schengen-maissa. Niihin kuuluu 26 Euroopan maata.
SIS-järjestelmällä pyritään torjumaan rikollisuutta Schengenin alueella ja paikallistamaan kadonneita henkilöitä. Järjestelmässä esimerkiksi poliisi voi välittää ilmoituksia etsintäkuulutetuista tai kadonneista ihmisistä ja esineistä.
Viime viikolla Oulun poliisilaitos sai Saksasta tiedon, että poliisi olisi ollut kontaktissa etsintäkuulutetun miehen kanssa.
– Tulkitsimme tietoa niin, että epäilty on Saksan poliisin hallussa, Kiiskinen kuvailee.
– Teimme siis sen johtopäätöksen, että epäilty olisi löytynyt. Mutta se ei pitänyt paikkaansa. Kun tehdään kansainvälistä yhteistyötä ja saadaan informaatiota ei se ole aina niin selkeää kuin sen ehkä pitäisi olla. Väärintulkinnat ovat mahdollisia, kun ihmiset toimivat.
Hänen mukaansa Oulun poliisi ei saanut Saksasta missään vaiheessa tietoa siitä, minkä vuoksi saksalaisviranomaiset olivat kontaktissa epäiltyyn.
– Meillä ei ollut varmuutta myöskään siitä, onko hän ollut käymässä esimerkiksi poliisiasemalla tai oliko hän muutoin lukkojen takana viranomaisten hallussa.
Tämän jälkeen kävi Kiiskisen mukaan ilmi, että kontakti epäiltyyn ei tarkoittanut sitä, että hän olisi poliisin hallussa. Heti tiedon saatuaan Oulun poliisi vaati miestä vangittavaksi poissaolevana Oulun käräjäoikeudessa ja hänestä annettiin eurooppalainen pidätysmääräys.
"Pääidea on se, että henkilö pitää saada kiinni"
Eurooppalaisen pidätysmääräyksen avulla etsitty henkilö voidaan luovuttaa jäsenvaltiosta toiseen esimerkiksi syytetoimien tai vapaudenmenetyksen käsittävän rangaistuksen toteuttamista varten.
Minkä tahansa EU:n jäsenvaltion oikeusviranomaisen antama pidätysmääräys on pätevä kaikkialla EU:n alueella.
Tutkinnallisiin syihin vedoten Kiiskinen ei kerro sitä, mitä Oulun poliisilaitos on pyytänyt pidätysmääräyksessä kansainvälisiä viranomaisia epäillylle tekemään jos hänet tavoitetaan esimerkiksi jonkin maan rajalta.
Oletteko pyytäneet, että epäilty toimitetaan viipymättä Ouluun?
– En avaa sisältöä tarkemmin. Pääidea on se, että henkilö pitää saada kiinni.
Rikosylikomisarion mukaan tapahtunutta on käyty läpi Oulun poliisilaitoksella. Keskiviikkona sisäministeri Kai Mykkänen (kok.) halusi Ylen haastattelussa selvittää, toimivatko viranomaiset oikein kun Oulun seksuaalirikosvyyhteen liittyvästä epäillystä ei annettu alun perin eurooppalaista pidätysmääräystä.
Kiiskisen mielestä poliisi on toiminut epäillyn kiinnisaamiseksi niin tehokkaasti kuin mahdollista.
– Olemme edenneet päivä kerrallaan sen tiedon valossa, mitä kulloinkin on ollut saatavilla. Teemme tiivistä yhteistyötä Saksan poliisin kanssa Keskusrikospoliisin välityksellä epäillyn kiinnisaamiseksi.
Turvaudutaanko oman käden oikeuteen?
Poliisi tutkii Oulussa viiteen alle 15-vuotiaaseen tyttöön kohdistuneita epäilyjä törkeistä seksuaalirikoksista. Epäiltyjä on yhteensä 12, joista 10 on edelleen vangittuina.
Yksi lievimmistä rikoksista epäilty eli lapsen seksuaalisesta hyväksikäytöstä epäilty ulkomaalaismies vapautettiin kuulustelujen jälkeen. Häntä epäillään Tuirassa 17. marraskuuta tapahtuneesta seksuaalirikoksesta.
Markus Kiiskisen mukaan uusia rikosepäilyjä ei ole tullut enää ilmi.
– Kyse on varsin laajoista rikosepäilyistä, joiden esitutkinta on alkuvaiheessa. Toivottavasti uusia uhreja ei käy ilmi, mutta valitettavasti se on mahdollista.
Poliisi aikoo jatkossa tiedottaa tutkinnan edistymisestä vain välttämättömimmän. Sen tiedossa on, että poliisin esitutkinnasta antamia lausuntoja on tulkittu väärin ja niistä on jaettu väärää maahanmuuttajavastaista tietoa netissä.
– Toivottavasti sosiaalisen median keskustelupalstoilla liikkuva disinformaatio ei johda siihen, että turvaudutaan oman käden oikeuteen. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
The Republican National Committee's Christmas message sparked a war of words on social media on Sunday, as the organization's Biblical reference to "new king" polarized political watchers.
The RNC issued a public statement celebrating Christmas, a normally anodyne holiday tradition that goes unremarked. Because 2016 has been far from a normal year, a number of journalists and social media users took umbrage with the RNC's use of religious language in a political context.
Some interpreted RNC Chair and incoming White House chief of Staff Reince Priebus' reference to "a new king" as a veiled comparison of President-elect Donald Trump to the birth of the Messiah: | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
The Supreme Court declared on Monday, June 19, that freedom of speech also meant the freedom to tweet. In an unprecedented ruling, the courts determined that there was no crime great enough that any person should have their use of the internet or social media such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or Pinterest restricted.
The Supreme Court ruled that the use of social media such as Facebook and Twitter is a First Amendment right. The precedent set could have many different interpretations in the future and could become as historic and controversial as Roe V. Wade or the Scopes Trial.
The Supreme Court struck down a North Carolina law, General Statute 14-202;5 (a) and (e) that prohibited registered sex offenders from using social media. The law is quoted on Quartz.
“[It was a felony] to access commercial social networking, website where the sex offender knows that the site permits minor children to become members or to create and maintain personal web pages.”
In North Carolina, more than 1,000 sex offenders have been prosecuted under the law. Now according to the Supreme Court, everyone has a right to use the internet for social media regardless of past crimes.
The Supreme Court is in no way endorsing rape and pedophilia, but rather say that social media is so intrinsic to modern life that it is now the modern equivalent of access to “speaking and listening in the modern public square.” Justice Kennedy is quoted in Quartz.
“Foreclosing access to social media altogether thus prevents users from engaging in the legitimate exercise of First Amendment rights.”
As with any other Supreme Court ruling, this new decision will be interpreted by all courts for its relevance in future cases. How will courts interpret this new concept that having a Facebook account is a constitutional right? How will the freedom of tweets impact social media moderation or censorship?
Does this mean that the Supreme Court is ordering the government to provide free home internet? Probably not, but the internet can be accessed for free in libraries as well as many privately owned businesses, such as restaurants.
What if, though, in light of the Supreme Court ruling that Facebook and Twitter access are constitutional rights, someone did not have internet access but was housebound, due to poor health, or even house arrest. Do these people get free internet?
What does the Supreme Court ruling infer about the hospitalized, imprisoned, and other institutionalized citizens? Will prisons and hospitals have to ensure wifi connectivity to comply with the Supreme Court ruling?
How will this Supreme Court interpretation of free speech effect the routine Facebook and Twitter account suspensions and deletions, or the deletion of YouTube videos? Is it still permissible for Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube to censor users and their posts?
Can Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and so forth still delete or suspend accounts? Wouldn’t that be a violation of free speech in light of today’s Supreme Court ruling?
Supreme Court Justices [Image by Alex Wong /Getty images]
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube are international forums. They must deal with the laws of many different nations. Will yesterday’s Supreme Court decision give Americans an advantage over people from other nations?
Perhaps one day soon the Supreme Court will hear the case of Pinterest V. Scaparo. Ricky Scaparo of End Time Headlines contributed an article to Charisma News, a Christian publication. Scaparo alleges that Pinterest called 15 of his Christian pins, one about the weather, “sexually explicit” or “pornographic,” and determined, apparently without even looking at these pins, that they were a violation of the terms of service. The account was suspended. Scaparo wrote that Pinterest never offered to review these pins.
“By the way, I was never given a single option to review any of the alleged images or pins that violated the terms.”
In the past, social media sites were the judge, jury, and executioner of offending accounts. Now, however, if an individual wanted to take their account suspension to court, in the U.S.A. they could. With the precedent the Supreme Court set yesterday, they could win.
In light of the Supreme Court’s ruling, do major social media sites like Facebook and Twitter or small forums for that matter, have the right to suspend accounts? What about cases of obvious trolling or truly obscene posts? What about those ISIS recruiters? Does everyone have the right to post now?
Supreme Court Building [Image by Win McNamee/Getty Images]
While previously it would seem that Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, and Snap Chat were the private property of their owners, now they have been declared “the modern public square” by the Supreme Court. A public square is by nature not private property. Thus, legally speaking, perhaps neither Facebook nor Twitter has the right to ban Americans from their services, though that may be up for the courts to decide as this new body of law is interpreted.
Still, what sort of post on Facebook or Twitter tweet could equal a sex offender’s act of rape or child sexual abuse? Is there anything that could possibly be typed on Facebook that could begin to equal something like that?
Therefore, to comply with today’s Supreme Court decision, one would have to say that Facebook, Twitter, and other social media formats just lost their right to suspend, ban, or delete the accounts of American citizens. They may fight this, though, with some very expensive attorneys. Will this law hold up?
RELATED REPORTS FROM THE INQUISITR
Hamid Malaika’s Facebook Rant Goes Viral On Twitter – But Is ISIS Post Real Or Fake Screenshot?
Twitter User @Owys663 Debunked: Fake Manchester Bombing Tweets, Missing Photos, False Facebook News Circulates
‘Daily Caller’: Tomi Lahren Out At ‘The Blaze’; Tomi’s Twitter, Facebook Go Silent
The Supreme Court has opened a door that cannot be easily shut. Now courts will have a lot more First Amendment cases. Perhaps a whole new body of law has been born today.
The Supreme Court has declared Facebook and Twitter a public square and said access cannot be denied for any reason.
[Featured Image by Mark Wilson/Getty Images] | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
In the “Empire Strike Back,” Yoda admonishes Luke Skywalker for spending his life dreaming of the future, “never his mind on where he was … what he was doing.” But at 68, George Lucas, the creator of the “Star Wars” saga, seems to be doing much thinking about the years ahead — in fact, experts say, his decision to sell his company to Disney DIS, -0.98% was an estate-planning move worthy of a Jedi Master.
Disney Buys Lucasfilm; New Star Wars In Future
Disney will buy LucasFilm for $4.05 billion in cash and stock, the two companies announced Tuesday. By cashing out now, experts say the filmmaker has spared his family the need to pick up the pieces of his empire after he’s gone. It also allows him to focus his remaining years on his charitable endeavors — particularly Edutopia and the George Lucas Educational Foundation, which he founded in 1991. “I am dedicating the majority of my wealth to improving education,” Lucas wrote in 2010 (pdf) on GivingPledge.com, which invites the world’s wealthiest people to commit most of their money to philanthropy.
Since none of Lucas’s three adopted children plans to take over his film empire, financial advisers say the strategy will save his heirs the responsibility of managing their inheritance — and potentially going through the often long and fraught process of dividing it. “Mr. Lucas has obviously surrounded himself for years with world-class legal, estate and tax advisers,” Wade Westhoff, a financial adviser based in Danville, Calif., says of the Disney deal. “This is a textbook example of exit planning for a private business owner.” (Lucas and a spokesman for LucasFilm were not immediately available for comment.)
That Lucas struck a deal in 2012 may be no accident, either, advisers say. Long-term capital gains tax from the sale of assets held more than one year are taxed at a rate of 15% for investors in the 25% income-tax bracket or above (Lucas’s level), and zero for investors in the 10% or 15% bracket. Those rates are set to jump to 20% and 10%, respectively in January. “He probably wanted to take advantage of the lower rate on long-term capital gain while it’s certain,” says Bill Smith, managing director at CBIZ MHM, a national accounting and professional services provider.
Of course, Lucas is far wealthier than the average American business owner. “With smaller mom-and-pop businesses [this kind of planning] can be more complicated,” says Charles Sizemore, a financial adviser based in Dallas. The owner of a restaurant or a landscaping business probably won’t have the option of selling to a Fortune 500 company, he says. “They may have to bring on a junior partner or work out a royalty arrangement with a new buyer.”
But perhaps more than the money, experts say Lucas was also taking steps to ensure the future of his vision and ideas. Disney says it will produce “Star Wars Episode 7” for release in theaters worldwide in 2015 and will release more films every two to three years. “I felt like I wanted to put the company somewhere in a larger entity that would protect it,” Lucas told reporters this week. “We could go on making Star Wars for the next 100 years.” Should Lucas decide to set up trusts for his children, Westhoff says this deal will provide a steady income for his grandchildren, great-grandchildren, great-great-grandchildren — and beyond. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Hillary Clinton hasn’t been in the news recently because she’s doing her best to remain low key, even as the subject of ongoing investigations. Ongoing, because the inquiries into her email scandal haven’t stopped, despite what the liberal media tells you on the matter.
As many on the left think that Russia somehow doctored Clinton’s lies to America and influenced the election, it seems that the FBI has uncovered the truth, and has released it to the public.
However, they did not announce it to the world press, perhaps hoping that the media wouldn’t pick up on it. Oh, how wrong they were.
Here’s WikiLeaks with the report:
FBI quietly releases new Hillary Clinton investigation documents (part 5) [as yet, no announcement] https://t.co/lmyWF5rA8H — WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) January 9, 2017
NEW: 299 pages of FBI's email investigation into Hillary Clinton (PDF) https://t.co/Lh0Cxjgx5d — WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) January 9, 2017
Here’s the juicy bit, with the FBI admitting that Hillary Clinton was aware that she was breaking the law and lied to the American public.
Why, then was she let go? It’s because the Democrats in charge made decisions behind closed doors not to indict the corrupt crony knows as Hillary Clinton.
Here’s Trey Gowdy facing the head of the FBI James Comey, who was caught in the crossfire and chose to side with Clinton.
If you think that Hillary Clinton deserves prison because of this, you’re not alone. Share this article to spread the truth. The media can’t sweep this under the rug.
(Source: Twitter, YouTube) (H/T: RedStateWatcher) | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Facebook wants to let you type with your thoughts and "hear with your skin."
The social network is working on brain-computer-interface technology that "one day will let you communicate using only your mind," according to CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
The project is part of Facebook's consumer hardware lab known as Building 8, as Business Insider first reported in January. Little had been publicly revealed about Building 8 until Wednesday, when Facebook took the wraps off the division's first two projects at its annual developers conference in San Jose, California.
Building 8 chief Regina Dugan said her team of 60 scientists was working on a noninvasive system capable of typing 100 words per minute using only brain waves. An even more futuristic project intends to deliver spoken language through human skin.
The goal is to be able to think in Mandarin and feel in Spanish, according to Dugan, who joined Facebook last year from Google's advanced projects division.
Silent speech interfaces
The projects are still a ways off from becoming actual products, but Facebook believes they eventually will be.
"Eventually, we want to turn it into a wearable technology that can be manufactured at scale," Zuckerberg said in a blog post on Wednesday.
Dugan, in her own Facebook post, described both of the projects as "silent speech interfaces," which she said would offer the convenience of speaking with your voice but the privacy of sending a text message.
The skin project is aiming to replace the cochlea in the human ear by turning haptic touch into discernible thoughts and is being led by a former cardiologist from Stanford. The brain-to-text project is being led by a former John Hopkins neuroscientist who helped develop a mind-controlled prosthetic arm.
Both projects could have massive implications for Facebook, which makes its money off advertising. During her presentation on Wednesday, Dugan said the company intended to let people choose to selectively turn their thoughts into text.
"You take many photos, you choose to share some of them,” she said. “Similarly, you have many thoughts and you choose to share some of them.” | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
The annual Million Mask March, organised by hacktivist collective Anonymous, took place yesterday (Guy Fawkes' Day) in cities across the world.
In Washington DC, protesters attempted to enter the headquarters of biotechnology giant Monsanto, which has suffered a backlash in recent years for producing carcinogenic pesticides and genetically-modified products.
It was in London, however, where the protests became most violent. At least 50 people were arrested, mostly for public order offences.
The march was due to end at 9pm and the majority of arrests were made after breaches of police 'kettling' in St Martin’s Place, Trafalgar Square and Whitehall.
Three police officers were injured and treated in hospital and two people were arrested for assaulting a police officer.
Scotland Yard say that six police horses were injured, and some protesters were treated for injuries at the scene.
Three men, aged 38, 50 and 55, were arrested on suspicion of having weapons.
Meanwhile an unattended police car was set alight and damaged, in a side alley away from the main body of the protest.
(Picture: Guy Bell/REX Shutterstock)
(Picture: Ben Pruchnie/Getty Images)
(Picture: PA)
(Picture: JACK TAYLOR/AFP/Getty Images)
(Picture: Guy Bell/REX Shutterstock)
(Picture: Matthew Chattle/REX Shutterstock)
(Picture: Matthew Chattle/REX Shutterstock) | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
The button is also meant to save time, as Pokémon capture can be a bit of tricky business and often requires a bit of consideration: Which Poké Ball do you use? Would an item help? That thought process has been replaced by a strategy of "spray and pray," which means that when you eventually pull out your phone you'll probably still spend a bit of time pruning your roster of creatures. There are also bound to be occasional disappointments. What happens when the player encounters a rare Pokémon? Does the Go Plus automatically pick the best capture strategy? Or will players open up the app to find out their Go Plus tried to capture a Mew with a standard Poké Ball and failed? (Pro tip: You're gonna want a Master Ball for that.)
There's nothing wrong with trying to extend the Pokémon experience into the real world with some extra hardware. This isn't the first time a Pokémon game has flirted with add-ons, nor is the Go Plus the first device to encourage Pokémon trainers to be more active: The Pokémon Pikachu was a digital pet that also served as a pedometer, rewarding the user for walking by unlocking more in-game activities. Its successor, the Pokémon Pikachu 2 GS, could transfer data with Pokémon Gold, Silver and Crystal, essentially trading steps taken for in-game items. Years later the PokéWalker was bundled (for free) with copies of Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver, and served up a lot of the same functions. All of these pedometers are nice add-ons to the Pokémon experience, but they're also gaming devices that can be actually used on their own. Your interaction with the Go Plus is limited to pushing a button and hoping it turns blue.
Perhaps this wouldn't be a big deal if the Pokémon Go Plus were cheap and disposable, something you could try once and then forget about. But Nintendo doesn't do cheap and disposable -- though the game will be free at launch and doesn't require the Go Plus to work, the device is sold separately for $35. That's more than many people will ever spend on a mobile game. Heck, it's about what you'd spend on the average 3DS game, Pokémon titles included. Casual users are likely to opt out, even though they're the ones most likely to benefit from a wearable that makes it easier to get further in Pokémon Go without having to sink hours of effort into it.
You'd have to really like Pokémon to drop that much cash on such a thing, never mind wear it openly. And there are plenty of people who will do just that. Hardcore trainers are always looking for new ways to improve their Pokémon experience, and may not mind the extra work the whole "throw a Poké Ball at everything" approach entails in terms of team management. But it's also not what drew players to the franchise in the first place. If you really like Pokémon, wouldn't you want more than just a blinking light?
Follow all the news from E3 2016 here! | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Rapper and former That’s So Raven actor Orlando Brown says a Christian recovery program has helped him break his addiction to drugs.
According to The Christian Post, Brown, who is most famous for his role as Eddie Thomas on the Disney Channel show That’s So Raven, will be graduating from Rise Discipleship in November.
Rise Discipleship is a 6-month in-patient recovery program for men struggling with addiction, homelessness and other issues. The program is sponsored by Rise Church in Abilene, Texas.
“I can tell you that I’m OK. I’m alive. I was in an unsafe position and it has been shaky but at the end of the day all I can tell you is I’m OK and I’m graduating and I will be getting married,” he said.
Brown, 32, was first arrested in February 2016 for domestic battery, obstruction of justice, drug possession with intent to sell and possession of contraband.
In 2018, he tried a rehabilitation facility, but was later arrested for drugs and prostitution charges.
Then this year, he claimed television host Nick Cannon once performed fellatio on him while dressed as a woman. Cannon denied the claims.
Also this year, Brown said actor Will Smith raped him as a child.
In a fundraising video for Rise Discipleship, Brown said he found acceptance “for who I am.”
“My fiancée told me about this place and when I came it was amazing,” he said. “I had a blast. These brothers accepted me for who I am.”
Jubal Elrod, who works with the program, said Brown has become a leader for the group.
“He’s completely turned around. He got on this like in his third week, hit it like a man. Now he’s leading classes. He’s actually overseeing discipline and teaching other brothers how to get through it. I'm super proud of you man, proud of you Orlando,” he said.
Photo courtesy: ©Getty Images/Scott Eells/Stringer
Amanda Casanova is a writer living in Dallas, Texas. She has covered news for ChristianHeadlines.com since 2014. She has also contributed to The Houston Chronicle, U.S. News and World Report and IBelieve.com. She blogs at The Migraine Runner. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
WWE recently announced that they hired former New Japan Pro Wrestling, All Japan Pro Wrestling and MMA legend Tokimitsu Ishizawa. Ishizawa is also known as Kendo Kashin, Ishizawa will be joining the WWE PC as their newest coach.
Huskie Howard
Huskie Howard is the owner and editor-in-chief of WrestleFix.com. He is a long time contributor to WrestleOhio.com, where he is known for his extensive coverage of Ohio pro wrestling and interviews with the stars of the Ohio pro wrestling scene. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
FUNimation’s April release slate has revealed that the 4th and final voyage for One Piece season 6 will be releasing April 7 for $39.98 MSRP. The respective DVD set will include the episodes from 373 to 384; the conclusion of “Thriller Bark” arc and the “Spa Island” filler arc. The FUNimation shop also mentions a new special feature, “In the Galley with the Straw Hats,” for this release. However, the content of the segment is not known at the moment.
In addition, One Piece Collection 12 is slated for April 21. Consisted of 24 episodes, said release will contain episodes from 276 to 299. The cover for One Piece Collection 12 features Spandam and unlike any of the previous Collection sets, the background art for this cover features the World Government flag instead of Luffy’s poorly-drawn Jolly Roger for the Straw Hat pirates.
On a similar note, the release date for One Piece Collection 11 has been pushed to February 3, 2015.
One Piece Season Six, Voyage Four
Summary:
The harrowing Thriller Bark arc reaches its brutal end with a superhuman slugfest!
Nightmare Luffy’s impressive punching power momentarily swings the momentum in favor of our heroes, but when the rubber-man’s hulking physique returns to normal, the bad guys get back in the game. Gecko Moria devours every shadow in sight as he monsters up in a heinous attempt to permanently sink the Straw Hats. Luffy, battered beyond belief, pushes his body past the breaking point as he seeks to save his friends and deliver the decisive blow in this battle for the ages. When the dust clears, only Zoro and Sanji are left standing to protect their fallen captain from the brutish Bartholomew Kuma! Should one of them somehow withstand a savage beating from this towering behemoth, the crew just might survive long enough to welcome a new member who holds surprising ties to a whale of a friend from their past!
Special features:
Actor Commentaries
In the Galley with the Straw Hats
Textless Opening Song “We Are!”
One Piece Collection Twelve | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
EDF Energy blames ground conditions for rise but says energy bills will not go up
This article is more than 1 year old
This article is more than 1 year old
The cost of building the UK’s first new nuclear power plant in a generation has risen by up to £2.9bn and the total bill could be more than £22bn.
EDF Energy said the construction cost for Hinkley Point C in Somerset had climbed by between £1.9bn to £2.9bn from the company’s last estimates and is running the risk of further delays.
As a consequence, the total cost has risen from £19.5bn to between £21.5bn and £22.5bn.
The nuclear developer blamed challenging ground conditions, which made earthworks at the site more expensive than it expected.
The French company also misjudged the cost of adapting its new pressurised water reactor design to meet UK nuclear regulation standards. EDF is using the same reactor design at the Olkiluoto nuclear project in Finland and at Flamanville in France, where costs have also spiralled by billions of euros.
EDF Energy’s strategy director, Paul Spence, told BBC Radio 4 that he “can’t be sure today” that there won’t be further cost increases at Hinkley Point, which is due to start supplying 7% of the UK’s electricity by 2025.
He said: “The important point for me to make is that those costs are not costs that hit the consumer, they are costs that come to us as shareholders in the project.”
In a letter to staff, EDF Energy’s chief executive, Simone Rossi, said Hinkley’s cost overruns will “not add a penny” to energy bills or raise costs for the taxpayer.
The project has a government contract that guarantees a set price of £92.50 for every megawatt hour of electricity produced and was “designed with the risks of a first-of-a-kind project in mind”, he said.
The set price is high enough for EDF Energy to remain in line for healthy shareholder returns from the Hinkley Point project despite its rising costs.
The Guardian understands that the latest cost increase brings EDF Energy’s internal rate of return down to between 7.6% and 7.8%. The project originally offered a 9% return on investment, which slipped to 8.5% after its 2017 cost review.
However, the rising costs have raised questions over plans to fund a follow-up nuclear project at Sizewell C using a different financing model to Hinkley, which would put taxpayers on the hook for rising costs.
Ministers hope t a regulated asset base, or Rab, model will make the projects cheaper by shifting the risk of rising costs from the developer to billpayers.
The model helps cut the upfront costs of large infrastructure projects by allowing developers to start claiming their investment back from consumers at an agreed rate before the project is complete.
The model has been used to fund the Thames Tideway project, which will be completed by 2023 but has already raised water bills by £20-25 a year.
The model has found favour in the City for offering investors the promise of steady, long-term returns. Infrastructure investors, in particular, are understood to be eager for an alternative to the regulated energy and water sectors. Both of which are under pressure to cut profits or risk a run-in with regulators or renationalisation under a Labour government.
Critics of the plan said using a Rab model for a nuclear project could mean higher risks for billpayers if there are delays.
Jonathan Marshall, an analyst at the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU), said the “apparent inability” of the nuclear industry to deliver projects on time and on budget will be a “cause for concern” if the Rab model is adopted.
“New delays and cost overruns highlight why there are concerns around transferring more construction risk of new nuclear power stations ,” Marshall added.
Hinkley’s latest cost overrun has also reignited debate over whether the government should pursue an expensive nuclear renaissance while the cost of renewable energy becomes cheaper.
The cost of supporting new offshore windfarms from the mid-2020s fell to record lows of about £40 per megawatt hour of electricity last week in an auction for government contracts, less than half the cost of Hinkley Point C.
Doug Parr, chief scientist at Greenpeace UK, said: “The new Hinkley nuclear plant looked like a bad idea when it was first proposed, and it’s got worse ever since. New offshore wind now costs less than half as much as Hinkley, and it might get even cheaper by the time the much-delayed reactors crank into action.”
He said it has become overwhelmingly clear that an energy system run on renewables would be the cheapest, fastest and most reliable way to cut carbon emissions. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Recently on Talk Is Jericho, AEW's Chris Jericho welcomed WWE Hall Of Famer 'Diamond' Dallas Page to the show. During their conversation, Jericho talked about banned words in WWE.
As Jericho welcomed Page to the podcast, the former IWGP Intercontinental Champion mistakenly called Page's fitness program, DDPY simply 'yoga'. When 'DDP' corrected Jericho, 'The Ayatollah Of Rock 'N' Rollah' joked that Page sounded like WWE Chairman Vince McMahon with his prohibited words list.
First off, Jericho noted that a championship title should never be referred to as a 'belt'.
"'Hey Vince, I don't know if I should lose the belt.' [Imitating McMahon] 'The what?' 'Sorry, the title.'" Jericho explained, "you couldn't say 'belt' because a belt is what you use to hold up your pants."
In addition to establishing championship cummerbunds, McMahon has declared that fans are to called the 'WWE Universe' and definitely not 'marks'.
"You couldn't say 'fans' because it's the 'WWE Universe'," Jericho recalled. "And never say 'marks' because [imitating McMahon] 'they're not marks - they're our fans!'
Finally, Jericho shared that McMahon disliked the term 'job' and preferred saying 'favor'.
"And the other one is the 'job'," Jericho professed. "[Imitating McMahon] 'Uh uh. We do favors, not jobs.' The Vince verbiage!"
Check out the podcast here or in the audio player below. If you use any of the quotes from this article, please credit Talk Is Jericho with an H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
Source: Talk Is Jericho | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
SURPLUS PROPERTY STATUS
CATEGORY 3
STAGES STARTED COMPLETED ACTIONS
1 February 18, 2015 Property Declared As Excess
The Portland Water Bureau determines the property and structures are no longer needed for on-going operations and are excess to the bureau’s needs.
2 Inter-Bureau Notification of Sale of Excess Property
The Water Bureau property staff notifies and sends specific details, to the Real Property Coordinator, that a specific property is excess and no longer needed for bureau use. Within seven calendar days, written notification on its’ potential availability is sent to other City bureaus, offices and Council offices. Each City bureau, office and Council office may provide a written response within 21 calendar days indicating whether or not the bureau or office is interested in the property.
3 External Notification
If no City bureau or office indicates interest in acquiring the real property, and the originating bureau wishes to proceed with the deposition process, a minimum 60 calendar-day notification period to invite public comment for consideration. The Real Property Coordinator shall provide written notice of the proposed disposition to the Neighborhood Coalition, the Neighborhood Association, and the Office of Neighborhood Involvement, of the bureau’s intent to dispose of the property. At this time, the property will be listed on the citywide Excess Real Property webpage. The Real Property Coordinator, in conjunction with the originating bureau, will notify PDC, Metro, TriMet, the Port of Portland, the county in which the real property is located, the State of Oregon, and any other jurisdictions that have expressed interest in being notified.
4 Extension Opportunity
Request for extension by a City bureau or office.
5 Website Announcement
The available property for sale is identified on the Water Bureau's Surplus Property website: www.portlandoregon.gov/water/surplus.
6 Signage
The Water Bureau will place an informational sign on the property identifying it as excess, available for acquisition, and listed for sale to the public if not acquired by a public agency. The sign is posted for a minimum of 60 days.
7 Extension Opportunity
Request for extension from Neighborhood Association.
8 Printed Notification
Notification of proposed disposition given to those living within 200’ feet of the property by the Real Property Coordinator.
9 City Council Declares Property Surplus
If, after the informational sign has been posted for a minimum of 60 days, the Public Comment Period has ended, and no public agency has expressed interest in acquiring the property, the Water Bureau prepares an Ordinance to be placed on the regular City Council agenda. The Ordinance asks council to declare the property surplus and authorize the Water Bureau to proceed with a public sale. The Real Property Coordinator updates the web page.
10 Notice to Sale
Upon the effective date of a council Ordinance authorizing the sale, the Water Bureau may proceed to sell the surplus property, with or without a real estate agent, for an asking price determined to be reasonable by the bureau's property manager.
11 Pre-Authorized Properties
For any properties already authorized for sale by council, the Water Bureau shall, prior to the sale, conduct notice in Stage 1 (above) and proceed to sale in Stage 5 (above).
12 Property Listed
The surplus property is listed for sale with the Regional Multiple List Service (RMLS). | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
The Philippines, Bahrain and Eritrea were among the countries newly elected to the UN's Human Rights Council on Friday, drawing criticism from human rights groups and the United States.
Eighteen countries from five regional blocs were elected in an uncontested vote by the UN Security Council in New York to serve a three-year term in the 47-member council.
Human Rights Watch had called on UN members to oppose Eritrea and the Philippines because of their "egregious" human rights records. It also questioned giving Bahrain and Cameroon seats in the Geneva-based body due to "serious rights violations" in those countries.
Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte's war on drugs has killed more than 4,000 people since July 2016, according to official numbers. The real death toll is likely to be nearly 12,000 people. The government has rejected criticism of the brutal crackdown and harassed UN officials who have raised the issue.
What is the UN Human Rights Council? Promote and protect The United Nations Human Rights Council was established in 2006 to replace the UN Commission on Human Rights. Its purpose is to promote and protect human rights around the world. Headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, it meets three times per year — in March, June and September.
What is the UN Human Rights Council? Members worldwide The HRC has 47 member countries, with the seats spread throughout five different global regions. The UN General Assembly elects members directly by secret ballot. Elected countries serve three-year terms, and are not eligible for immediate re-election after serving two consecutive terms.
What is the UN Human Rights Council? Addressing human rights issues The main function of the HRC is to coordinate the UN's human rights activities and promote international cooperation on human rights issues. It has mechanisms in place to process complaints submitted by individuals, groups or NGOs and investigate human rights abuses. The HRC also works closely with the Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights (OHCHR) Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein.
What is the UN Human Rights Council? Reports and resolutions HRC resolutions are passed as political expressions of Council members. They are not legally binding, but often carry moral weight and promote "soft law" principles. They cover human rights issues ranging from freedom of expression, to torture, poverty and justice. Resolutions can lead to the creation of a special rapporteur (e.g. in Myanmar) or inquiry committees (e.g. on Syria or North Korea).
What is the UN Human Rights Council? Controversy In its most recent annual report in 2017, the OHCHR listed a record 29 nation states that took retaliatory action against citizens working to uncover human rights violations. Nine of those countries were actually on the Human Rights Council. Current members accused of violating human rights in the 2018 Human Rights Watch World Report are Venezuela, Rwanda, China, Saudi Arabia and the DR Congo.
What is the UN Human Rights Council? Accusations of anti-Israel bias Israel is the only country with a dedicated item on the Council schedule. Agenda Item 7 has existed since 2007 to discuss rights abuses in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Britain has called it "disproportionate and damaging to the cause of peace." Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson threatened to vote against all resolutions "unless things change." And another Council member went even further...
What is the UN Human Rights Council? United States withdraws On June 19, US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley said Washington was leaving the HRC; the first time a member has quit before its term was up. "For too long the HRC has been a protector of human rights abusers and a cesspool of political bias," Haley said, citing "unrelenting bias" against Israel. A day earlier, the Council denouced the US policy of separating children from their migrant parents. Author: Davis VanOpdorp
Eritrea is one of the world's most authoritarian states and its indefinite military conscription policy has forced tens of thousands to flee the country. Rights groups say military conscription often amounts to forced labor and slavery.
Bahrain has a dismal human rights record and in Cameroon, government security forces have clamped down on the country's Anglophone region.
"Elevating states with records of gross human rights violations and abuses is a tremendous setback," said Amnesty International USA's advocacy director, Daniel Balson. "It puts them on the world stage, and moreover, it empowers them to fundamentally undermine notions of human rights that are accepted internationally."
Philippines' war on drugs — Remembering the dead Daunting challenge Mimi Garcia holds the pictures of her son Richard and daughter-in-law Robilyn who were killed by masked vigilantes on motorbikes at their shanty home in Camarin, Caloocan city, on October 7, 2016. She faces the daunting responsibility of taking care of her two grandchildren while being jobless at the same time.
Philippines' war on drugs — Remembering the dead Brutal incidents Andres Fernandez and his son Wesley rest at an altar inside the family home in Bagong Silang, Caloocan. On October 4, 2016, two armed men in masks went inside the Fernandez home and pointed a gun at Wesley. They made him kneel as Andres tried to help. They responded by shooting at Andres first before killing Wesley.
Philippines' war on drugs — Remembering the dead Suspicious killings One of the children of alleged pusher Kenneth Trasmano lights a candle during the wake of his father in Manila. Kenneth was killed in a police undercover operation after allegedly fighting back on February 2, 2018. His family and neighbors claim the police forced them to leave their homes and get out of sight, and thereafter heard the gunshots.
Philippines' war on drugs — Remembering the dead Left alone A child holds the pictures of her deceased father Joseph and grandfather Marcelo. Marcelo was killed in a police operation inside their home on July 22, 2016. Her father was rounded up and taken by the police. His lifeless body was later found "salvaged" along a roadside.
Philippines' war on drugs — Remembering the dead Last message The picture shows letters written by children who have lost either one of their parents in the drug war, as part of their counselling session at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Camarin, Caloocan city.
Philippines' war on drugs — Remembering the dead Funeral march Family and friends walk the funeral procession of Rogelio Gilbuena and his common law wife Jenny Royo, who were both found dead (several hours apart) in different locations in Navotas city, Manila. Prior to their death, the couple were taken from their house in Navotas by 10 men who introduced themselves as police.
Philippines' war on drugs — Remembering the dead Remembering the dead Families of victims of drug-related extrajudicial killings offer flowers to their departed loved ones during the Holy Eucharistic Mass Action in Bagong Silang, Caloocan.
Philippines' war on drugs — Remembering the dead Calling for justice Her husband Luis and her son, Gabriel, were killed in September 2016. During their burial, she was stoic. The days after she had laid them to rest were different. "I began looking for them and could not stop crying." MA nowadays attends protest rallies calling for a stop to drug-related killings and justice for those who have died. She hides her face as she doesn't want to be identified. Author: Raffy Lerma (Manila), Ana P. Santos (Manila), Rodion Ebbighausen
For the first time since the council was formed in 2006, each UN voting region agreed in advance to put forward uncontested candidates, meaning they were assured a seat.
Human Rights Watch's UN director, Louis Charbonneau, said that the uncontested vote made a "mockery of [the] word 'election.'"
The United States withdrew from the council in June, calling it hypocritical and in particular citing bias against Israel.
Outgoing US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley said in a statement that the absence of standards in the council "demonstrates again why the United States was right to withdraw from it earlier this year."
Burkina Faso, Somalia, Bangladesh, India, Austria, the Czech Republic and Denmark were among the other countries elected to the intergovernmental rights body on Friday.
Some of the countries with heavily criticized human rights records currently on the council are China, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Cuba.
The council discusses human rights issues, makes recommendations and can establish international commissions of inquiry and fact-finding missions to investigate human rights abuses.
Watch video 26:01 Share Salvador Panelo on Conflict Zone Send Facebook google+ Whatsapp Tumblr linkedin stumble Digg reddit Newsvine Permalink https://p.dw.com/p/34N8C Salvador Panelo on Conflict Zone
cw/aw (AFP, AP, dpa) | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Interior Storm Windows
Interior storm windows are one of the great success stories of the Midcoast Green Collaborative. They were introduced by Topher Belknap at the 2nd Annual Midcoast Sustainable Living Expo, and have been modified, improved, tailored, and run rampant since them. We estimate that over 20,000 windows have been made by, and for, Mainers since then, and there are groups now in other parts of the Country, and in Hungary and England making them.
The Design
Window without storm
photo credit: Guy Marsden
The idea of the windows is simple. A wooden frame is made about ½ an inch smaller than the window frame it is to go in, and that frame is covered on both side with pieces of heat-shrink (polyolefin) plastic. Tape is used to cover the edge, the film is shrunk with a hair dryer, and a ½ inch foam weather striping is added around the edge. The storm is then inserted in the window frame for the winter, and removed for storage over the summer
We generally make these storms with pre-primed pine, but most any wood will do, provided it is structurally sound. Scrap or #3 pine is fine for basement windows for example, or using clear wood, or painting the wood to match the existing trim, will make the storms even less conspicuous.
Simple instructions or a 2 page PDF version .
An exhaustive website with pictures, material suppliers, and a spreadsheet for material costs.
Here is a Google Sketchup plan for the storms, and hereit is on the Google 3D Warehouse. Hiding various components will allow the construction details to be discerned.
The Benefits
Window with storm
photo credit: Guy Marsden
Interior storm windows have an R-value of around 2.3 and will reduce the air leakage from a leaky window. They also reduce outside noise. However, they do reduce the amount of incoming solar heat (SHGC 0.86), which while not a benefit in the Maine (and many other places) climate, it is a reasonable compromise, and the storms on the whole are a benefit.
The actual benfits you get will vary depending on your climate, cost of heating fuel, and type and condition of your windows. But broadly, if you have single pane windows (and no storms), the simple payback time will be under 7 months. In other words it is cheaper than buying fuel this year. And the benefits will continue for years to come. For single pane windows with aluminum storms, the payback is around a year. For good double pane windows around 2 years. For Andersen's best energy-star rated lowe-4 windows, the payback is still around 4 to 5 years. Only if you have super high-efficiency triple pane, lo-e, gas filled windows (or better) do these storm not make good sense.
Workshops
MGC sponsored workshops
We are currently looking for a new location to hold the workshops. Watch this space for more information.
Buying Interior Storm Windows
Topher Belknap, a MGC member, makes these as a part of his business Green Fret Consulting. He also makes a triple pane version for tough applications like single pane windows, or very large windows.
Topher also make kits (with or without the wood), which can be shipped, or picked up, and he sells all the materials. Contact him for more information.
Window Dressers works out of Rockland, producing many windows. They are a non-profit Corporation with the goal to: Reduce fossil fuel consumption, Reduce the cost of residential heating / cooling, Reduce CO 2 emissions into the environment, Provide help to low income Mainers in heating their homes.
If you are making these interior storm windows for sale, we would love to hear about it, and will gladly put the relevant information here.
Other News
This is a sing-out from Bill McKibben at 350.org | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Cabinet Room
11:44 A.M. EST
THE PRESIDENT: Okay, thank you very much. I’m delighted to welcome both Republicans and Democrats. Nice sound. Isn’t that a nice sound? And we won’t be discussing DACA, but there’s plenty of discussion right now going on about DACA from both the House and the Senate, to the White House.
We’re here today to discuss a matter of vital importance to our nation’s economy and security, and I’ve been discussing it for years. And I’ve certainly discussed it in great detail on the campaign trail. That’s America’s aluminum and steel industries, and many other industries where we are taken advantage of by other countries. And I alluded to it yesterday, too.
Last year, I directed the Secretary of Commerce to investigate whether steel and aluminum imports are threatening to impair U.S. national security. You see what’s happened with our steel and aluminum industries. They’re being decimated by dumping from many countries, in particular one, but many countries. They’re dumping and destroying our industry and destroying the families of workers. And we can’t let that happen.
Secretary Ross submitted the result of the investigations to me last month. My administration is now reviewing the reports and considering all options. And part of the options would be tariffs coming in. As they dump steel, they pay tariffs — substantial tariffs — which means the United States would actually make a lot of money, and probably our steel industry and our aluminum industry would come back into our country. Right now, it’s decimated.
It’ll make a decision, and I will make a decision that reflects the best interests of the United States, including the need to address overproduction in China and other countries. You have countries that are so overproducing, and what they’re doing is they are dumping it on us. And you look at empty factories, steel factories, and plants, and it’s a very sad thing to look at.
I’ve been watching — I’ve been looking at them for two years, as I went around campaigning. No matter where you go, you look at them and see what happened to U.S. Steel and these other companies. They were the giants and now they’re hanging on for their life.
I look forward to hearing your views, and I’d like to have some of you speak. And you have very strong — I know, Roy, you do, and we all do, probably, have pretty strong views on this.
I look at it two ways: I want to keep prices down, but I also want to make sure that we have a steel industry and aluminum industry, and we do need that for national defense. If we ever have a conflict, we don’t want to be buying the steel from a country that we’re fighting because somehow that doesn’t work very well.
But we hopefully won’t have any conflicts, but we still have to consider that. And we have to look at the national defense, and we have to look at a steel industry. We cannot be without a steel industry. We cannot be without an aluminum industry. And so what we’re talking about is tariffs and/or quotas.
I think maybe, Roy, would you like to start? We’ve discussed this over the past. Do you have any suggestion?
SENATOR BLUNT: Well, Mr. President, I think we do need to be careful here that we don’t start a reciprocal battle on tariffs. You know, we make aluminum and we make steel in Missouri, but we buy a lot of aluminum and we buy a lot of steel as well —
THE PRESIDENT: That’s right.
SENATOR BLUNT: — from bass boats to beer cans. There’s a lot of aluminum out there. We’ve got an aluminum manufacturer that closed down, but with special electric rates is reopening under new management.
And so, clearly, we’re concerned about those new jobs, but also concerned about all the jobs — whether it’s in the electric steel area or the aluminum area, are very, very price sensitive here.
THE PRESIDENT: Good. And I understand that very well. One thing I just — I do want to tell you, we just got this notice. General Motors in Korea announces the first step in necessary restructuring. They’re going to — GM Korea company announced today that it will cease production and close its Gunsan plant in May of 2018, and they’re going to move back to Detroit.
You don’t hear these things, except for the fact that Trump became President. Believe me, you wouldn’t be hearing that. So they’re moving back from Korea to Detroit. They’re moving.
Also, you saw Chrysler moving from Mexico to Michigan. And you have many other companies. They all want to be where the action is. The big tax cuts had a big impact. And Kevin knows that maybe better than anybody. But it had a big impact on that decision.
But when you see that General Motors — we have a very bad trade deal with Korea. Very, very bad trade deal. It’s a deal that — it’s incompetent that somebody could have made a deal like that.
So we have a horrible trade deal with Korea. But now, even before we do something with that — because we’re negotiating the trade deal with Korea, and we’ll either negotiate a fair deal or we’re going to terminate the deal. But before we do that, already General Motors is coming back into Detroit. That is a really significant statement. Many others to follow from many other countries.
Mike, go ahead.
REPRESENTATIVE BOST: Mr. President, let me tell you that 2,800 people were laid off in my district in 2015, in a steel plant that’s been operating for over 100 years. The concern that we have is, is that steel plant produces what’s known as the oil country tubular goods — OCTG.
OCTG, when we’re doing the expiration, and everything like that, in oil that we are — but Korea has dumped 200 percent in the last year in an overabundance into that particular market. Because of that, we’re not able to get those 2,800 jobs back. And like I said, those have been there. That group of people there —
THE PRESIDENT: So where did it go? It went to Korea?
REPRESENTATIVE BOST: All of the products that — they’re even coming from Korea now that we’ve turned up. And unless we use the power under 232 — because if something goes south, now all of a sudden, while we’re trying to become energy independent — but these plants don’t turn up overnight, and we’ve got to try to do something to work for a long-term goal with that.
THE PRESIDENT: The Korean Agreement — as you know, Mike, and most of the people at this table — that was done by the last administration. It was supposed to produce 150,000 to 200,000 jobs. And it did — for Korea. For us, it produced nothing but losses. It’s a horrible deal. All you have to do is look at it. You know it’s going to be bad.
So the Korea deal was a disaster. It was supposed to be good for us, and it turned out to be very bad for us. And just — you know, you’re one example of it, but there are many examples all over the country. So I just think that General Motors moving back into Detroit is just a fantastic thing. That’s just a sign of many other companies to come.
Mike Pence, would you have something to say?
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Well, thank you, Mr. President. I just want to thank all of the Republican and Democrats taking time to be here and their profound interest in this issue.
To your point, this is about our economy, but it’s about national security. And the President directed a 232 review to determine whether or not our national security has been affected by the dumping of steel and aluminum.
And today, it is very much the President’s desire, our administration’s desire to hear from each of you and the perspectives that will also inform the decisions that the President will make.
I think that it’s fair to say that we all support national security. I think that’s evidenced by the recent budget agreement that the President helped drive, and Republicans and Democrats have supported, for a historic increase in our national defense.
But we also all support American jobs. And we very much look forward to your counsel as the President approaches this decision, and I appreciate the bipartisan spirit of this meeting and the conversation that will follow.
THE PRESIDENT: And really, as Mike said, I want to hear from both sides. We have a lot of great representatives, both Democrats and Republicans. I want to hear from both sides before we make the decision.
In one case, you’re going to create jobs. You may have a higher price or maybe a little bit higher, but you’re going to have jobs. In the other case, you may have a lower price, but you’re not going have jobs; it’s going to be made in China and other places. So those are big decisions. But, to me, jobs are very important.
Todd, do you have something to say?
SENATOR YOUNG: Mr. President, thank you for having us here today. I represent a state that is not only a major manufacturer of steel — we have U.S. Steel, ArcelorMittal, and others who are manufacturing it — but we have the downstream users, which you alluded to. So, clearly, you understand the need to balance the two, to come up with a balanced approach here.
I think the main target — and I’ll just speak plainly with you, sir — should be China. They’re violating the international rules, stealing our intellectual property, overproducing steel products and other products. And —
THE PRESIDENT: We’ve spoken to them very, very strongly. We’ve told them. We have something coming up in the very near future that you know. But we have told them it just can’t continue.
We have a trade deficit with China — that I inherited, by the way — but we have a trade deficit of $504 billion, okay? So, if you think of it, when you look at how well they do, and how many bridges they’re building, and how many jets they’re building, and fighter planes — we did it. We did it. People that sat in my seat allowed them to do this.
So we’re not going to allow that. We’re talking to them right now, very strongly. And hopefully we’ll have a great relationship, but we’re talking to them very strongly, Todd. You’re right — it’s a big percentage of our deficits. And the money that we’ve lost and the jobs that we’ve lost to China, it’s unthinkable that people allowed that to happen.
And this is over a period — not just Obama. This is over a period of many years this has happened.
So thank you very much, Todd.
Pat, would you like to say something?
SENATOR TOOMEY: Sure. Thanks very much, Mr. President. I would just urge us to go very, very cautiously here, especially with section 232.
As you know, our defense needs consume about 3 percent of domestic steel consumption. So I think it’s implausible to believe that we’re not able to meet the needs of our defense industry, which is absolutely essential.
Imports in 2016 were 16 percent of domestic consumption. So the vast majority of the steel we consume, we in fact produce ourselves — which is the way I prefer it, and it is the case today. China was down to 2 percent of the 16 percent, so a very, very small portion.
My main message —
THE PRESIDENT: But they have transshipping.
SENATOR TOOMEY: Absolutely. So —
THE PRESIDENT: They would ship to other countries, and their steel would come in from other countries so that you can’t see where the steel is coming from.
SENATOR TOOMEY: Right. So what I would urge is, any country that is violating our trade laws and our trade agreements, go after them. Countervailing duty and the dumping, if that’s happening.
THE PRESIDENT: That’s all countries. That’s all countries.
SENATOR TOOMEY: But the 232 is a different matter, and invoking national security, when I think it’s really hard to make that case, invites retaliation that will be problematic for us.
THE PRESIDENT: Well, the word “retaliation,” Pat, is interesting. And I know you agree with this. We have so many countries where we made a product, they make a product, they pay a tremendous — we pay a tremendous tax to get into their countries — motorcycles, Harley Davidson — it goes into a certain country. I won’t mention the fact that it happens to be India, in this case. (Laughter.)
And a great gentleman called me from India and he said, we have just reduced the tariff on motorcycles, reduced it down to 50 percent — 5-0 — from 75, and even 100 percent. And we have — if you are Harley Davidson, you have 50 to 75 percent tax, tariff to get your motorcycle, your product in. And yet they sell thousands and thousands of motorcycles, which a lot of people don’t know, from India into the United States. You know what our tax is? Nothing.
So I say we should have reciprocal taxes for a case like that. I’m not blaming India. I think it’s great that they can get away with it. I don’t know why people allowed them to get away with it. But there’s an example that’s very unfair. And I think we should have a reciprocal tax.
That’s called fair trade. It’s called free trade. Because ultimately, what’s going to happen — either we’ll collect the same that they’re collecting, or, probably, what happens is they’ll end up not charging a tax and we won’t have a tax. And that becomes free trade.
So we have too many examples like that. And the word “reciprocal,” as Pat said — I mean, the world “reciprocal” is a very important word. We have countries that are taking advantage of us. They’re charging us massive tariffs for us to sell our product into those countries. And when they sell to us, zero. We charge them zero. We’re like the stupid people, and I don’t like to have that anymore.
So we’re going to change that, and we’re going to make it fair. And that, I call that fair trade. And, again, one of two things will happen. But I think what’s going to happen is they’ll just reduce their tax to the same as our tax.
Mike, would you like to say something?
SENATOR LEE: Yeah, sure. One of the things that worries me with regard to this proposed action is that there’s so many things manufactured in the United States; there’s so many jobs attached to so many things manufactured in the United States that use steel and aluminum as inputs.
Now in the case of steel, we’re talking about 16 percent that’s imported. But the availability of those imports and the absence of additional duties on those means that those goods can be manufactured and sold more cost effectively. That keeps a whole lot of people, including a whole lot of voters in each of our states — a whole lot in mine, certainly — in jobs.
And so, even though there may be some job winners from an action like this, I strongly suspect that, as has at times been the case in the past, you would end up with net job losses in the United States. And that’s what worries me here, particularly in light of the absence of what I can see as a real national security threat. Only 3 percent of what we’re able to produce domestically is what’s needed for our national security reasons, and I think that ought to be taken into account.
THE PRESIDENT: No, that number is going way up because of our big military spending now. You know we — something we all agree on. We had to do a lot of work on our military. Our military had not been taken care of properly, and now it’s being taken care of properly. So that 3 percent number will be going way up. But at the same time, it’s not a tremendous — you know, it’s not — as a percentage, it’s not a tremendous number.
I will say this: Steel and aluminum are interesting. It will create a lot of jobs. I believe that some of the dumpers will eat a lot of the tax themselves because they do it to keep people working. And we do it for that and other reasons.
But I will say that a finished product is a much simpler thing. As an example, Germany sends us cars. We send them cars; they practically don’t take them. I mean, how many Chevrolets do you see in the middle of Berlin? Not too many, folks. (Laughter.) Not too many. But they send Mercedes, they send BMW. They send them over here in tremendous numbers.
Japan sends us tremendous numbers of cars. They also make cars. In a way, there’s no tax. All they have to do, Mike, is, very simple — they do a factory here. There’s no tax. Now all of a sudden there’s no tax. So they’ll build factories here in order to avoid the tax.
But with cars, with television sets, with things like that, where they’re dumping them on us — we don’t make television sets anymore in this country. They come from South Korea, and they come from, to a lesser extent, Japan. Most of them come from South Korea. It’s not fair. And I believe that we should have reciprocal taxes on that, likewise.
That’s a different product, that’s a much simpler — you know, we did it with the washing machines, as you saw a couple of weeks ago. It’s had a huge impact on that industry. A huge impact. And, by the way, you know what’s happening? The people that made the washing machines outside of this country are now expanding their factories in the United States so they don’t have to pay the 25 and 30 percent tax.
And the same thing is happening with the solar panels. We’re starting to make — we had 32 companies. I think we’re down, Gary, to two, right? We made solar panels, but every one of our companies was wiped out. And I have to say this, and this is agreed to by — we made a much higher quality, a much better solar panel. We make them better, but we couldn’t compete. Now — and we’ve had a lot of good — a lot of places are opening up. They’re starting to make solar panels again.
So with a finished product, it’s a little bit different. But again, with steel and aluminum, which is what we’re talking about today — you know, that’s a good point, Mike. You’re right. The question is, would you rather pay a little bit more and create jobs all over the country? And it’s possible you won’t be creating — really, you won’t be having much of a problem in terms of pricing. Because I actually think a lot of the countries are going to eat it because they want to continue to, you know, export. And they’re making a fortune.
Look, we have rebuilt China. We have rebuilt a lot of — with the money they’ve taken out of the United States. We’re like the piggybank that had people running it that didn’t know what the hell they were doing. And we have rebuilt countries, like, massively. You look at some of these countries — look at South Korea, look at Japan, look at so many countries. And then we defend them, on top of everything else.
So we defend Saudi Arabia. They pay us a fraction of what it costs. We defend Japan. We defend South Korea. They pay us a fraction of what it costs. And we’re talking to all of those countries about that because it’s not fair that we defend them, and they pay us a fraction of the cost of that defense. Separate argument, but a real problem.
Gary, would you like to say something?
MR. COHN: Senator Wyden, would you like —
THE PRESIDENT: Senator, go ahead.
SENATOR WYDEN: Thank you, Mr. President. We have Senator Brown, Senator Peters, Senator Casey. So you’ve got a good collection from the Finance Committee and the Commerce Committee.
I’ll just make two points really quickly, Mr. President. First, yesterday, you all released the infrastructure plan. And I looked at it very carefully, and I couldn’t see even any incentives, let alone requirements, to use American steel. Now, Senator Brown, I think, always says this is a great opportunity for bipartisanship. If we can work with you on that one, that ought to be a no-brainer.
THE PRESIDENT: We can. It’s a very easy one.
SENATOR WYDEN: And there’s one other thing, on that point, Mr. President. I’ll be very brief. And that is, actually, with respect to American steel, the way the plan reads now, it actually allows the states to walk back from commitments to use American steel. So point one would be, could we work with you on that?
Point two is, the Secretary and Ambassador Lighthizer have been very forthcoming in working with us. But we have been trying to see this 232 report. And we appreciate your asking us for our advice. We will need to see that report in order to give you more specifics. But I come back to Senator Brown’s point, I think there’s an opportunity for real bipartisanship here, and those would be two areas.
THE PRESIDENT: I agree. And I’d like you to come back with a suggestion on infrastructure and the plan. And I think that’s a bipartisan plan.
I will tell you, when I approved the two pipelines — the Keystone and — you know, we did the two big ones. And when I approved them, I said, “Where’s the steel being made?” And they told me a location that did not make me happy. And I wrote down that from now on steel is being made for pipelines — as you know, it’s got to be made in the United States. And it’s got to be fabricated in the United States. And so I’m a believer in that also.
But if you would come back with a suggestion, that would be great.
Bob, what about 232?
AMBASSADOR LIGHTHIZER: Well, I think we could put out the report. But rather than focus on that, let me just say, I want to, sort of, second what the Senator says. Trade has always been bipartisan in this country and just until the last few years. And I really think, with this and with NAFTA and the other things we’re doing, we can have Democrats and Republicans vote in large number together and start a new way to approach this.
That really is the point that I wanted to make. I think Senator Wyden and I think Senator Brown feels exactly —
PARTICIPANT: And Senator Casey.
PARTICIPANT: Can I speak on that, too?
THE PRESIDENT: Go ahead.
SENATOR BROWN: Thank you. I very much appreciate the work that Ambassador Lighthizer has done, generally and specifically, on 232. And Secretary Ross has worked on 232. And I want to talk for a moment about NAFTA. Not too much, but Ambassador Lighthizer has been so good on that.
I mean, trade, as he says, has always been nonpartisan. And I think good evidence of that is what Senator Portman, my colleague from Cincinnati — I’m from Cleveland — what we’ve been able to do together on Level the Playing Field Act; on trade remedy; on trade enforcement; on currency; and most recently, on Clyde, Ohio, on the washing machine case. And we appreciate what you’ve done here.
I sent the President and the transition staff — three days after the election, sent him a letter outlining what we can do together in trade. And the President — thank you — sent back a nice handwritten note about that. I appreciate working together on everything from TPP, to non-market economy status, to 232, to the washing machine case, to all of those issues. And I asked, in the washing machine case, it’s 3,000 jobs in a small town in Northwest Ohio, and an hour from Toledo. So that really matters to a lot of families.
I’m hopeful we can do quick action on 232. It needs to be comprehensive; aimed, as Todd said, certainly at China. But beyond China, 232 needs to apply more broadly.
And I also — I will just conclude that we can work on NAFTA together. Well, I will work if NAFTA is written in a way that supports workers, as I’m confident it will be, with Ambassador Lighthizer’s handprints on it, that we can deliver Democratic support. It will be bipartisan if done right. And that’s my reputation and that’s what I’ll continue to fight for.
And I know Senator Wyden, and Senator Casey, and Senator Peters are on board with that.
THE PRESIDENT: Good. I actually think that we can go bipartisan on infrastructure, maybe even more so than we can on DACA. Because the difference is we want to help DACA; you don’t. Okay? (Laughter.) I’m kidding. I’m sure you do. I hope we can.
By the way, while we’re at a table, I hope we can do DACA. That’s currently up. Everybody is in there working hard on it right now. I think we can have a chance to do DACA very bipartisan. I think that can happen, and I hope we’re going to be able to do that, Senator.
SENATOR BROWN: It’s important (inaudible).
THE PRESIDENT: And I think we will.
On infrastructure, which is the purpose of what we’re doing today, come back with a proposal. We put in our bid. Come back with a proposal. We have a lot of people that are great Republicans that want something to happen. We have to rebuild our country.
You know, I said yesterday, we’ve spent $7 trillion. When I say “spent,” and I mean wasted, not to mention all of the lives — most importantly — and everything else. But we’ve spent $7 trillion, as of about two months ago, in the Middle East — $7 trillion. And if you want to borrow two dollars to build a road someplace, including your state, the great state of Ohio — if you want to build a road, if you want to build a tunnel or a bridge, or fix a bridge, because so many of them are in bad shape, you can’t do it. And yet, we spent $7 trillion in the Middle East. Explain that one.
SENATOR BROWN: We’ll have a bipartisan — we have a bipartisan proposal.
THE PRESIDENT: We can do it fast.
SENATOR BROWN: With real dollars on it in infrastructure. We’re glad that (inaudible) —
THE PRESIDENT: We can do it fast.
SENATOR BROWN: — and work together on a real infrastructure bill with real dollars, plus what you can leverage in the communities and the private sector.
THE PRESIDENT: Right. Do a combination.
SENATOR BROWN: It needs real dollars.
THE PRESIDENT: I would love to have you get back to us quickly, because we can do this quickly. And we have to rebuild our country. We have to rebuild our roads and our bridges and our tunnels. So the faster you get back, the faster we can move. Focus on DACA this week, if you don’t mind. Right? But the faster you get back, the faster we move.
Jackie, you were going to say?
REPRESENTATIVE WALORSKI: Thank you, Mr. President. I’m grateful for you willingness to sit down, listen, and just talk today.
But I represent the recreational vehicle industry in northern Indiana, Elkhart County. We have 85 percent of that market. And I’m a defense hawk, I get what you’re saying, I get what we’re all saying around this table. We’re one of the largest manufacturing districts in this country.
And the problem is, right now, even the mere — when we look balance and we talk about balance, the mere threat of tariffs, right now, from some of my folks that are manufacturing right now — they employee some 15,000 people just in my district in Indiana. And a guy — one of my guys called me this morning, and he said, the mere threat of tariffs, right now, has already raised aluminum and steel costs by 25 percent. Canadian softwood has raised 20 percent. The labor cost to the industry is already up 10 to 15 percent because the job market is so tight.
And this is a market that was 21 percent unemployment when we really had the financial crisis in this country, and now we’re down to 2.1 percent. Their concern, my concern, is if we seriously have a balanced effort, and be able to keep and retain a momentum in a place like northern Indiana, and be fair at the same time, I am 100 percent supportive of what you do.
I would just ask that you look at that balance of what it’s doing to current employees and giant growth that our tax reform helped just two months ago.
THE PRESIDENT: But what you have to ask your manufacturers too —
REPRESENTATIVE WALORSKI: Sure.
THE PRESIDENT: — and I know some of those manufacturers. They were great to me.
REPRESENTATIVE WALORSKI: Absolutely, yeah.
THE PRESIDENT: And they’re friends. And they voted. And they — they’re great people. But you have to ask them one question. When you build your product and you send that big, beautiful product that they make like nobody else, and you send that to another country, how much tax does that other country charge them? And therefore, they don’t sell it there very much because the tax is so high.
And one of the things we want to do is we want fairness. We don’t want what’s been happening. Because you look at it and you do well here, but they come in and they compete with you, and we take their product for nothing. And you want to sell your product overseas — which is probably triple the market for you if you ever could get it. But a lot of manufacturers have given up. They’ve given up on that. They don’t even talk.
I will tell you, Harley Davidson — I was saying, well, what’s the story? They were saying it’s a 75 and 100 percent tax. They got used to it for so many years. For so many years, they weren’t even asking me to do this. I mean, I’m doing it for them and others, but they weren’t even asking because they’ve gotten used to it. And your folks have gotten used to it too. Because you take that great product and you sell it overseas, they make it almost impossible for you to do that — not only monetarily with the tax, but they also have other criteria which make it impossible.
REPRESENTATIVE WALORSKI: I understand. But I would say, Mr. President, there’s also the second issue that has developed in this country with these corporations in producing the quality of vehicles that they do is, the true-American smelters left. And in reference to the costs here, they won’t even fill the products of some of these customers because they don’t have to, because they got people standing in line to buy — there are so few, right?
THE PRESIDENT: Okay. Let’s —
REPRESENTATIVE WALORSKI: So if you can’t buy the specs, you’re out of a job.
THE PRESIDENT: No, I get it. We want a combination of big competition, including competition from within our country competing against that. And we want to take outside sources. But we want competition and we want the jobs.
REPRESENTATIVE WALORSKI: We want customer service.
THE PRESIDENT: And we want customer service. That’s right. Any questions?
Yes. Senator — Lamar.
SENATOR ALEXANDER: Mr. President, thank you so much for —
THE PRESIDENT: How’s healthcare going?
SENATOR ALEXANDER: Good. Thanks.
THE PRESIDENT: Good. That’s what I hear.
SENATOR ALEXANDER: Thank you for your support and for sticking with us. I talked to Senator Murray about it —
THE PRESIDENT: Good.
SENATOR ALEXANDER: — earlier, and we’re making progress.
THE PRESIDENT: Good.
SENATOR ALEXANDER: Thank you very much, and thanks to the Vice President for his work on that.
If I could use two 60-second stories just — I don’t know exactly what the tariff is proposed. And I thank you for having us down here before you’ve made your decision; that’s a big help. I thank you for that.
So here are the two examples: I hope you will look carefully at what President George W. Bush did in 2002 when he imposed 30 percent steel tariffs — 30 percent increase — on tariffs from China, South Korea, a couple of other places. The effect was, one, that even though that was only 5 percent of the imported steel, it raised the price of almost all steel in the United States.
Two, at the same time, auto-parts manufacturers who used the steel began to cut jobs and move outside of our country because they could buy the steel there, make the part, and ship the part back in without any tariff. And we found there were 10 times as many people in steel-using industries as there were in steel-producing industries. And so according to the auto manufacturers, they lost more jobs than exist in the steel industry.
So that’s — so the questions would be, will it raise prices —
THE PRESIDENT: Lamar, it didn’t work for Bush, but nothing worked for Bush. (Laughter.)
SENATOR ALEXANDER: Well, no, I wouldn’t–
THE PRESIDENT: It didn’t work for Bush but it worked for others. It did work for others. But you’re right, it did not work for Bush.
SENATOR ALEXANDER: Well, it’s a — I’m not recommending any solution. I’m just saying it’s worth looking at what happened because it backfired, raised prices, and lost jobs.
And then the other 60-second story is, my dad worked for Alcoa in the smelting plant in Tennessee. We don’t have smelting plants for aluminum anymore because you have to use a lot of electricity to make them, and they’re never coming back really. I think we only have six left.
So now we’re lucky enough there to be making auto parts from aluminum, for cars. Jobs are coming back up. But if we put a tariff on the ingots that come in from overseas, that will raise the prices and that will hurt. Our aluminum comes from Canada. None from China. So I hope you’ll look carefully at where the aluminum comes from.
THE PRESIDENT: Okay.
SENATOR ALEXANDER: So thank you very much for —
THE PRESIDENT: And you’re right. Now, I have to say this: Canada has treated us very, very unfairly when it comes to lumber and timber. Very unfairly. So we have to understand that. You know, it’s not just one thing or another. Canada has been very tough on this country when it comes to timber, lumber, and other things.
And they have not been easy when it comes to Wisconsin and our farmers. Because you try and ship product into Canada, if you’re a farmer — if you are a farmer up in Wisconsin and other places — you try and ship your things up to Canada, it’s been a very tough — it’s been a very tough situation for them, I will say that.
But I agree with what you’re saying. It’s very much a double-edged sword.
Ron.
SENATOR JOHNSON: Well, you mentioned Wisconsin, so —
THE PRESIDENT: Good.
SENATOR JOHNSON: — you understand that I was obviously manufacturing for 30-some years. And I’ve exported a lot of products though. The fact of that matter is, Mr. President, Wisconsin operates a trade surplus with both Canada and Mexico, because we not only export manufacturing products but also agricultural products. And trade works very well for Wisconsin.
I agree with the concerns that you just pressed, as well as the concerns of Senator Toomey and Senator Lee. What we have is the basic root cause of this problem is a massive overcapacity — primarily China, that’s true. How do you address that? And I think we need to be very cautious without raising increase — without raising prices.
Senator Alexander was talking about 2002. Spot prices increased somewhere between 69 and 82 percent. Producer prices went up from 19 to 27 percent.
Now, let me add just another dimension to this nobody has really talked about. We’ve talked about jobs; absolutely, we want the highest paying jobs. I think tax reform is going to juice the economy. And with such a tight labor market, I think wages are already increasing.
In Wisconsin, a big manufacturing state, in seven years I have not visited one manufacturer that could hire enough people. That was certainly my experience in the last 20, 25 years. For a host of reasons, we tell our kids you have to get a four-year degree. We pay people not to work. So we do need to be concerned about, in such a tight labor market, do we have enough workers in manufacturing.
So my final point is, it makes no sense for me to try and bring back high labor-content manufacturing to America. We need to do the value added things. And so I would just say, proceed with real caution there. Trade abuses — address those, attack those. Try and figure out how to address this massive over-supply in the steel industry, but do it very carefully, because we have experienced —
THE PRESIDENT: You’re right, Ron. I agree.
SENATOR JOHNSON: Okay.
THE PRESIDENT: I agree with you 100 percent. I do have to say that we do have a pool of 100 million people, of which some of them — many of them want to work; they want to have a job. A lot of them do better not working, frankly, under the laws. And people don’t like to talk about it. But you’re competing against government. And they have great potential. They sort of want to work, but they’re making less if they work than if they stay home and do other things.
So we have to address that situation. That’s a big problem.
But we have a pool of 100 million people, a lot of whom want to work. We will also have a much more merit-based immigration policy, where we’re going to bring in people that are going to be great workers, and they’ll really fill up Foxconn and all of the places. Like, I was very instrumental in getting you Foxconn, as you know, through my friendships with that great company. And they’re going to Wisconsin; it’s going to be incredible. They’re going to employ tremendous numbers of people. They’re going to build one of the biggest plants in the world. So it’s going to be very exciting.
But people will move there, but we do have a big pool of people that want to work, and they can.
Just to address the one other point — we have a trade deficit with Canada. We have a big imbalance of at least $17 billion. And with Mexico, we have an imbalance, we have a trade deficit of $71 billion, and I believe that number is really much higher than that.
I might ask Bob Lighthizer to just discuss that. But were you going to say one other thing, Ron?
SENATOR JOHNSON: Sure. Just as long as you brought up the whole immigration debate, there is absolutely no doubt that we have to fix our horribly broken legal immigration system. One of my proposals is literally a three-year guest worker visa program, managed by the states. Let the states determine what industries — they can set the wage rates, and they can completely control that process.
So I’m hoping, as part of this bipartisan process, that we actually fix our horribly broken legal immigration system so we do have the workers, and it has to be merit-based. So I ask my Democratic colleagues, please work with us, let’s fix the DREAMer problem, but let’s also fix our horribly broken legal immigration system.
THE PRESIDENT: Good. Thank you, Ron.
Yes, go ahead.
SENATOR CASEY: I just want to make a point about — back to 232. I’ll focus on steel 232 in Pennsylvania. In your opening, you talked about the job impact, as well as the national security impact, and I’m glad you raised both. I’ll just focus on national security.
In Western Pennsylvania, as well as in Eastern Pennsylvania, you have two examples among several. But the two are AK Steel in Western Pennsylvania. They are the last remaining manufacturer of electrical steel, meaning the steel that goes into our electricity grid. They’ve been hammered by this, as you know.
In the eastern part of the state, as Senator Young from Indiana mentioned, ArcelorMittal —
THE PRESIDENT: They’ve been hammered by what?
SENATOR CASEY: Hammered by not having the remedy — the 232 remedy.
THE PRESIDENT: Okay.
SENATOR CASEY: To the extent that you can focus on that, I think the steel executives — the letter they sent you on the 1st of February, I think, outlines the problem. But this really is a national security issue.
THE PRESIDENT: Why didn’t the previous administration help the steel workers? Why didn’t the previous administration work on 232?
SENATOR CASEY: Well, look, I think there are a lot of us that had disagreements over the years, with the administration then, about being more aggressive on this issue.
THE PRESIDENT: Tremendous disservice.
SENATOR CASEY: I just hope that in this — I know it’s a 90-day period you’re in, but I hope you can promptly determine it.
THE PRESIDENT: Good. Thank you very much. I appreciate it.
Rob.
SENATOR PORTMAN: Mr. President, I agree with Bob that that’s a good example. AK Steel is the last electrical steel manufacturer; 101 percent increase over the last year in electrical steel coming into our country. It’s a small market, but it’s a critical market. They tell us that if they don’t get relief, they’re going to pull out of this business, so we won’t have the steel that goes into our transformers and our grid.
And so I think it is a good example. But what I would say, sir — and we’ve talked about this before — any response here needs to be targeted, and electrical steel is the place to target it. The other place, I think, is the oil country product that was talked earlier. This is pipe and tube. Eighty-two percent increase there. And, frankly, most is coming from Korea, and Korea doesn’t have a single rig. In other words, they’re taking Chinese steel for the most part, and it’s, in effect, transshipping it to us.
THE PRESIDENT: They’re doing a lot of transshipping.
SENATOR PORTMAN: And that’s hurting our ability to continue to have this energy independence we talked about.
So those are two specific areas where I do think that there’s an opportunity to do something and to use 232, which is a national security, as opposed to 201, which is what President Bush used.
But let me tell you, with regard to rolled steel and with regard to other products, as Senator Brown said, we’ve had some pretty good success by going after them with regard to unfair trade practices. And that’s the Level the Playing Field Act, which is just now being implemented. And as I told you before, I think even stronger enforcement of that would be great because that will enable us —
THE PRESIDENT: Well, they had little enforcement before. We’re very strongly enforcing it now. And, Wilbur, you might want to talk about that. But we are very strongly — but they have had not good enforcement previous to this.
SENATOR PORTMAN: And the second part of this — and you’re right — is with regard to the Enforce Act. And that’s — and again, Ron Wyden and Senator Brown and I and others have worked on this. But what it says is that if a country transships — in other words, sends their steel, say, to Malaysia, which we believe happens with regard to Chinese steel, puts a different stamp on it, “Made in Malaysia,” and then sends it here — we need to be more aggressive in going after them. And it’s just a matter of Customs and Border Protection having so many other responsibilities right now.
But we can do more with our existing laws as well. And I think 232 is part of the overall response, but it needs to be targeted. I agree with what Senator Alexander and others have said about the balance, Senator Toomey and others. You got to be careful because we don’t want to increase the cost to our consumers of all these steel products that go into our other manufacturing. But there are areas, like electrical, like pipe and tube, where we’ve got to stand up and help to defend, in the case of electrical, our last American manufacturer.
THE PRESIDENT: Right. Well, you know, Rob, we have steel coming into our country from countries that don’t even know what steel is. They don’t make it, they never made it. It’s transshipping. It’s coming from China and some others, but mostly from China. And they send it through countries that don’t make steel, and it comes pouring into our country — and free. Free. And it’s a very bad — very bad situation.
Kevin.
REPRESENTATIVE BRADY: Yeah, so, one, I think everyone in this room supports you aggressively holding China accountable for its overcapacity in a major way. Thank you for that.
232 is a little like old-fashioned chemotherapy. It isn’t used as much because it can often do as much damage as good. And an example — it happens all around the country — but we send steel pellets from Corpus Christi over to Austria, to this company that does this amazing job — super-refined, specific job.
We bring it back to Navasota, Texas — my district — refine it even further. Sell it to many American energy companies who use that specialized steel to compete and win against Russia and China and all the other countries. If transactions like that, that are pretty typical around the country, get caught up, in that case we punished three American manufacturing industries for that, all of whom, by the way, are looking at expanding because of your tax reform plan.
THE PRESIDENT: That’s right.
REPRESENTATIVE BRADY: And so my point is — so we have to be really targeted. You have to be really targeted here. Also, we’ve got allies with us against China’s unfair trade practices. We have to be careful, as you look at these decisions, to target it, to make sure our allies are with us as we do this.
THE PRESIDENT: Okay. Very good. Thank you, Kevin.
Go ahead, Rick.
REPRESENTATIVE CRAWFORD: Thank you, Mr. President. One thing I want to point out — we had the conversation about the national security imperative, and I think we’ve looked at it in the context of the defense industry.
And I just wanted to add one thing to that: It’s our ability to address our own inputs — not just addressing the needs of the defense industry, but our ability to produce for our own consumption as we take on infrastructure projects and so on.
THE PRESIDENT: Right. That’s right.
REPRESENTATIVE CRAWFORD: So I think we don’t just need to focus on those percentages but also, broadly, how this impacts our ability to provide for our own inputs.
And then, one other thing I wanted to mention is, 74 percent capacity right now here in the United States. The steel industry is losing market share, and that translates to —
THE PRESIDENT: Rapidly.
REPRESENTATIVE CRAWFORD: — economic loss in communities, as Representative Bost — he and I co-chair the steel caucus, and so we’re very keenly aware of what this can do to these communities when we don’t have that kind of certainty.
THE PRESIDENT: Good. Thank you, Rick. Thank you very much.
Senator.
SENATOR PETERS: Hello, Mr. President. I appreciated your comments about Michigan and the auto industry. I’d like to say that a big reason why those jobs are coming back is because we have the best workers anywhere in the world here.
THE PRESIDENT: Well, that’s also true. I agree.
SENATOR PETERS: That’s why we’re here. And they can build it on time and build it with outstanding qualities, as long as the rules are fair.
So I appreciate this issue. And it should be —
THE PRESIDENT: You do have great workers. The problem is you didn’t have good policy, and that’s why so many jobs left. But now they’re coming back. And they like coming back to Michigan.
SENATOR PETERS: Well, they’d love coming back to Michigan, as long as we have fair rules and —
THE PRESIDENT: Right.
SENATOR PETERS: — so have to continue to push this forward.
I would like to pick up on Senator Alexander’s comments, too, is that we also have to be concerned about the auto parts industry as well.
THE PRESIDENT: Right.
SENATOR PETERS: We have probably more jobs in auto parts in Michigan than any other of the industrial sector, so they all go together.
We’ve got to deal with the steel pricing issue. I agree with everything that’s been said here. But then we can’t have the dumping of auto parts that will take away Michigan jobs as well as jobs around the country.
THE PRESIDENT: You’re right.
SENATOR PETERS: And if I could just bring up one other issue that I think we should take a look at. I’m working in a bipartisan way with Senator Burr on an issue related to the Commerce Department having the ability to self-initiate trade enforcement actions smaller than industries like steel or aluminum or washing machines — is that we have small businesses that don’t have the resources, quite frankly, to bring a trade enforcement case —
THE PRESIDENT: Good point.
SENATOR PETERS: — to go through the lawyers to do that. In Michigan, for example, we have cherries. Right now, we’ve got the dumping of cherries that’s making it very difficult for our growers in Michigan. But they don’t have the resources to bring those kinds of enforcement actions.
So we’re working on legislation to give Secretary Ross, the Department of Commerce, more tools to help our small businesses.
THE PRESIDENT: I like that.
SENATOR PETERS: And I’d love to have your help.
THE PRESIDENT: You have my help. I think it’s a fantastic idea. Because you’re right — they can’t hire the lawyers, it’s too small. But it’s — you know, in a double way, it’s very, very big.
Wilbur, are you working on that?
SECRETARY ROSS: Yes, sir.
THE PRESIDENT: Good.
SECRETARY ROSS: As you know, for the first time in many years, the Commerce Department did initiate — self-initiate — it happened — it was in a big industry. It was in aluminum.
But there are limitations to what a conventional trade case can do, and the main limitation is it doesn’t prevent people from the transshipment through other countries. And of lot of what 232 can do for us is to solve that problem.
And 232 doesn’t have to mean the same tariff on every single country. It doesn’t have to mean the same tariff on every single product. It can be applied in a much more surgical way. And we presented the President with a range of alternatives that goes from a big tariff on everything from everywhere, to very selective tariffs from a very selective group of countries.
There are one of two countries that figure quite prominently in all of the lists, and those names will come as no surprise to you. But, for example —
THE PRESIDENT: And the problem you have with that, though, is transshipping.
SECRETARY ROSS: Yes.
THE PRESIDENT: You think you’re going to put a pinpoint on a country, but then they ship it to other countries that you’re not even thinking about.
SECRETARY ROSS: Right. And so —
THE PRESIDENT: So you have to be careful with that.
SECRETARY ROSS: Yeah. So what the 232 would let us do is to have quotas on the countries that we weren’t putting a tariff. (Inaudible) at what they’re shipping in now. So it’s not going to restrict supply, but it would prevent the evildoers from transshipping more goods through that country.
THE PRESIDENT: Evildoers. That’s a good word. Of which there are many. (Laughter.)
SECRETARY ROSS: Yes, there are — there are, Mr. President.
THE PRESIDENT: You’re doing a good job, Wilbur. Thank you.
SECRETARY ROSS: Thank you, Mr. President.
THE PRESIDENT: We’ve been very — we’ve been tough.
Go ahead. Fellas.
REPRESENTATIVE JOHNSON: Mr. President, the comments that have been made here — been made today about balance is absolutely essential. I mean, managing job creation and controlling cost at the same time has got to be the major factors in this mix.
Two points that I’ll make.
THE PRESIDENT: And deficits too? Deficits too?
REPRESENTATIVE JOHNSON: Absolutely.
THE PRESIDENT: You know, there are some people who don’t believe in deficits. They think it doesn’t matter. To me, I think it matters a lot.
REPRESENTATIVE JOHNSON: I think it matters a lot.
Two points that I’ll make. One, to, kind of, put a stamp on what Senator Portman said, AK Steel is the only manufacturer in America that makes the electrical steel that is necessary for the transformers that feed and produce electricity in our electric grid. China — we are at risk of losing that industry; and if we lose that, we are absolutely, potentially at hostage by the Chinese for management and maintenance of our electrical grid.
Number two, you’ve made a big case, and I think you have, rightfully so, told the world that America is open for business. And the regulatory reforms that you’ve done, the tax reforms that you have done, has put America back in business.
One of the biggest businesses that is promoting job creation today is the oil and gas industry.
THE PRESIDENT: Right.
REPRESENTATIVE JOHNSON: And in Eastern and Southeastern Ohio, big projects like ethane cracker plants, they require a tremendous amount of steel.
We’ve got to make sure that whatever we do in this formula keeps cost down because those projects are huge. I mean, they are massive. You’re talking about $6- to $8-billion projects, and big cost increases in steel could be a big deal.
So we got to balance the job creation with the cost.
THE PRESIDENT: I agree. I agree. And I know that area very well. You’re right.
Yes.
REPRESENTATIVE SMITH: Thank you, Mr. President. At home in Southeast Missouri, we have a real example of where we lost 900 jobs in March of 2016 because our aluminum smelter closed. And I believe that these aluminum smelters can be reopened.
I don’t fall underneath the premise —
THE PRESIDENT: And for a different reason, too. Because of what we’ve done, our energy prices are going so low, our electric costs are going so low, that other countries aren’t going to be able to compete with us. We’re really doing a great job of bringing them down. And a lot of that had to do with the tax cuts, but it has to do with lots of other things, too.
REPRESENTATIVE SMITH: Exactly.
THE PRESIDENT: Go ahead. Tell me about that.
REPRESENTATIVE SMITH: When you look at Southeast Missouri, the median income household is $40,000. It’s one of the poorest congressional districts in the country. And when we lost 900 jobs, with the average salary of $70,000 a year, that hit home in the Bootheel of Missouri.
And without a doubt, if you just look at the numbers of the aluminum production in China that in 2000 was 10 percent of the world’s production, and in 2015 was 54 percent, there’s a problem, Mr. President. And I believe that we can have the production back, and we have a vacant facility in New Madrid, Missouri that we want to open, and we want to create more jobs.
And I applaud you for looking at 232, and looking at a reasonable approach to make sure that we’re open for business in all industries, not just one.
THE PRESIDENT: Well we all have to remember that there is no tax or there is no tariff, if they come in and build plants in this country. So there is no — we’re just talking about something, but there is nothing.
Steel is a little bit different than a car. It’s a little bit different than a washing machine or any of the other things that we’re doing or talking about doing. But nevertheless, you build your factory, you build your plant in the United States, there is no tax. So that’s a big difference. That’s why I think you’re going to see General Motors — they’re coming back. A lot of companies are coming back, and they’re coming back to areas that you represent. It’s a good feeling. That’s a really good feeling.
Maybe I’ll just have Bob finish up. Do you want to do that? Roy, were you going to say something real fast?
SENATOR BLUNT: I was just going to say, like the AK Steel, we need to be very careful here. There is only one American producer, but there are lots of American buyers. Those electric motors in the washing machine, the generators, the grid — all of that is dependent, currently, on a lot of electric steel coming from somewhere else.
I think the balance of keeping that company in business —
THE PRESIDENT: It’s a good balance.
SENATOR BLUNT: — while you keep all these other companies — it’s going to take a long time to either expand or have more competitors here. So we need to be very thoughtful about all the other buyers of that product that has only one American source. So it is a great example, but it’s a great example to remember that washing machine motor, as well as all the other things that electric steel is used for, sir.
THE PRESIDENT: That’s a good point. The word “balance” is a very important word.
SENATOR BROWN: Can I add one other point —
THE PRESIDENT: Yes, go ahead.
SENATOR BROWN: — taking off on what Roy said. As you apply — as you and Secretary Ross apply 232 — and I understand the cautionary notes from some of my colleagues — I think it’s important that we always keep in mind China’s excess capacity. And China’s excess capacity doesn’t mean you aim 232 just at China. Because China’s excess capacity, as you point out, is spread elsewhere. And the best example was your comment on oil country, tubular steel through Korea. As Rob said, Korea doesn’t drill itself. It’s just the pass-through point.
But because China’s excess capacity has, in some ways, affected steel production — or steel sales, not production — throughout the world, it’s important that 232 be aimed at China’s excess capacity and countries all over the world.
THE PRESIDENT: Right. I agree with that. Maybe you could just — a very brief discussion of where you are with NAFTA. Because this is the group that is very interested in NAFTA.
AMBASSADOR LIGHTHIZER: Well, I’ve spoken to some of these members here. And, Mr. President, I think we’re making progress on NAFTA. There was a lot of anxiety at one point as to whether or not we’d be in a position where would have to withdraw in order to get a good agreement.
Our view is, number one, that NAFTA has not served the United States well in all respects. It has served some people very well, but other people and overall it has not done a good job. I think we’re making real headway. I feel like, particularly with respect to the Mexicans, that we are making headway. We have a number of issues that we still have to work our way through, but I’m hopeful that we’ll be in the positon — I think that most important — to get a good deal, one that you’ll find acceptable.
But most importantly, I want it to be an agreement that the vast majority of Republicans and Democrats support. I think this is very important that we have a new paradigm in steel, that we get 20 or 25 Democrats in the Senate and a large number of them in the House to vote for this deal, as well. Of course (inaudible) and I think that’s very much in reach; it’s something that we can do.
THE PRESIDENT: Well, I want to thank everybody very much. I really would like to see you come back with a counterproposal on the infrastructure. I think we’re going to get that done. I really believe that’s — we’re going to get a lot of Democrats; we’re going to get a lot of Republicans. We’re going to get it done. It’s something we should do. We have to fix our country. We have to fix our roads and our tunnels and bridges and everything.
So, if you can, work together on that. And I am ready, willing, and able. It’s very important.
And then, of course, this week I know you’re working very hard on DACA. Everybody in the room wants DACA. And let’s see if we can get that done, and it would be a great achievement. They’ve been talking about it for many years, and, if we could do it, it would be a great achievement. And it would be something — on a humane-basis, would be excellent.
So I want to thank you all for being here. If you have any suggestions, call me, call Gary, call Wilbur, call Bob. But I very much appreciate you being here. And if it’s necessary, we’ll have another meeting to iron out some points.
But on infrastructure, that is such a natural for us to get done, and I think we can probably do it.
Thank you all very much. Thank you.
END
12:37 P.M. EST | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
A new peace process will be launched on September 1 to resolve Turkey’s decades-long Kurdish conflict with the United States and the Kurdistan Regional Government acting as guarantors, according to İlhami Işık, a Kurdish man who reportedly has brokered several talks between Turkish officials and the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in the past.
Işık told independent online news channel Medyascope on Thursday that the new process would be totally different from those in the past, as domestic, regional, and international dynamics had changed significantly since 2015.
The Turkish Justice and Development Party (AKP) government launched a peace process in 2013 to solve the long Kurdish conflict in the country after over 30 years of fighting. The PKK launched an armed separatist insurrection in 1984, and has since changed its objectives to focus on Kurdish rights rather than independence.
The government initiative raised hopes for peace in Turkey as it included negotiations with the imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan, leading the PKK to announce its forces' withdrawal from Turkey.
The process came to an end when a group allegedly linked to the PKK carried out an attack killing two policemen in July 2015, and a string of injustices against Turkey’s Kurdish community, which makes up roughly 15 percent of the country’s population, followed thereafter.
Hopes for renewed peace processes revived when the Turkish government in May lifted restrictions on Öcalan, allowing him to see his lawyers for the first time in eight years. Öcalan has been held in long periods of isolation in a prison on an island in the Marmara Sea since his capture in 1999.
Just three days before controversial Istanbul mayoral elections on June 23, Öcalan in a letter leaked by Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency called on the predominantly Kurdish People’s Democratic Party (HDP) to follow a “third way” rather than taking sides in the struggle between the ruling and opposition blocs.
The letter of Öcalan was seen by many as a move of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) to attract Kurdish votes in Istanbul polls. But the HDP said the letter did not mean a strategy for elections but a post-election strategy. The party stepped up efforts to form what Öcalan called a “democratic alliance” in Turkey, after the opposition candidate declared victory in Istanbul on June 23.
Işık told Medyascope that the government’s efforts to tilt votes in favour by using Öcalan’s letter had damaged the new peace process before it had started, but that damage could be mended in a short time.
“All regional actors apart from Iran are placing pressure, they want a new process,” Işık said. “It will be a multi-layered process that will open the way for groups supporting democracy,” he said.
Işık’s statements were in line with what Nagehan Alçı, a columnist of Habertürk news site with close ties to the government, told Kurdish Rudaw television on June 21.
“A very credible source confirmed it to me,” Alçı said. The new process will involve both Öcalan and Nechirvan Barzani, the newly elected president of the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) in Iraq, she said.
Cemil Bayık, a founding member and top leader of the PKK, said this week in an article he penned for the Washington Post that the Turkish state and the PKK had before them a rare opportunity to move a decades-long dispute toward a lasting solution.
The PKK is not naive enough to maintain that the Kurdish question can be solved through dialogue with Turkey’s ruling AKP alone, Bayık said, adding that it remains committed to a political solution of the Kurdish question within Turkish borders. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
world
Updated: Aug 30, 2018 15:32 IST
‘Archived’ heat trapped below the surface of the Arctic has the potential to melt the entire region’s sea ice, scientists warn.
The study, published in the journal Science Advances, shows that Arctic sea ice is not just threatened by the melting of ice around its edges.
Warmer water that originated hundreds of miles away has penetrated deep into the interior of the Arctic, researchers found.
“We document a striking ocean warming in one of the main basins of the interior Arctic Ocean, the Canadian Basin,” said Mary-Louise Timmermans, a professor at Yale University in the US.
The upper ocean in the Canadian Basin has seen a two-fold increase in heat content over the past 30 years, the researchers said.
They traced the source to waters hundreds of miles to the south, where reduced sea ice has left the surface ocean more exposed to summer solar warming.
In turn, Arctic winds are driving the warmer water north, but below the surface waters.
“This means the effects of sea-ice loss are not limited to the ice-free regions themselves, but also lead to increased heat accumulation in the interior of the Arctic Ocean that can have climate effects well beyond the summer season,” Timmermans said.
“Presently this heat is trapped below the surface layer. Should it be mixed up to the surface, there is enough heat to entirely melt the sea-ice pack that covers this region for most of the year,” she said. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
A college fired its LGBTQ director after the former director tweeted he was wary of “white gays and well-meaning women” and that “police are meant to service and protect white supremacy,” according to a Friday report.
Jan Collins-Eaglin, an associate dean at Pomona College in California, emailed the college community July 8 informing students and faculty that the college was restarting its search for a director of the Queer Resource Center, according to Claremont Courier.
“I am writing today to let you know that we have reopened the national search for the director of the Queer Resource Center,” said Collins-Eaglin in the email obtained by Claremont Courier. “Our priorities for the QRC remain the same—to maintain in a seamless fashion the robust services of the Center.”
The associate dean said that the college had known about Higgins’ tweets – it didn’t specify which ones – but also noted that the former director brought “an important voice to the support of LGBTQIA students, and especially [queer and transgender people of color], and that he approaches his work with passion and concern.”
But Miriam Feldblum, dean of students at Pomona, shared in another email that her vision and that of Collins-Eaglin to support “all LGBTQIA students” diverged from that of Higgins.
Aside from the two aforementioned statements, Higgins also linked taking pride in heterosexuality to celebrating homophobia, rape culture, and transphobia. Students raised concerns with these remarks, suggesting that they thought the remarks would predispose the former director to discriminating against them based on their identity. (RELATED: College LGBTQ Director Unsure Of ‘White Gays And Well-Meaning White Women’)
The Daily Caller News Foundation reached out to Pomona College for comment, but received none in time for press.
Follow Rob Shimshock on Twitter
Connect with Rob Shimshock on Facebook
Send tips to [email protected].
Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact [email protected]. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
EA’s Star Wars Battlefront will not feature any dedicated voice chat system on either consoles or PC.
In a recent tweet, EA confirmed that players picking up the title next month should be prepared to simply use their respective console’s party chat functionality when coordinating the attack plans of their squads.
@moodyknowsall Battlefront will utilize the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One built-in party system for in-game chat. — EAStarWars (@EAStarWars) October 13, 2015
EA has also informed PC users that they will need to choose their “favorite third party software to communicate with friends on PC.”
The news seems a bit odd for a game that is best experienced when working as a team — especially on the incredibly difficult Rebel side of a 40-player Walker Assault match. While it may be true that many people would choose to chat in a party among friends anyway, the decision pigeon-holes players into either a 12 or 8 player chat limit on Xbox One and PS4 respectively in game types that allow up to 20 players to compete on a team together.
The Star Wars Battlefront beta ended today, after having more than 9 million users participate. The full game is set to launch November 17, 2015 on Xbox One, PS4, and PC. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
All the best indie games on sale on the Nintendo eshop!
They’ve done it again, there’s an indie game sale on the Nintendo eshop! The ‘Highlights of eshop’ sale is on the Nintendo eshop and these are all the massive indie games you should be buying!
The indie game sale on the Nintendo eshop runs until October 13th across all of the European eshop stores.
Stardew Valley From £10.99/€13.99 – To £8.79/€11.19 -20%
Cuphead From £16.99/€19.99 – To £13.49/€15.99 -20%
Hollow Knight From £10.99/€14.99 – To £6.59/€8.99 -40%
Celeste From £17.99/€19.99 – To £10.79/€11.99 -40%
Hellblade Senua’s Sacrifice From £24.99/€29.99 – To £19.99/€20.99 -30%
Slay the Spire From £19.99/€24.99 – To £15.99/€19.99 -20%
Dead Cells From £22.49/€24.99 – To £17.99/€19.99 -20%
Inside From £17.99/€19.99 – To £12.05/€13.39 -33%
Yooka Laylee From £34.99/€39.99 – To £17.49/€19.99 -50%
Wargroove From £15.99/€16.99 – To £9.59/€10.19 -40%
Bastion From £10.99€12.49 – To £2.19/€2.49 -80%
Transistor From €16.79 – To €3.35 -80%
Goonya Fighter From £20.29/€22.49 – To £3.87/€4.29 -80%
Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons From £9.99/ €14.99 – To £7.49/€11.24 -25%
OTTTD: Over The Top Tower Defence From £5.99/ €6.99 – To £1.67/€1.95 -72%
Black Paradox From £13.49/ €14.99 – To £6.74/ €7.49 -50%
Cook, Serve Delicious 2 From £12.99/€14.39 – To £6.49/€7.19 -50%
The Mystery of Woolley Mountain From £9.99/€10.99 – To £2.49/€2.74 -75%
Monster Slayers From £13.49/€14.99 – To £6.74/€7.49 -50%
Untitled Goose Game From £17.49/€19.99 – To £13.49/€14.99 -25%
Blazing Chrome From £15.29/€16.99 – To £10.70/€11.89 -30%
What Remains of Edith Finch From €19.99 – To €15.99 -20%
Donut County From £10.99/€11.99 – To £7.69/€8.39 -30%
The Adventure Pals From £10.79/€11.99 – To £5.39/€5.99 -50%
YIIK: A Post Modern RPG From £17.99/€19.99 – To £12.59/€13.99 -30%
I’m basically scratching the surface of games that are on sale right now! Let me know what indie games you pick up in the Nintendo eshop sale.
Hit me up on Twitter or come and join the awesome Switch Indie Fix Discord Community.
Like this: Like Loading... | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Alexandre Bissonnette is suspected of carrying out the Quebec City mosque massacre alone
White university student Alexandre Bissonnette has been named as the sole suspect accused of killing six men at a Quebec City mosque.
Bissonnette, 27, was arrested alongside Moroccan-Canadian Mohamed el Khadir on Sunday night after six men were shot dead at the Quebec City Islamic Cultural Center during evening prayers.
On Monday afternoon, Sûreté du Québec, the investigating police force, confirmed one of the men was no longer facing charges.
A source later told Reuters police were looking at Bissonnette as a 'lone wolf'.
The political sciences and anthropology student, who is from the affluent Quebec City suburb Cap-Rouge, will appear in court sometime on Monday or Tuesday.
Other students described him to DailyMail.com as a pro-Trump loner but a timid man who didn't seem capable of committing an act of terror.
Six men aged between 39 and 60 were killed at the mosque and five remain in a critical condition in intensive care at Quebec City's Hôpital de l'Enfant-Jésus after the killings on Sunday night.
Twelve others had less serious injuries and another 39 escaped from the mosque unharmed. Among the victims is a government IT worker, the mosque's concierge, a halal butcher who worked next door and an Algerian-Canadian professor from the university where Bissonnette is enrolled.
They were shot as they observed evening prayers at the mosque which said security had become a 'major' concern.
El Khadir was picked up by police at the mosque but Bissonnette fled in his Mitsubishi and was arrested in nearby Ile d'Orleans around 20 minutes later after calling 911, Le Soleil reports. Police found two rifles and an AK-47 in the car. Court clerk Isabelle Ferland earlier identified the pair as the two men arrested in connection with the shooting.
Police are not seeking anyone else in connection with the attack which was is being treated as an act of terror.
Scroll down for video
Bissonnette fled the scene in his Mitsubishi but called 911 himself later to turn himself in, local media reported. His car was spotted on the side of the road with a police vehicle behind it on Sunday night
Bissonnette is a student at Laval University. A friend of Bissonnette's said he was pro-Trump and conservative but did not think he was capable of violence
Crime scene: Two people were initially arrested for the attack at the Quebec City Islamic Cultural Center on Sunday night. Police continued working at the mosque late into the night (above)
A police officer stood guard at the men's entrance to the mosque, one of the largest in Quebec, late on Sunday night as forensic investigations continued
Quebec City Police continued to work at the scene late into the night on Sunday as investigators questioned Bissonnette and Mohamed el Khadir
A classmate told DailyMail.com that Bissonnette was pro-Donald Trump and that they had engaged in political arguments about the president.
'Based on the conversations that I had with him during the American presidential campaign, it's true he is pro-Trump,' the student, who asked to remain anonymous, said.
He added that he Bissonnette had 'never demonstrated' a violent side but that he didn't 'fit in' among peers.
Fellow students said Bissonnette didn't 'fit in well' at the university where he is studying political sciences and anthropology
'Yes, he was conservative in the political sense but despite the profound differences between us, he never showed or suggested that political violence or terrorism was something he was capable of.
'He didn't fit in well at university.'
Laval University's rector said he would would assist authorities in any way he could but has not yet confirmed Bissonnette's enrollment. Neither he nor el Khadir was known to police before Sunday night's atrocity.
Police searched Bissonnette's home in Cap Rouge overnight. They were seen searching el Khadir's apartment which is less than a kilometer from the mosque on Monday, TVA reports.
The shooting came as protests erupted across the US in response to President Donald Trump's immigration ban against seven Muslim-majority countries which Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau condemned earlier on Sunday.
Prime Minister Trudeau gave an emotional speech at Ottawa's House of Commons on Monday, telling peers: 'Make no mistake, this was a terrorist attack.'
The parliament observed a minute's silence to honor the victims. The prime minister also issued a message of support to the country's Muslim community.
'Make no mistake, this was a terrorist attack': Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau gave an emotional speech in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill on Monday
'Know that we value you. You enrich our shared country in immeasurable ways. It is your home.
'Last night's horrible crime against the Muslim community was an act of terror committed against Canada and against all Canadians.
'We will grieve with you. We will defend you. We will love you. And we will stand with you,' he said.
President Trump called Prime Minister Trudeau to offer his condolences on Monday afternoon.
'This is another senseless act of violence that cannot be tolerated. We condemn this attack in the strongest possible terms.
Laval University professor Khaled Belkacemi was among those who were killed
'It's a terrible reminder of why we must remain vigilant, and why the president is taking steps to be proactive instead of reactive when it comes to our nation's safety and security.
'We are of course praying for those injured in the attack, and are keeping in close contact with officials in Quebec and Canada,' White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said.
Quebec Police have given no suggested motive for the killings but confirmed it was being treated as an act of terror. They are also looking in to whether a pig's head left outside the mosque last year is connected to the incident.
'We're still in the early stages of the investigation, we're still trying to determine all the facts associated with the incident and not interfere with the progress of the investigation so we're not going to discuss the specifics at this time,' Martin Plante of the Gendarmerie royale du Canada said at a press conference on Monday morning.
Among the victims is Laval University professor Khaled Belkacemi who worked in the agricultural sciences department.
'I want to express on behalf of the entire university community my profound sadness in announcing the death of Khaled Belkacemi, who was a victim of the attack at the Quebec City Islamic Cultural Center.
'I echo the comments of the head of the FSAA in honoring the kind and professional skills of our colleague. He was a passionate and engaged in the faculty's work.
'His remarkable body of work will outlive his unexpected death which has saddened us profoundly,' rector Denis Briere said.
Two thousand police officers were deployed across the city on Sunday as a precaution after the deadly shootings. Police continued to patrol the streets surrounding the mosque on Monday
Police continued to search the perimeter around the mosque on Monday as the suspect awaited his first court appearance
A police officer searches beneath a car outside the Quebec Islamic Cultural Center in the aftermath of the shooting
A large police presence remained at the mosque on Sunday as investigators continued to work inside and around the city
Two men were arrested on Sunday but police are yet to reveal a possible motive. Officers remained at the mosque on Monday
Mourners began laying flowers at the scene of the attack on Monday as authorities worked to piece together how it unfolded
As investigators continued to work at the mosque on Monday (above) police were led to a home in a residential street 10 minutes away by one of the suspects
'MAKE NO MISTAKE, THIS WAS A TERRORIST ATTACK' Prime Minister Justin Trudeau leads a minute's silence in the Ottawa House of Commons on Monday after the attack Prime Minister Justin Trudeau held a minute's silence for those killed in the attack at the House of Commons on Monday after an emotional speech. 'Make no mistake, this was a terrorist attack,' he said, before issuing a heartfelt message to the country's Muslim community. 'Know that we value you. You enrich our shared country in immeasurable ways. It is your home. 'Last night's horrible crime against the Muslim community was an act of terror committed against Canada and against all Canadians. 'We will grieve with you. We will defend you. We will love you. And we will stand with you,' he said. On Sunday, Prime Minister Trudeau released a statement immediately after the attack where he deemed it an act of terror on Muslims. 'It was with tremendous shock, sadness and anger that I heard of this evening’s tragic and fatal shooting at the Centre culturel islamique de Québec located in the Ste-Foy neighbourhood of the city of Québec. 'We condemn this terrorist attack on Muslims in a centre of worship and refuge. 'On behalf of all Canadians, Sophie and I offer our deepest condolences to the family and friends of all those who have died, and we wish a speedy recovery to those who have been injured. 'While authorities are still investigating and details continue to be confirmed, it is heart-wrenching to see such senseless violence. Diversity is our strength, and religious tolerance is a value that we, as Canadians, hold dear. 'Muslim-Canadians are an important part of our national fabric, and these senseless acts have no place in our communities, cities and country. Canadian law enforcement agencies will protect the rights of all Canadians, and will make every effort to apprehend the perpetrators of this act and all acts of intolerance. 'Tonight, we grieve with the people of Ste-Foy and all Canadians.' Advertisement
He confirmed one of the suspects had called police himself but refused to give any more details. 'The suspect dialed 911 and identified himself as being involved with the incident.'
Prime Minister Trudeau earlier described the mass killing as a 'terrorist attack on Muslims'.
'We condemn this terrorist attack on Muslims in a center of worship and refuge. While authorities are still investigating and details continue to be confirmed, it is heart-wrenching to see such senseless violence.
'Diversity is our strength, and religious tolerance is a value that we, as Canadians, hold dear.
'Muslim-Canadians are an important part of our national fabric, and these senseless acts have no place in our communities, cities and country.
'Canadian law enforcement agencies will protect the rights of all Canadians, and will make every effort to apprehend the perpetrators of this act and all acts of intolerance.
'Tonight, we grieve with the people of Ste-Foy and all Canadians.'
Vigils were been planned to take place on Monday across the country as the first harrowing details of the shooting emerged.
Survivors: Among those pictured leaving the mosque after the attack on Sunday evening were young boys
People gathered on mounds of snow outside the mosque as police taped off the scene on Sunday night
Armed police stayed at the scene overnight to patrol it as others worked inside the mosque. Security at mosques across the US was heightened in response to the slayings
The mosque's vice president Mohamed Labidi choked back tears as he admitted security had been a 'major' concern for staff
Archbishop of Quebec Cardinal Gerald LaCroix wept as he was embraced by Pope Francis on Monday at the Santa Marta Residence at the Vatican
The flag at Peace Tower in Ottawa was lowered to half-mast on Monday in memory of the victims
Quebec Prime Minister Philippe Couillard (right) issued a message to Muslim citizens on Monday in the wake of the attack, telling them at a press conference: 'We are with you, this is your home, we are all Quebecers'
The mosque was attacked at around 8pm Sunday evening while around 50 people prayed inside
Witnesses told how the killer burst into the mosque dressed in black waterproof jacket at around 8pm.
The mosque's president Mohamed Yangui was left in total shock by the killings. 'Why is this happening here? This is barbaric,' he said.
Worshiper Ali Hamadi said he left the mosque a few minutes before the shooting but that his friend, married father-of-three Abdelkrim Hassen, died in the attack.
Mosque officials spoke of the tragedy on Monday at a press conference where they admitted being scared of such attacks in the past.
'It's a very, very big tragedy for us. We have a sadness we cannot express,' Vice President Mohamed Labidi said as he choked back tears.
NYPD INCREASES PATROLS AROUND PLACES OF WORSHIP The New York Police Department is stepping up patrols at mosques and other places of worship in the city after six people were shot dead in a mosque in Quebec City, Canada. 'NYPD is providing additional protection for mosques in the city. All New Yorkers should be vigilant. If you see something, say something,' New York City Mayor Bill Blasio said on Twitter. 'Our prayers are with the people of Quebec City as they deal with a terrible attack on a mosque. We must stand together,' Blasio said in another tweet. Earlier de Blasio sent a message directly to Muslims living in the city: 'To my fellow New Yorkers who are Muslim: New York City will protect you. The NYPD will protect you. We will fight all hatred and bias.' The department says it's monitoring the situation in Quebec City. Advertisement
Mohamed Oudghiri normally attends prayers but missed Sunday's prayers. He told journalists: 'We are not safe here'
A man holds a sign that reads 'la paix pas la guerre' or 'peace, not war' near a Quebec city mosque after the deadly shooting
NYPD INCREASES PATROLS AROUND PLACES OF WORSHIP The New York Police Department is stepping up patrols at mosques and other places of worship in the city after six people were shot dead in a mosque in Quebec City, Canada. 'NYPD is providing additional protection for mosques in the city. All New Yorkers should be vigilant. If you see something, say something,' New York City Mayor Bill Blasio said on Twitter. 'Our prayers are with the people of Quebec City as they deal with a terrible attack on a mosque. We must stand together,' Blasio said in another tweet. Earlier de Blasio sent a message directly to Muslims living in the city: 'To my fellow New Yorkers who are Muslim: New York City will protect you. The NYPD will protect you. We will fight all hatred and bias.' The department says it's monitoring the situation in Quebec City. Advertisement
'Security at our mosque was our major, major concern. But we were caught off guard,' he added.
Police stood guard at the men's entrance to the mosque on Monday after putting up a perimeter the night before and there has been an increase in security at places of worship around the country.
Other cities are upping security in light of recent attacks at Muslim places of worship. New York City mayor Bill de Blasio said on Twitter: 'The awful attack in Quebec is not an outlier.
'Today, a mosque in Texas was burned to the ground. We must stop those who seek to divide us.'NYPD is providing additional protection for mosques in the city. All New Yorkers should be vigilant. If you see something, say something.'
The Islamic Center of Victoria was ablaze at around 2am on Saturday. Local fire fighters are yet to reveal what started the fire.
Quebec premier Philippe Couillard said there will be solidarity rallies across the region on Monday and says the province's people will all be together to express horror
French President Francois Hollande on Monday condemned 'in the strongest possible terms' what he called an 'odious attack'.
A pig's head was left outside the Quebec City Islamic Cultural Center in June. Police are investigating whether it is connected to the shooting
'It's the spirit of peace and openness of the people of Quebec that the terrorists wanted to hit,' added Hollande.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel's spokesman condemned the 'despicable'. Steffen Seibert said the German leader was shocked by the shooting.
Seibert said: 'If the killers intended to set people of different faiths against each other or to divide them, they must not and will not succeed in that.
'We stand in mourning beside the Muslim community in Quebec.'
A pig's head was left at the mosque last year during the holy month of Ramadan in another heinous attack.
Like France, Quebec has struggled at times to reconcile its secular identity with a rising Muslim population, many of them North African emigrants.
Incidents of Islamophobia have increased in Quebec in recent years. In 2013, police investigated after a mosque in the Saguenay region of Quebec was splattered with what was believed to be pig blood.
In the neighboring province of Ontario, a mosque was set on fire in 2015, a day after an attack by gunmen and suicide bombers in Paris.
Yesterday, a Texas mosque was ravaged by a fire just hours after President Donald Trump signed an executive order restricting migration from seven predominantly Muslim countries.
A clerk at a convenience store spotted smoke and flames billowing from the Islamic Center of Victoria at around 2am on Saturday.
The fire department spent more than four hours battling the blaze. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Asio officers secured thousands of sensitive government cabinet documents at ABC offices in Canberra and Brisbane after they were found in a locked filing cabinet bought from a second-hand shop.
The Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet launched an urgent investigation on Wednesday after the ABC revealed it had obtained papers covering details of five federal government cabinet meetings over a decade.
Around 1am on Thursday, Asio officers brought a safe to the public broadcaster’s bureaus at Parliament House and in Brisbane so the documents could be kept securely.
The trove, some classified “top secret”, was sold cheaply at a second-hand shop in Canberra, which stocked ex-government furniture. The filing cabinets were unlocked with a drill months later.
The deputy prime minister, Barnaby Joyce, said the person responsible for losing the documents will have serious questions to answer.
“Obviously someone’s had a shocker and the investigation will find out exactly how this happened,” he told ABC radio on Wednesday.
Cabinet papers are legally supposed to remain secret for 20 years after their production.
“In the process of running a country, there are things which go awry. This is one of them,” Joyce said.
The ABC said it had chosen not to publish many of the documents because of their classified nature.
The former prime minister Tony Abbott said he believed a junior or mid-ranking departmental officer was to blame and insisted they “pay a price”.
“Not so much a cabinet leak as a leaked cabinet – that seems to be the problem,” Abbott told 2GB radio. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
An internal Cisco document (.pdf) leaked to reporters on the eve of a Senate human rights hearing reveals that Cisco engineers regarded the Chinese government's rigid internet censorship program as an opportunity to do more business with the repressive regime.
The 90-page document is an internal presentation that Cisco engineers and staffers in China mulled over in 2002 as the central government was upgrading its local, state and provincial public safety and security network infrastructure. Under the category "Cisco Opportunities," the document provides bullet point suggestions for how it might service China's censorship system called the "Golden Shield", and better known in the West as the Great Firewall of China.
China's "Golden Shield" project was one of several government-run commercial opportunities for Cisco in 2002.
Credit: CiscoThe document is the first evidence that the networking giant has marketed its routers to China specifically as a tool of repression. It reinforces the double-edged role that Americans' technological ingenuity plays in the rest of the world. Companies including Cisco, Yahoo, Microsoft and Google have faced criticism for cooperating to various degrees with the repressive Chinese regime, and the document leak on Monday came one day before a Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing into U.S. technology companies' participation in foreign government censorship programs.
"If you know ahead of time that a sale could lead to human rights violations, and there's no way of mitigating that, maybe you shouldn't offer it to that entity," says Arvind Ganesan, a director at the nonprofit Human Rights Watch, who called on Cisco to conduct a global audit for similar marketing behavior.
One of Golden Shield's stated goals in the Cisco presentation was to
"combat 'Falun Gong' evil religion and other hostiles," – a statement that was attributed to Runsen Li, the Chinese government information technology chief in charge of developing the project.
Mark Chandler, Cisco's senior vice president of legal services, said during the Tuesday Senate hearing that he was "appalled" and "disappointed" when he saw that quote in the presentation.
"It is very regrettable that one of our engineers quoted directly from Mr. Runsen Li, the Chinese government's head of IT for the Golden
Shield project in this internal presentation," said Terry Alberstein, a senior director of corporate communications at Cisco. "They do not represent Cisco's views, principles or its sales and marketing strategy or approach. They were merely inserted in that presentation to capture the goals of the Chinese government in that specific project, which was one of many discussed in that 2002 presentation."
Cisco went on to sell about $100,000
worth of routers and switches that became part of the Golden Shield project, Alberstein said. But he insisted the company did not customize them for China's censorship needs.
"we> The Tuesday hearing was chaired by Illinois Democrat Dick Durbin, who said during his opening statement that U.S. companies have a "moral obligation to protect freedom of expression."
The senator's staff is exploring the possibility of introducing legislation that would attempt to tackle the issue, said Max Gleischman, Durbin's press secretary.
In December, the House Foreign Affairs Committee approved HR 275, a related bill. Its sponsor, Republican congressman Chris Smith of New Jersey, wants the House to pass the legislation before the Olympics commence this August in Beijing.
Among other things, the proposed law would make it a crime for U.S. companies to turn over their customers' personal information to repressive governments.
See Also: | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Kid Rock’s Big Ass Honky Tonk Rock N’ Roll Steakhouse will not shut its doors despite the global spread of the deadly coronavirus pandemic. It’s one of several bars in the area that has opted to stay open, despite a request from Nashville’s mayor that businesses work with health care officials to limit the spread of COVID-19. More than 7,000 people have died from the respiratory infection in recent months. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Major X and Deadpool creator Rob Liefeld is taking on an iconic title for IDW Publishing.
SNAKE EYES: DEADGAME, coming in early 2020, will mark Liefeld’s first G.I. JOE story. Details of the storyline remain under wraps for now but the legendary creator promises the most action-packed epic of his career.
According to Liefeld; “Snake Eyes is Wolverine, Deadpool, and Spider Man rolled into one amazing character for an entire generation of fans that thrilled to his adventures in comics and cartoons and hung on his every toy release! My parents drove me all over the county to get me G.I. JOE action figures as a kid. These were my first and most favorite toys. Working with Hasbro and all my friends at IDW has been a blast so far. I can’t wait to get this work out into the public! If you enjoyed my recent Marvel work,” Liefeld continues,” this will match or exceed it!”
Chris Ryall, IDW’s President & Publisher/Chief Creative Officer said of bringing Liefeld on board; “The high-octane, adrenaline-fueled action and adventure Rob brings to every comic he creates is a perfect fit for Snake Eyes, and we’re all as excited as you are to see him really cut loose on the pages of this very special G.I. JOE series!” | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
If that one girl would post to /r/gonewild... I would be so happy
432 shares | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
I don't even know if this is a good idea or not, but I need to get it out of my head. In SteamVR the headset gets a completely gray video signal if tracking is lost, from what I can tell. In most cases I think this means that only the optical tracking is lost, because on USB loss my memory tells me the headset blacks out entirely. In theory, would it be possible to use a two tone top/bottom image that gets aligned by the tracking from the supposedly still active IMU? If so we could have a horizon in the ... | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
WestJet is apologizing after one of its flight attendants asked a B.C. man to remove a souvenir T-shirt from Yellowknife and wear it inside out because the logo was against their family-friendly policies.
Ragged Ass Road T-shirts and street signs are popular souvenirs among visitors to Yellowknife, and refer to a street in the city’s Old Town founded in its early gold-mining days. WestJet has had flights to Yellowknife since 2009.
Ken Carson holds up the t-shirt which a WestJet flight attendant said violated the company's family-friendly policy. (Photo courtesy of Ken Carson)
Ken Carson said the flight attendant stopped him as he boarded the cabin for a flight from Vancouver to Edmonton on Sunday. He said the flight attendant asked him to remove the shirt and wear it inside out, saying that WestJet is a family-friendly airline. The passenger said he tried to explain the origin of the logo to the flight attendant but was rebuffed.
He did not remove the shirt, but covered it with his jacket for the entire flight.
In a letter to WestJet that he also sent to media and the City of Yellowknife, Carson said he was humiliated in front of the other passengers and that WestJet owes him an apology.
A photo Westjet posted to its Instagram account after the incident. The photo's caption reads: Every day we are pleased to welcome guests on board wearing items that represent [sic] were they have been or where they are going, including Yellowknife's landmarks. Check out what Our President and CEO, Gregg Saretsky, has had on his office door since he moved in 2 years ago. We apologize for asking a guest to remove a Ragged Ass Road T-Shirt. (Westjet/Instagram)
Yellowknife's mayor said this isn't the first time someone's taken offence to the street name.
"I found a file here where there was a place, I believe it was in Ohio, where the county administration had ruled against people displaying their Ragged Ass Road sign on their property because it wasn't proper for their neighbourhood," said Gord Van Tighem.
Van Tighem said city employees are meeting with Westjet officials to discuss the matter Tuesday afternoon.
WestJet said it apologizes for asking the passenger to cover the T-shirt. It also issued a photo showing a Ragged Ass Road street sign on the office door of its president and CEO Gregg Saretsky, which it says has been there for two years. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
The Economist's latest Big Mac index
THIS time round our Big Mac index looks at changes since global money-markets seized up in the summer of 2007. The index is based on the theory of purchasing-power parity, which says that exchange rates should eventually adjust to make the price of a basket of goods the same in each country. Our basket contains just one item: the Big Mac hamburger. It works by calculating the exchange rate that would leave a Big Mac costing the same in each country. For example: at current exchange rates a Big Mac, which sells for $4.33 in America, costs just $2.29 (75 roubles) in Russia, whereas in Brazil it sells for a sliver under $5 (10 reais). So the dollar buys a lot of burger in Russia, signalling that the rouble is cheap and the real rather pricey. There have been some big shifts in fortune since the first rumblings of the crisis. The Venezuelan bolivar has moved from 1% to 83% overvalued thanks to high inflation and a static currency peg with the dollar which is creating a growing trade imbalance with America. The Australian dollar has moved from being 14% undervalued to 8% overvalued. In the early part of the crisis Australia’s well-capitalised banks proved remarkably resilient; more recently, the currency has benefited from a spike in commodities prices, and from strong exports to China. By contrast, the British pound is now undervalued: its financial industry, a big chunk of the overall economy, was at the heart of the recent turmoil (the pound depreciated sharply in 2008) and its biggest export market, the euro zone, is in a dreadful mess.
| {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
About This Game
Key features:
A chilling point and click Puzzle Horror Adventure inspired by the Works of H.P. Lovecraft, now brought to Steam for the first time as a slightly enhanced edition with Chromatic Aberration and cinematic effects applied to the game's graphics !
Built-in Hint System with 3 Difficulty Levels – Players can choose to play in Standard, Detective, or Senior Detective modes.
Unique Inventory System – Utilizing the ‘thinking screen’ allows players to collect and examine items, and thoughts. Clues can also be researched, combined or used.
Dynamic Puzzles and Features – Traditional adventure game puzzles are complimented by deciphering dreams and underlining excerpts in documents to garner critical clues.
Enhanced Gameplay Experience – The proprietary game engine enables compelling special effects and stunning visuals in a panoramic first person game environment.
Eerie Gameplay Atmosphere – An immersive experience is created by a fascinating story, chilling real-time cut scenes, and haunting music.
Explore disturbing corners of the human psyche. Delve into a dimension of nightmares, the occult and a tense psychological world created in classic Lovecraftian style.As police detective Howard E. Loreid, you are tasked to solve the murder of Clark Field, a wealthy man involved in the occult. Your number one suspect is Loath Nolder; a highly respected private investigator. After mysteriously abandoning his last case and abruptly resurfacing five years later, one wonders how venerated P.I. Loath Nolder has turned fugitive murder suspect. Your seemingly routine investigation takes a dramatic twist as terrifying happenings begin to plague your psyche. Horrifying dreams and paranormal experiences torment your very being and the line between sanity and insanity becomes frighteningly blurred. Face dire truths hidden deep within the recesses of your mind, as you embark on a surreal adventure. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Ich war gestern eingeladen zum Einstieg in eine Podiumsdiskussion bei den Münchner Medientagen einen kleinen Vortrag zu halten – zum Thema: „Political Correctness. Oder wie liberal ist unsere Meinungsdemokratie wirklich?“ Hier mein Text zum Nachlesen:
Ich sag’s Ihnen gleich vorneweg: Ich bin der Falsche für dieses Thema. Wenn ich mir die Zusammensetzung des Podiums anschaue, müsste hier ja zu Beginn eigentlich wer so richtig gegenbürsten und Sie provozieren.
Es müsste hier also jemand wie Matthias Matussek stehen oder Roger Köppel oder zumindest Harald Martenstein. Also ein älterer, weißer, ziemlich schlecht gelaunter Mann, der Political Correctness für ein Wellness-Programm naiver „Gutmenschen“, hypersensitiver „snow flakes“ und angeblicher „Tugendterroristen“ hält, die schon eine Trigger-Warnung brauchen, wenn sie die Namen Matussek, Köppel oder Martenstein hören.
Wie Sie sofort erkannt haben, bin ich zwar auch ein schon älterer, weißer Mann, aber ich bin nicht schlecht gelaunt. Und ich habe auch kein grundsätzliches Problem mit Political Correctness – weil ich nämlich gar nicht glaube, dass das was besonders Neues wäre. Es gibt sogar sehr gute deutsche Wörter dafür: Anstand zum Beispiel – oder Respekt.
WELCHE SPRECHVERBOTE?
Also gleich vorab: Ich finde die PC-Debatte maßlos übertrieben. Und ich habe auch nicht den Eindruck, dass in unserer Branche derart viele von „Tugendterroristen“ verhängte „Sprechverbote“ herrschen würden. Ich kenne die Herrn Matussek, Köppel und Martenstein zum Beispiel alle aus Zeitungen – und es sind keine Samizdat-Blätter, die heimlich unter Theken verbreitet werden. Auch Thilo Sarrazins jüngste Islam-Exegese stapelt sich nicht nur in jeder Buchhandlung des Landes, sondern stand auch wochenlang auf Platz 1 der Bestseller-Liste.
Wie überhaupt die Debatte, dass man irgendetwas heutzutage nicht mehr sagen dürfte, durch das Internet lächerlich obsolet geworden ist.
Jeder Narr, jeder Konspirations-Paranoiker, jeder Prediger und jeder Propagandist – wirklich jeder, der meint, irgendwas unbedingt sagen zu müssen, egal wie geistlos, gehässig oder gemein – kann binnen Stunden einen YouTube-Channel eröffnen, seinen eigenen Blog einrichten und auf Facebook, Instagram und Twitter Millionen Fans und Follower sammeln.
DIE FREIHEIT VON 3 MILLIARDEN
Der berühmte Satz von Paul Sethe aus den 1960er Jahren „Pressefreiheit ist die Freiheit von zweihundert reichen Leuten, ihre Meinung zu verbreiten“, ist heute so überholt und lächerlich wie mechanische Schreibmaschinen. Pressefreiheit ist heute die Freiheit von drei Milliarden Menschen mit Internet-Zugang, ihre Meinung – und zwar wirklich jede Meinung – ins Netz zu knallen.
Und beim besten Willen kann wohl niemand ernsthaft behaupten, dass Islam-Kritiker, Merkel-Kritiker oder Migrations-Kritiker nicht gehört würden. Sie haben sogar eine eigene Partei, die sitzt im Bundestag, ab Sonntag wohl in sämtlichen deutschen Landtagen und in gar nicht wenigen Talkshows.
Ist also alles gut? Und das Thema dieser Diskussion nach drei Minuten erledigt – und wir können alle ins Wochenende gehen?
Das dann auch wieder nicht. Denn tatsächlich sehe ich ein paar Probleme – auch wenn ich nicht unbedingt Lösungen dafür weiß, aber dafür ist ja dann das Podium da.
EMPÖRUNGSDEMOKRATIE
Für ein Problem halte ich etwa das, was Medien-Professor Bernd Pörksen in seinem klugen, neuen Buch „Empörungsdemokratie“ nennt. Tatsächlich können viele von uns offenbar immer schwerer mit anderen Meinungen umgehen.
Was dann dazu führt, dass sich DIE ZEIT genötigt fühlt, sich für einen Text zum Thema „private Seenotrettung“ bei ihren Leser zu entschuldigen. Nun verstehe ich gut, dass ein liberales Publikum die Argumentation dieses Textes nicht unbedingt teilt. Aber man könnte sie sich ja mal anhören. Noch dazu, da der Text ohnehin im Rahmen einer Pro-Contra-Debatte veröffentlicht wurde. Daneben stand – genauso groß, genauso eloquent argumentiert – das Gegenteil.
Man kann den Artikel – und seinen Titel „Oder soll man es lassen?“ – natürlich kritisieren und das mit sehr guten Argumenten, aber dass DIE ZEIT ihn gedruckt hat, ist weder unmoralisch, noch ein Skandal.
SOCIAL MEDIA HABEN DIE DEBATTE VERSAUT
Aber Social Media haben die Debatte versaut.
Es fehlt ein direktes Gegenüber und dessen Reaktion – oder das Korrektiv einer Redaktion. Die praktische Regel „Engage brain before typing!“ halten offenbar viele für feige Selbstzensur. Und es dominiert, was Pörksen den „Kollaps der Kontexte“ nennt, also die maximale Erregung über Diskurs-Partikel ohne jeden Zusammenhang und ohne jeden Versuch, verstehen zu wollen.
Vor allem aber belohnen die Social Media-Algorithmen Zuspitzung, Polemik und Emotion, weil das besonders viel Reaktion provoziert und die Verweildauer auf den Plattformen erhöht. Anstelle von Kritik rollen so immer öfter Empörungswellen und Shitstorms durchs Netz. Und sehr, sehr viel Moral.
Ein Argument ist nicht mehr falsch, sondern böse.
Ich bin nicht deiner Meinung, würde aber mein Leben dafür einsetzen, dass du sie äußern darfst, wird ersetzt durch: Ich bin nicht deiner Meinung und werde sie deshalb niederkartätschen. Zumindest aber bin ich tief enttäuscht von dir und schwer beleidigt.
WAS UNSÄGLICH BLEIBT
Nur, damit wir uns richtig verstehen: Es gibt tatsächlich Äußerungen, die im ganz unmittelbaren Wortsinn unsäglich sind: Rassismus ist keine Meinung. „Heil Hitler“ ist kein Argument. Darüber muss nicht diskutiert werden. Im Gegenteil. Eine inhaltliche Auseinandersetzung mit solchen Positionen kann rasch zur „false balance“ werden, zur irreführenden Ausgewogenheit, die diskursiv legitimiert, was verfassungsfeindlich ist.
Doch innerhalb des Verfassungsbogens setzt demokratische Debatte den Wettstreit von Thesen und Meinungen voraus – und zwar unterschiedlicher Meinungen, sonst wird es keine Debatte.
Ich fand deshalb schade, dass sich DIE ZEIT für ihren Text entschuldigt hat, und nicht stattdessen erklärt, warum sie ihrem Publikum auch diese Sichtweise zugemutet hat (wobei ich die „Zumutung“ gar nicht so groß fand). Die ZEIT-Chefredaktion hätte die Empörung aushalten sollen – so wie ihre Leser den Text hätten aushalten sollen.
Meinungsfreiheit heißt, auch mit Meinungen konfrontiert zu werden, die man nicht mag. Dafür darf man auch anderen die eigenen Meinungen zumuten. Demokratischer Diskurs ist kein safe space.
KEINE „KAMPFZONE“ SONDERN ANSTAND
Das nächste Problem finde ich schwieriger – und ich möchte es an einem Beispiel erklären, das nicht ganz unheikel ist. Es gibt nämlich tatsächlich Dinge, die man heute nicht mehr sagt, auch wenn sie nicht durch das Grundgesetz verboten sind, sondern einfach aus Anstand.
Bekanntlich hat der MDR im Frühjahr eine Radiodiskussion mit folgendem Titel angekündigt: „Darf man heute noch ‚Neger‘ sagen? Warum Ist politische Korrektheit zur Kampfzone geworden?“
Über die zweite Frage spreche ich gerade. Die erste Frage – die mit dem N-Wort – ist sehr einfach zu beantworten: Nein, das darf man nicht mehr sagen. Jedenfalls nicht als Medium, das noch ernst genommen werden will. Das hat nichts mit einer angeblichen „Kampfzone“ zu tun, sondern nur mit Anstand. Praktisch alle Menschen, die mit dem Wort gemeint sind, finden es abwertend und rassistisch. Also verwendet man es nicht. Auch nicht für vermeintlich provokante Sendungstitel. Frage beantwortet, Fall geklärt.
Aber ich möchte trotzdem noch kurz bei diesem Beispiel bleiben, weil es recht plakativ etwas anderes zeigt – und ich bitte schon jetzt um Entschuldigung, dass ich dabei ohne das Wort, um das es geht, nicht ganz auskomme.
MEINUNGS-VERSCHIEDENHEITEN
Wie gesagt, kein anständiges Medium wird dieses Wort noch verwenden, außer als historisches Zitat.
ABER: Ich habe keine aktuelle Umfrage dazu, und trotzdem bin ich sicher, dass ein guter Teil der Bevölkerung – sagen wir mal ein Drittel – meint, dass das übertrieben ist: Warum soll man nicht mehr „Neger“ sagen? Nach dem Motto: Ich habe das so in der Schule gelernt und als Kind „Zehn kleine Negerlein“ gesungen und in „Onkel Toms Hütte“ und bei Karl May kommt‘s auch vor. Es ist ja nichts Böses. Wo ist das Problem?
Diese Menschen finden sich damit in seriösen Medien nicht wieder.
Verstehen Sie mich jetzt bitte nicht falsch: Ich finde das absolut richtig so. Dieses Wort geht einfach nicht mehr. – Aber das schafft tatsächlich eine gewisse Kluft zwischen seriösen Medien und einem Teil des Publikums.
Und solche Meinungs-Verschiedenheiten gibt es auch bei einigen anderen Themen. Die meisten Journalisten finden zum Beispiel die „Ehe für alle“ gut, ich lese jedenfalls wenige Kommentare dagegen. Alle Journalisten, die ich kenne oder lese, meinen auch, dass man Homosexuelle oder Transgender-Personen nicht diskriminieren soll. Aber ich vermute, dass es gar nicht wenige Leserinnen und Seher gibt, die noch immer finden, irgendwie sei das nicht ganz „normal“.
ENTFREMDUNG MIT DEM PUBLIKUM?
Nun meine ich keineswegs, dass man dem nachgeben soll. Es gibt ein Menschenrecht darauf, für sein Geschlecht, seine sexuelle Orientierung und ethnische Herkunft nicht diskriminiert zu werden. Aber derartige Unterschiede zwischen den Werthaltungen etablierter Medien und Teilen der Bevölkerung produzieren eine gewisse Kluft – und möglicherweise auch eine Entfremdung.
Ich weiß dafür keine Lösung, aber mich beschäftigt dieses Problem.
Eine mögliche Erklärung dafür wäre, dass es in den Redaktionen – jedenfalls der nationalen Leitmedien – relativ wenig Diversität gibt. Dort arbeiten mittlerweile zwar – glücklicherweise – immer mehr Frauen, auch in führenden Positionen, aber die meisten Redakteure sind heute urbane Akademikerinnen und Akademiker mit sehr ähnlicher Herkunft und Ausbildung, die in ähnlichen Gegenden wohnen und sich in einem ähnlichen sozialen und kulturellen Umfeld bewegen.
Das hat damit zu tun, dass man ohne Uni-Abschluss kaum mehr Chancen hat, aufgenommen zu werden, dass viele große Redaktionen ihren Nachwuchs aus den gleichen Journalismus-Schulen und Studienzweigen rekrutieren und dass der Einstieg in unsere Branche finanziell prekär geworden ist, mit vielen schlecht bezahlten Praktika und niedrigen Anfangsgehältern.
Das muss man sich als Mitte 20-Jähriger mal leisten können – oft braucht es dafür die Unterstützung gut situierter Elternhäuser. Und man muss es sich leisten wollen, weshalb es Absolventen aus Jura-, Wirtschafts- oder Technikstudien, die oft auch politisch konservativer sind, meist in besser bezahlte Berufe zieht.
JOURNALISTEN ALS ANYWHERES
Der britische Autor David Goodhart sieht die wesentliche kulturelle Konfliktlinie unserer Gesellschaften ja zwischen jener Bevölkerungsgruppe, die er die Somewheres nennt und den Anywheres. Als Anywheres bezeichnet er Menschen mit Uni-Abschluss, urban, kosmopolitisch und mobil, die sehr viel Wert auf Autonomie und Offenheit legen. Die Somewheres sind Menschen, die an einem Ort verwurzelt sind, eine weniger gute Ausbildung haben und für die Sicherheit und Tradition wichtig sind. Das sind keineswegs nur Arbeiter, sondern auch Gewerbetreibende, Landwirte, Hausfrauen, Beamte.
Die meisten Journalisten – jedenfalls in den großen, nationalen Medien, vielleicht weniger in den Lokalredaktionen – sind prototypische Anywheres. Aber ein Großteil unseres Publikums sind Somewheres.
WAS JOURNALISTEN GEGEN TRUMP HABEN
Nun zeichnet professionelle Journalisten auch aus, dass sie von ihren persönlichen Ansichten abstrahieren können und ergebnisoffen und neugierig recherchieren und urteilen.
Aber es ist eine schwer bestreitbare Tatsache, dass zum Beispiel sehr wenige etablierte Leitartikler Donald Trump oder Marine Le Pen loben. Wenige Kommentatoren finden, dass der Brexit eine tolle Idee ist – oder dass die EU und der Euro grundsätzlich schlechte Ideen sind.
Das ist nicht deshalb so, weil die Atlantik-Brücke die deutschen Redaktionen fernsteuern würde. Oder George Soros, die Bilderberger oder Frau Merkel. Das ist natürlich paranoider Quatsch.
Aber es ist vielleicht auch deshalb so, weil viele führende Journalisten aus ähnlichen Milieus kommen, in denen Nationalismus – aus sehr guten historischen Gründen – nicht als sonderlich zukunftstaugliches Konzept gilt.
EIN RECHT AUF EIGENE FAKTEN?
Bei Trump oder dem Brexit kommt aber noch etwas dazu. Die Aufgabe von Journalismus ist die Beschreibung von Wirklichkeit, es geht um „the best obtainable version of the truth“, wie Watergate-Legende Carl Bernstein sagt.
Die Brexit-Kampagne und die Präsidentschaft von Donald Trump basieren jedoch ganz wesentlich auf dem, was Trump-Sprecherin Kellyanne Conway als „alternative Fakten“ berühmt gemacht hat.
Seit dem Amtsantritt von Trump vor nicht mal zwei Jahren hat ihm die WASHINGTON POST mehr als 5.000 öffentliche Unwahrheiten und Lügen nachgewiesen, im Schnitt 8,3 an jedem einzelnen Tag. Ein Präsident, der nicht nur ein Recht auf seine eigene Meinung haben will, sondern auch auf seine eigenen Fakten, so hat ihn die NEW YORK TIMES erst letzte Woche beschrieben.
Dass Journalisten dafür wenig übrighaben, ist naheliegend. Die bewusste Zerstörung einer gemeinsamen Faktenbasis zerstört den demokratischen Diskurs. Die wichtigste Funktion von Journalismus ist es aber, genau diesen Diskurs zu ermöglichen.
JOURNALISMUS UND BOULEVARD-POLITIK
Deshalb ist auch das Verhältnis zwischen Journalismus und populistischer Politik so schwierig. Lassen Sie es mich kurz so beschreiben: Qualitätsmedien sind ein Angebot an die Vernunft ihres Publikums. Boulevardmedien hingegen appellieren eher an Emotionen, oft auch an Ressentiments. In diesem Sinne könnte man populistische Politik auch als Boulevard-Politik verstehen. Auch sie appelliert sehr oft an Emotionen und Vorurteile.
Ich erzähle Ihnen ein Beispiel: FPÖ-Chef Heinz-Christian Strache hat auf seiner Facebook-Seite fast 800.000 Fans, auf Deutschland umgelegt wären das fast acht Millionen. Nach den furchtbaren Terroranschlägen von Paris im November 2015 mit insgesamt 130 Toten hat Herr Strache auf seiner Facebook-Seite ein Video geteilt, das angeblich jubelnde Muslime zeigte, und dazu den Satz geschrieben: „Freudenkundgebungen für den Terror! Das hat sicher auch nichts mit dem ‚Islam‘ zu tun“.
In Wahrheit war dieses Video damals sechs Jahre alt und zeigte jubelnde pakistanische Fans nach dem Cricket-World-Cup-Sieg 2009 in London. Das wurde auch binnen Minuten auf Straches Facebook-Seite kommentiert. Trotzdem blieb das Video samt Text stundenlang stehen, wurde zehntausendfach geteilt und erst nach etlichen Stunden und zahllosen Protesten letztlich gelöscht – ohne jede Erklärung und ohne Entschuldigung. Ich kenne keinen Journalisten und keine Journalistin, die das in Ordnung fanden. Und das hat wirklich nichts mit politischer Korrektheit zu tun.
WIE KOMMEN WIR IN DIE FILTERBLASEN?
Nun gibt es in unserem Publikum aber Menschen – und zwar nicht wenige Menschen –, die so etwas nicht weiter stört, und die Donald Trump, LePen oder den Brexit gut finden und die EU oder den Euro schlecht. So wie sie auch schlecht finden, dass sie nicht mehr „Neger“ sagen sollen.
Wie erreichen wir diese Menschen noch mit seriösen Medien?
Früher hatten sie wenig Alternative, außer die BILD und den Stammtisch. Heute finden sie sich in riesigen Filterblasen und Echokammern aus Verschwörungs-Websites, Facebook-Propaganda und Wut-Blogs, in denen „Gutmensch“ ein Schimpfwort ist, eine demokratisch gewählte Kanzlerin als „Diktatorin“ denunziert wird und seriöse Medien – im besseren Fall – als „Lückenpresse“. Und wo Political Correctness als Codewort gilt für Zensur und „Meinungsterror“.
Wie wir diesen Teil des Publikums nicht völlig verlieren – das halte ich für eine ganz elementare Frage an unsere Profession. Und es ist eine relativ neue Frage, die vor allem mit dem Verlust unserer Deutungshoheit durch das Netz zu tun hat.
Die Debatte um politische Korrektheit ist ja weniger neu. Ich habe Ihnen da zum Abschluss noch ein kleines Buch mitgebracht: Ein Wörterbuch der Political Correctness, knapp 200 Seiten voll mit angeblichen Sprechverboten, absurden Korrektheits-Exzessen und Sorgen um die Meinungsfreiheit. Ich hab mir dieses Lexikon in den USA gekauft – im Jahr 1992, als Matussek, Köppel und Martenstein noch ziemlich junge, weiße Männer waren und auch noch gar nicht so schlecht gelaunt.
PS: Zum Thema Journalismus und Filterblasen habe ich bei den Medientagen 2016 etwas gesagt: „Wir müssen Social Media mit Journalismus infiltrieren“. Ich denke, das stimmt noch immer, wenn nicht sogar noch mehr als vor zwei Jahren.
| {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Months after merging with Bayer in a bid to bury a brand that has become as toxic as its products, Monsanto has lost its appeal in a historic lawsuit that found its Roundup herbicide responsible for a man's cancer.
In August, a San Francisco jury awarded former school groundskeeper Dewayne Johnson $289 million in damages in a lawsuit alleging Monsanto's glyphosate weed killer Roundup was responsible for his non-Hodgkins lymphoma. The verdict further confirmed that Monsanto "acted with malice" in concealing the carcinogenic risks of its products for decades.
Read more
California state judge Suzanne Bolanos has rejected Bayer's request for a new trial, instead opting to reduce the punitive part of the damages from $250 million to $39 million, equivalent to the amount the jury had awarded Johnson in compensatory damages. This adds up to a mandated payout of $78mn.
In addition to spraying Roundup and its analog Ranger Pro 30 times a year, Johnson was doused with the weed killer twice in on-the-job accidents and developed lymphoma within two years of the first mishap. As much as 80 percent of his body is covered in lesions, and his doctors did not think he'd live to see the jury verdict.
Johnson is satisfied with the verdict and hopes it leads Bayer and consumers alike to behave more responsibly. "I'm hoping that it snowballs and people really get the picture and they start to make decisions about what they eat, what they spray in their farms," he told the Guardian. He hopes to see warning labels on Monsanto products, but isn't holding his breath.
The confirmation of August's verdict opens Bayer up to thousands of similar suits from plaintiffs with similar claims. The World Health Organization deemed glyphosate "probably carcinogenic to humans" in 2015, yet Johnson and others like him were told in training sessions that the weed killer was "safe enough to drink."
Evidence emerged during Johnson's case that Monsanto was not only suppressing research that confirmed the link between its products and cancer, but may actually be paying for its own "ghostwritten" research that would portray Roundup favorably.
Monsanto was sold to Bayer in June for $63 billion, and the massive new firm immediately chose to retire the Monsanto name. With a sordid history that includes Agent Orange and genetically-modified seeds in addition to glyphosate, the brand name had become too toxic. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Paravex Male Enhancement Reviews: Poor sexual performance is what most of the men are suffering from these days. In fact, according to the recent studies, it has become the main concern for numerous men around the globe. Being a male, you want to act like one and don’t want to reduce your sexual capabilities. But nothing is permanent as we all know and at some point of your life you have bear the issues of low sex power. From the relationship point of view, it’s a shameful situation for you and you literally feel depressed. Your spouse doesn’t feel satisfied which deeply hurt your self-respect. But hang on, today we are presenting a male vitality booster which is arguably the most perfect supplement among the masses. It’s name is Paravex Male Enhancement. Once you lose your sexual ability, you also lose your confidence which disturbs the harmony of your life. This supplement is the best solution to raise the standard of your sexual health. What exactly it is? what does it have? what would be the advantages from it? If you want to know the answers, keep reading.
What is Paravex Male Enhancement?
As the name says, Paravex Male Enhancement is the finest sex empowering supplement that heightens your virility and accelerates great sexual energy. In case, you are suffering from any sort of sexual disorder like, premature ejaculation or poor erection or erectile dysfunction, then this remarkable supplement will be the perfect solution for all of those issues. Male impotency is one problem which is threatening a lot these days. The constant usage of this male enhancer will surely beat the impotency symptoms as it contains potent elements. Poor sexual performance, low libido and lack of stamina can be easily overshadowed by this supplement. The products like Viagra or something similar to that, are not considered safe for your health as they include many untrusted and dangerous chemical fillers. But when you look at the ingredients of this supplement, you will delighted to know that it only has natural, herbal and original components. In the next part of this article, you’ll get to know more about those supreme quality resources.
Ingredients of Paravex Male Enhancement
Before trying any health product, you must be aware of its contents whether they are safe or not. All the ingredients of this supplement have been deeply tested in the GMP certified laboratories and many renowned sexologists. After the long examination, they have approved it on every basis. The following is the list of those top quality contents:
* Tribulus Terrestris
* Yohimbe
* Vitamins and minerals composition
* Tongkat Ali
* Horny goat weed
How it works?
The main function of this excellent male booster is rising the testosterone hormone in your body. It’s a masculine enhancing hormone that determines all the sexual functions in your body. By escalating the T-level naturally, it prevents you from numerous sex issues like low sperm count, lack of stamina in bed, low libido and bad erection etc. It streams the blood circulation in your penile area so that you get aroused sexually and lead to the ultimate and pleasurable time with your partner. This process becomes constant once you start taking its doses regularly and as prescribed.
Advantages of Paravex Male Enhancement
* Empowers your sexual capabilities
* Assists you to get rid of erectile dysfunction and poor erection
* Keeps you sexually energized and aroused
* Triggers your libido and sex drives
* imparts harder and thicker erection
* Emphasizes the amount of testosterone naturally
* Keeps you away from impotency and several sexual diseases
* Eradicates your sexual performance
Users Reviews on Paravex Male Enhancement
* Austin says, I was the victim of low sex power and bad ejaculation which made my life so pathetic. I was lacking enough sexual energy and stamina. That’s why I couldn’t last long in bed. This supplement came into my life and did the rescue operation for me. I had it for around 2 months and after that, I really felt never ending sexual power. Finally, I have reached at the stage where I can easily please my wife at any point of time. Full marks to it from my side!
* Jack tells, due to the aging, I lost the interest in sexual activities and never got aroused which was killing my married life. I badly needed any solution of this situation. Therefore, I began to have this potent supplement on the suggestion of my colleague. I must say it’s an awesome product that can really vanish your sexual disorders. Within the two months, I gathered huge sex power and after that my sex desires also got boosted. Now, my married life has been rejuvenated by this supplement and we both are thankful of it.
Is it safe to consume?
Yes, without any doubt. At the moment, there isn’t any single case that has been seen against this supplement. The reason is its mind blowing herbal components which are perfectly safe and secure. Moreover, these elements have been examined under the guidance of well equipped and famous experts. So, just break the shackles of your mind and go for it.
Dosage of Paravex Male Enhancement
If you want to know how should you consume it then you have to look on its package as the prescription is written on that. Make sure, you sincerely follow the instructions and avoid to have it excess.
How to buy?
By clicking the web address provided below the article, you can purchase Paravex Male Enhancement. So, why wait further more, boost your sex life and bring it now! | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Dansk Folkeparti vil afskaffe betingede udvisninger af kriminelle udlændinge, oplyser partiets retsordfører.
København. 170 kriminelle udlændinge har modtaget mere end én betinget udvisning siden 2010. Heraf er 30 af de udenlandske kriminelle blevet udvist betinget tre gange, mens otte personer har modtaget fire betingede udvisninger.
Det viser nye tal fra Kriminalforsorgen, skriver Radio24Syv.
I alt har domstolene gjort brug af den betingede udvisning 1077 gange siden 2010.
Men det er meget bekymrende, at så mange udenlandske kriminelle får mere end én betinget udvisning. Det siger Dansk Folkepartis retsordfører, Peter Kofod Poulsen, til Ritzau.
- Jeg tror, at det falder de fleste mennesker for brystet at høre, at man kan have flere betingede udvisningsdomme i dag, altså at man flere gange får det gule kort, og så alligevel ikke retter op, uden at man bliver udvist.
Men selv om den kriminelle er blevet idømt en betinget udvisning, betyder det ikke nødvendigvis, at den kriminelles seneste forbrydelse berettiger til en udvisning.
Det forklarer Kristian Mølgaard, formand for Landsforeningen af Forsvarsadvokater.
Hvis den dømte har børn eller i Danmark, kan det eksempelvis være i strid med Menneskerettighedskonventionen at udvise den enkelte, siger han til Radio24Syv.
Peter Kofod Poulsen opfordrer til, at regeringen afskaffer de betingede udvisninger.
En afskaffelse af den betingede udvisning vil være en lempelse af udvisningsreglerne. Det skriver udlændinge- og integrationsminister Inger Støjberg (V) ifølge Radio24Syv i et svar til Folketinget.
Men det er Peter Kofod Poulsen lodret uenig i.
- Det svar giver jeg ikke særligt meget for. Der er sandelig rum til forbedring i forhold til at slippe af med folk, der har begået kriminalitet, og som ikke kan udvises af Danmark, siger han til Ritzau.
Regeringen har netop fremlagt et lovforslag, der skal sikre, at Danmark kan udvise de kriminelle med mindre det "med sikkerhed" er i strid med Danmarks internationale forpligtelser.
Lovforslaget vil dog reelt ikke have nogen effekt på antallet, der kan udvises, mener Kristian Mølgaard.
- Man kan slet ikke lave sådan en afvejning. Altså enten er en udvisning i strid med Danmarks internationale forpligtelser eller også er det ikke. Så det vil ikke betyde noget for de domme, der bliver afsagt, siger han til Radio24Syv.
Det har ikke været muligt for Radio24syv at få en kommentar fra Inger Støjberg.
/ritzau/ | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Share this article on LinkedIn Email
FIA president Jean Todt says the delay in delivery of the World Rally Championship calendar is a reflection of the series' growing popularity.
Present at last week's Rally Turkey, the president of the sport's governing body said the 2020 schedule of events would be announced in soon.
FIA rally director Yves Matton admitted the October 4 World Motor Sport Council meeting in Cologne remained the most likely date.
"In a way, it's a good problem to have," said Todt.
"We wanted to keep the calendar with 14 rallies [for next season] and we had more interest than 14 organisers, so we have to make a long-term strategy in order to keep 14 rallies in the calendar and chose the best event on a long-term basis.
"It takes some time, you need to discuss with different people and you need to adjust it.
"But now I would say we are in the final part of the strategy conclusion and it's a very short time before we finalise it.
"It means there is a lot of interest from strong promoters and countries to organise rallying."
The latest version of the calendar is believed to list Monte Carlo, Sweden, Mexico, Argentina, Chile, Portugal, Sardinia, Kenya, Germany, Finland, New Zealand, Turkey, GB, and Japan.
The Safari - which last ran in 2002 (pictured above) and Japan are favourites to return, while Turkey, New Zealand (in place of Australia), Corisca, Spain and Germany have all been fighting to remain or join the billing.
Spain is understood to have been dropped in favour of Germany at the behest of the FIA, while Corsica is also not expected to return.
When asked, as a Frenchman, how he felt about Corsica's absence, Todt replied: "We don't care, it's not because I'm French I have to favour or not favour [a French round].
"Do you have a copy of the calendar? "Let's speak when we get the calendar rather than talk about speculation.
"You won't get anything from me about the 2020 calendar."
WRC Promoter managing director Oliver Ciesla declined to comment on the calendar. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Changing Colors In Comics
Enlarge this image toggle caption Shannon Wright for NPR Shannon Wright for NPR
Changing Colors In Comics Listen · 27:27 27:27
Gene and guest host Glen Weldon (our play cousin from Pop Culture Happy Hour) explore how comics are used as spaces for mapping race and identity. Gene visits Amalgam Comics and Coffeehouse in Philadelphia and chats with proprietor Ariell Johnson, who is reclaiming the comic book store, which once made her uneasy as a black fan. Meanwhile, C. Spike Trotman, another black woman, has made a name for herself as an online comics publisher of Iron Circus Comics in Chicago. We also talk to artist and designer Ronald Wimberly for his perspective as a black creator who has worked for Marvel and DC, the titans of corporate comics. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad wins third term Published duration 5 June 2014 Related Topics Syrian civil war
image copyright AFP image caption President Bashar al-Assad's win was seen by many as a foregone conclusion
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has won a third term in office after securing 88.7% of votes in Tuesday's presidential election, the parliamentary speaker has announced.
Earlier, Syria's Supreme Constitutional Court put the turnout at 73.47%.
Voting took place in government-controlled areas, but not in parts of the north and east held by rebels.
Tens of thousands of people have died in three years of civil war in Syria, with millions more displaced.
President Assad's sole challengers, Hassan al-Nouri and Maher Hajjar, received 4.3% and 3.2% of the vote respectively.
Celebratory gunfire
It was the first time in decades that someone other than a member of the Assad family had been allowed to stand for president in Syria.
But Mr Assad's opponents and people living in rebel-held areas dismissed the election as a farce, arguing that it has no credibility in the midst of a civil war.
The opposition's allies in the West also denounced the ballot, with US Secretary of State John Kerry, on a visit to neighbouring Lebanon, describing it as "meaningless".
image copyright AFP image caption Syrian parliamentary speaker Mohammed al-Laham announced the results in a televised address
The results were announced by the Speaker of the People's Assembly, Mohammad al-Laham, on Wednesday.
The Supreme Constitutional Court had earlier announced that some 11.63 million Syrians voted out of a total of 15.85 million eligible to cast a ballot.
The win is likely to boost Mr Assad's supporters. Over the past year, the government has made significant military gains and rebel groups have fought among themselves.
This is not an election that can be analysed in the same way as a multi-party, multi-candidate election in one of the established European democracies or in the US, says the BBC's Jeremy Bowen in Damascus.
It was an act of homage to President Assad by his supporters, which was boycotted and rejected by opponents rather than an act of politics, he adds.
image copyright AP image caption Supporters of President al-Assad took to the streets of Damascus after the results were announced
image copyright AP image caption Heavy fighting continues in many parts of Syria, including airstrikes in Aleppo this week
The vote has faced sharp criticism from the US and its allies. "You can't have an election where millions of your people don't even have an ability to vote," Mr Kerry said.
The EU said it could not be considered "a genuinely democratic vote".
A delegation of the government's main international supporters, including Russia, Iran and Venezuela, said the election was transparent and free, and that it would pave the way for "stability and national agreement".
In a speech at the China-Arab forum on Thursday, China's President Xi Jinping did not mention the vote but called for "the opening of an inclusive political process to bring about a political resolution" to the conflict.
Also on Wednesday, the head of the international mission in charge of destroying Syria's stockpile of chemical weapons called on the government and the international community to ensure that the last 16 containers of toxic chemicals were immediately removed from the country.
After briefing the UN Security Council , Sigrid Kaag said Syrian authorities had "legitimate" security concerns about transporting the remaining 7.2% of the stockpile from a "very volatile" area near Damascus to the Mediterranean port of Latakia. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Powell: U.S. debt is 'on unsustainable path,' crimping ability to respond to recession
Paul Davidson | USA TODAY
Show Caption Hide Caption US economy 101: National debt vs. national deficit The U.S. national debt and deficit have become buzzwords for the 2020 election. But what's the difference?
Fed to Congress: It may soon be your turn to save the economy, so get your finances in better shape.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell warned lawmakers Wednesday that the ballooning federal debt could hamper Congress’ ability to support the economy in a downturn, urging them to put the budget “on a sustainable path.”
Powell suggested such fiscal aid could be vital after the Fed has cut its benchmark interest rate three times this year, leaving the central bank less room to lower rates further in case of a recession.
“The federal budget is on an unsustainable path, with high and rising debt,” Powell told the Joint Economic Committee. “Over time, this outlook could restrain fiscal policymakers’ willingness or ability to support economic activity during a downturn.”
Powell also reiterated that the Fed is likely done cutting rates unless the economy heads south.
"The outlook is still a positive one," he said. "There's no reason this expansion can't continue."
Where's my big raise?Why aren't wages rising faster even with low unemployment?
Cars to count on (or not): These are the 10 most (and least) reliable cars of 2020
Powell gets more aggressive
The testimony marks a more aggressive tone for Powell, who generally has steered clear of lecturing lawmakers on the hazards of the federal deficit. But after raising its key rate nine times since late 2015, the Fed has lowered it three times this year to head off the risk of recession posed by President Donald Trump’s trade war with China and a sluggish global economy.
Those developments have hurt manufacturing and business investment while consumer spending remains on solid footing.
Your browser does not support the audio element. Stay in the loop on-the-go with the read out loud perk! 00:00
The Fed’s benchmark rate is now at a range of 1.5% to 1.75%, above the near-zero level that persisted for years after the Great Recession of 2007-09 but below the 2.25% to 2.5% range early this year.
“Nonetheless, the current low-interest-rate environment may limit the ability of monetary policy to support the economy,” Powell said.
Noting the Fed has lowered its federal funds rate an average 5 percentage points in prior downturns, Powell said, "We don't have that kind of room." He added, "Fed policy will also be important, though," if the nation enters a recession. Fed officials have said they still have ammunition to fight a slump, including lowering rates and resuming bond purchases.
Death of retirement? The old work model is disappearing for boomers, Gen Xers
Deficit and debt worries
Meanwhile, the federal budget deficit hit $984 billion in fiscal 2019, the highest in seven years, and it’s expected to top $1 trillion in fiscal 2020. The federal tax cuts and spending increases spearheaded by Trump have added to the red ink and are set to add at least $2 trillion to the federal debt over a decade. The national debt recently surpassed $23 trillion.
"The debt is growing faster than the economy and that is unsustainable," Powell said.
He added that a high and rising federal debt also can “restrain private investment and, thereby, reduce productivity and overall economic growth.” That's because swollen debt can push interest rates higher.
Wealthy investors worry:More than half of high net worth investors bracing for stock drop
“Putting the federal budget on a sustainable path would aid in the long-term vigor of the U.S. economy and help ensure that policymakers have the space to use fiscal policy to assist in stabilizing the economy if it weakens,” Powell said.
He added, "How you do that and when you do that is up to you."
More rate cuts unlikely
Many economists are forecasting a recession next year, though the risks have eased now that the U.S. and China appear close to a partial settlement of their trade fight and the odds of a Brexit that doesn’t include a trade agreement between Britain and Europe have fallen.
Powell also said the Fed is unlikely to reduce interest rates further unless the economy weakens significantly – a message he delivered after the central bank trimmed its key rate for a third time late last month.
“We see the current stance of monetary policy as likely to remain appropriate" as long as the economy, labor market and inflation remain consistent with the Fed’s outlook, Powell said.
Since last month's Fed meeting, the government has reported that employers added 128,000 jobs in October – a surprisingly strong showing in light of a General Motors strike and the layoffs of temporary 2020 census workers.
"There's a lot to like about today's labor market," Powell said. He noted the 3.6% unemployment rate, near a 50-year low, is drawing Americans on the sidelines back into the workforce. And while average yearly wage growth has picked up to 3%, it's lower than anticipated in light of the low jobless rate. Inflation, he said, remains below the Fed's 2% target.
“Of course, if developments emerge that cause a material reassessment of our outlook, we would respond accordingly,” Powell said.
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, tried to coax the Fed chief into weighing in on the potential economic impact of "a massive tax increase," which some analysts say could be required by several Democratic presidential candidates' proposals for universal health care or free college tuition.
"I'm particularly reluctant to be pulled into the 2020 election," said Powell, a Republican and Trump appointee who has been repeatedly attacked by the president for not cutting interest rates more sharply.
Market downturn?: Wealthy investors are bracing for a stock market sell-off, more turbulence in 2020 | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
What is X-COM?
X-COM is a series of strategy videogames originally made by MicroProse, where the player takes control of an organization to fight off an alien menace invading Earth.
You manage your operations from bases spread around the globe, where you equip your craft and soldiers, take care of research and manufacture, and expand your facilities. You’re also constantly scanning for alien activity so you can send out crafts to intercept UFOs and ground forces to stop alien troops.
On ground missions, you take control of your troops in a turn-based fashion, moving your soldiers around the field and fighting against the alien troops until you emerge victorious. Or more commonly, get brutally murdered, but remember, dying is fun!
In the midst of all this, the funding nations are scoring your every move as the alien invasion keeps escalating. You have to turn the odds in your favour by interrogating the aliens and recover their technology to figure out how to end this war once and for all!
What is OpenXcom?
OpenXcom is an open-source clone of the original UFO: Enemy Unknown (X-Com: UFO Defense in USA), licensed under the GPL and written in C++ / SDL. It was originally founded by SupSuper in February 2010, and has since grown into a small development team surrounded by a very supporting community.
The goal of the project is to bring back the tried and true feel of the original with none of the issues. All the same graphics, sound and gameplay with a brand new codebase written from scratch. This should give it:
Fixability: Play the game natively without any need for emulators or fancy hacks, with none of the limitations and bugs that plagued the original. No more 80-item-limit, personnel limits, funding overflows, disconnected facilities, broken proximity grenades, floating soldiers, etc.
Play the game natively without any need for emulators or fancy hacks, with none of the limitations and bugs that plagued the original. No more 80-item-limit, personnel limits, funding overflows, disconnected facilities, broken proximity grenades, floating soldiers, etc. Moddability: Tweak the game to your heart’s content. Sure the original was pretty good, but maybe you just think it could be that bit better. A nicer base layout, better laser weapons, maybe challenge yourself with a custom game mode, or just put in all the crazy stuff you’ve always wanted! None of it is hardcoded.
Tweak the game to your heart’s content. Sure the original was pretty good, but maybe you just think it could be that bit better. A nicer base layout, better laser weapons, maybe challenge yourself with a custom game mode, or just put in all the crazy stuff you’ve always wanted! None of it is hardcoded. Flexibility: Port the game to any platform you like, customize it to your liking, or use it to make your own far-fetched remakes. The code is fully documented and open-source so anyone can take a crack at it.
For more details check the Wiki.
FAQ
Q: How is this different from all the other remakes?
A: Our goal here isn’t to make the next X-COM, just make the existing X-COM more accessible, for all the hardcore fans that just love going back to the original every now and then. If that’s not enough for you, that’s OK, we even got all these Links to many other remakes you could try instead. We’re all pals here, no hard feelings.
Q: But isn’t it the same as UFO Extender or XcomUtil?
A: Sorta. We all have the same goal of improving the original, only they took the approach of patching it, we took the approach of taking it apart and putting it back together. Like TTDPatch and OpenTTD, if you will. Each approach has different pros/cons, but they don’t cancel each other out, in fact we even have a lot of similar features. Just pick what you prefer.
Q: I’ve never played the original, will this be easier to learn?
A: Not really, the original game has a befuddling interface, and we stuck with it for better or for worse. You might wanna just grab a copy of the manual to figure out the interface and learn the rest by trial and error… well fine, you can also just check the UFOpaedia for all the pro strategy and tactics if you just hate fun or something.
Q: Why do I keep getting murdered the minute I step out of the craft?!
A: That’s X-COM! Remember the aliens have better equipment, resistance and visibility than you, and they have full-reaction-shots the first turn, so you might wanna just throw a smoke grenade and hang low. Also the AI is smarter, so cheap exploits and savescumming will no longer help you.
Q: Is using the original X-COM resources legal?
A: It’s kind of a grey area. We’ve contacted the copyright holders just to be sure but they never replied back, so we just play it safe like every other clone. The code is completely new and none of the copyrighted files are actually included with the project, players still need their own copy of X-COM to play, so it should be fine.
Q: Are original savegames supported?
A: OpenXcom uses its own savegame format, to make it easier to maintain and not suffer from the original limitations. A converter for the original savegame format might be added later, depending on how much is transferable.
Q: What about multiplayer?
A: OpenXcom is focused on the original singleplayer gameplay, we don’t really plan on adding multiplayer as it’d drastically change the game. You might wanna check UFO2000 instead where you can have multiplayer tactical battles.
Q: Are Terror From The Deep and Apocalypse gonna be supported too?
A: Terror From The Deep support is planned once the game is moddable enough. Apocalypse is tricky though since it’s a completely different engine with very different gameplay, and most of its internals remain a mystery.
Q: Can I help?
A: You probably already have! The most important job is testing the game. We spend so much time working on it we can’t afford to thoroughly play it, so you need to do it for us. Play OpenXcom, play the hell out of it, then report any problems in the Bug Tracker.
If you’re a programmer, the code is open for anyone to use, if there’s any bugfixes or improvements you can introduce, feel free to send them to us either through GitHub or the Development forum.
If you’re a native speaker in a language we don’t support yet, check the Translations forum.
If you just wanna show your support, you can always donate a little something. We work on OpenXcom on our spare time with no compensation, so we appreciate the gesture.
Finally you can just be a valuable member of the community, help other people out, make suggestions, create mods and whatever else you feel like. Everything counts! | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
If Sony's PlayStation 4 lineup is anything to go by, 2016 will be the year games go to infinity. The headline grabber is No Man's Sky, of course, but for those not keen on space travel, there's another option that's also crazily ambitious. Wild is many things—an adventure game, a survival game, a riding on the back of a bear and skidding his bum along the side of a mountain game—and, like No Man's Sky, it's a game of infinite exploration.
The idea, at least for now, is that players—taking on the role of a shaman—must simply survive. As day turns to night, the world of Wild becomes nasty, and those without shelter or means of protection will succumb to the animals that roam at night. How exactly players will build that protection is something of a mystery for now, although I'm told that climbings up trees is a good place to start. Indeed, much of how Wild will work still seems to be completely up in the air. Every explanation for how the game works is prefaced with the phrase "In the current build..."
But that's not to detract from what is one of the most interesting and exciting games to have come along in years. Survival games aren't all that rare these days—particularly for PC gamers—but one with the scope of Wild is. It's a solo experience, but it's also a multiplayer experience. The animals that roam the world might be AI characters, or they might other players who've channelled their own shaman's spirit into the body of an animal to either help or hinder you on your journey.
You can do the same, of course. As shown in the Paris Games Week stage demo, the shaman can meditate, and take over an eagle's body to swoop down from the sky and capture a snake. Or the shaman can summon a bear, clambering onto its back to traverse the world—complete with an amusing bum-sliding animation—or use its strength to fight enemies. There are no swords or weapons (again, at least in the current build) or anything other than animals that can help you survive.
While Wild will never tell you to go anywhere, or do a particular thing (there isn't even a HUD), its survival systems are geared towards pushing you to interact with animals, and making them your allies. At the start of the game, this is easier said than done. With no allies to start with, you're left hunting smaller animals, or those that are easier to catch, like a frog or a rabbit. And when caught, they must be brought to an oft-guarded divinity stone, where the animal god (a snake in the stage demo) will set a task before you can summon their power.
You may be asked to kill one of your other animal compatriots, or be forced to live as a particular animal for several days, hunting what it hunts, and eating what it eats. And if it's a larger animal like a bear, then it's more complicated than simply capturing it. The bear must be domesticated first, either by raising one from birth—and that means feeding it, walking it, and other parental responsibilities—or by finding an injured bear and nursing it back to health. With each new animal that the shaman learns to control, a new tattoo is etched across the shaman's skin.
If this all sounds a little bit out there, don't worry: it is. Like Dreams—which also got a showing in Paris—Wild defies convention. Perhaps the only thing that's conventional about it for now, is what happens when you die: if you're an animal, you go back to the shaman; if you die as a shaman—something that will happen if you leave him or her out in a vulnerable spot while meditating—you go back to the last camp or shelter that you made or discovered. That there's no permadeath in a console game isn't that surprising, mind.
But I suspect the camps will stick around. If nothing else, needing to discover camps and shelters will encourage exploration, and in a game where "everything" can be explored, keeping people interested is just as important as giving them a vast world to explore. And if you're wondering how a tiny studio like Wild Sheep is making a seemingly infinite game—even with the backing of the legendary Rayman creator Michel Ancel—look no further than procedural generation, or least something very similar.
"The tech means that the game is actually infinite," explained Ancel, "but infinity can be very boring. The world is made up of a lot of different technologies, so you could say that [it's procedurally generated]. I will say that, as a developer, we are helped by the technology to create a game world without spending time creating every single piece of grass, so there is a big system in place helping to create things. It's a balance between homemade things, and generated things. But yes, we use a tool to generate the world in real-time."
I wonder whether—after we've all tried to survive yet another night in Wild, or explore our 10,000th planet in No Man's Sky—infinity will be quite as appealing. Maybe, by the end of 2016, we'll be clamouring for a good ol' fashioned scripted campaign. Or maybe, just maybe, Wild will keep us interested. It has the tech, it has the ideas, and it's just weird enough that it might actually work... "in the current build" at least.
Wild is under development exclusively for PS4. There's currently no release date. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
No fewer than 90 victims of sexual abuse within the Jehovah’s Witnesses organisation in Belgium have been discovered over a six month period, according to an association for victims.
The organisation “Reclaimed Voices” has worked with other groups in the country to identify cases within the Jehovah’s Witness organisation in Belgium, reports Le Soir.
“For most victims, it has been 10 or 15 years since the abuses took place,” Patrick Haeck, former Jehovah’s Witness and coordinator of the association. When they are still Jehovah’s Witnesses, people who contact Reclaimed Voices express an immense fear of confiding in them, he added.
An official investigation was launched following initial reports by the media in December 2018 and March 2019. Searches were carried out at the central headquarters of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Kraainem at the end of April, but the prosecutor’s office did provide an update on the case.
Jehovah’s Witnesses Belgium wants to collaborate with the justice system, said the spokesman for the organisation. In Belgium, Jehovah’s Witnesses say they have 25,000 members, Reclaimed Voices expects to eventually count 200 to 250 victims of abuse.
Some people come forward for several victims, explained Haeck, for example, parents who tell us that their three or four children have been abused.
Jules Johnston
The Brussels Times | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Book an appointment with us using our easy online scheduling system! Simply, select if you are a new patient or need a regular appointment and choose a date and time. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
The U.S. Information and Educational Exchange Act of 1948 (Public Law 80-402), popularly called the Smith–Mundt Act, is the basic legislative authorization for propaganda activities conducted by the U.S. Department of State, sometimes called "public diplomacy". The act was first introduced by Congressman Karl E. Mundt (R-SD) in January 1945 in the 79th Congress. It was subsequently passed by the 80th Congress and signed into law by President Harry S. Truman on January 27, 1948.
The Smith-Mundt Modernization Act of 2012, which was contained within the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013 (section 1078 (a)) amended the United States Information and Educational Exchange Act of 1948 and the Foreign Relations Authorization Act of 1987, allowing for materials produced by the State Department and the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) to be available within the United States.[1][2]
History [ edit ]
Origins of the bill [ edit ]
The original legislation authorizes the U.S. State Department to communicate to audiences outside of the borders of the United States through broadcasting, face-to-face contacts, exchanges (including educational, cultural, and technical), the publishing of books, magazines, and other media of communication and engagement. Funding for these activities comes from other legislation passed by the U.S. Congress called appropriations.
The legislation was introduced in the House Committee on Foreign Affairs in January 1945 by Rep. Mundt, a member of the committee. It was modified a few months later at the request of the State Department. At this time, it did not include broadcasting. The bill was reintroduced with the State Department's requests and renamed the Bloom Bill, after the committee's chairman, Rep. Sol Bloom (D-NY). The purpose was to make permanent various exchange activities, and some information programs such as books and other printed material. President Truman's dissolution of the Office of War Information included moving substantial OWI programs over to the State Department, including a radio broadcast operation not-yet-commonly known as the Voice of America. The Bloom bill was altered and reintroduced in October 1945 to include the substantial information programs from OWI, notably the libraries, book publishing, movies and film strip production, and speakers tours. In December 1945, it was reintroduced again as HR 4982, but whereas the previous iterations amended pre-war legislation from 1939 authorizing exchanges in the American Republics, plus the Philippines, this time was a stand-alone and it also included the radio operation. The language "shall disseminate" abroad found in the early versions was a specific authority requested by the State Department to permit it to operate globally. Under previous authorities, the department was restricted to operating these programs within North, Central, and South America. It would provide legislative approval for a new peacetime instrument of foreign policy.
Congressional concerns [ edit ]
Congress harbored significant reservations about empowering the State Department. A key issue was oversight over State Department programs, including exchanges, which books were distributed abroad, art that was distributed as representing the United States, and the radio programming. When the Bloom Bill (HR 4982) went to the House Rules Committee in February 1946, committee Chairman Eugene Cox (D-GA) informed Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs William B. Benton that ten of the twelve committee members were against anything the State Department favored because of its "Communist infiltration and pro-Russian policy." That the House Foreign Affairs Committee unanimously reported the bill out was meaningless. Cox told Benton that the Foreign Affairs Committee was "a worthless committee consisting of worthless impotent Congressmen; it was a kind of ghetto of the House of Representatives."[3]
Cox publicly characterized the State Department as "chock full of Reds" and "the lousiest outfit in town". The information component of the Bloom Bill was seen as a revitalization of the Office of War Information, for which many in Congress held contempt as a New Deal "transgression". The cultural component was held in greater disdain, which caused Benton to change the name of his office from the Office of Cultural and Public Affairs a year after it was created to the Office of Public Affairs.[4]
Other comments were similarly tough. The ranking minority member of the House of Representatives Appropriations Committee, Rep. John Taber (R-NY), called for a "house-cleaning" of "some folks" in the State Department to "keep only those people whose first loyalty is to the United States."[5] The FBI was also concerned over the ability of State to monitor and control participants in the exchange programs.[6]
Debate and passage [ edit ]
In July 1946, the Bloom Bill passed the House, but due to a failure to steward the bill in the Senate, it was blocked from moving in the United States Senate by Senator Taft. Taft's reasoning, which he gave in a speech later, was concern about a growing government bureaucracy. After the department, when Congress reconvened, Taft supported the legislation.
On March 21, 1947, pre-Pearl Harbor isolationist and former teacher Representative Karl E. Mundt (R-SD) introduced H.R. 3342, which was an evolution from the bill he had originally introduced in January 1945, which itself was a version of a bill he introduced in March 1943, at the request of the State Department. The State Department's information and exchange activities were still ongoing, although without authorization from the Congress. The authority was derived from Congressional appropriations legislation. In other words, the activities continued because they received money from Congress, which carried implicit authority but actual authority was still lacking. Co-sponsoring the Mundt bill in the Senate was Senator H. Alexander Smith (R-NJ). The stated purpose of the reintroduced legislation was not to curtail the overall information activities of the United States, but to raise the quality and volume of the government's information programs. As the State Department admitted to lax oversight due to personnel and budget constraints, Congress voiced its frustration and slashed State's information budget. This time, Taber said if the "drones, the loafers, and the incompetents" were weeded out, he would allow a few million dollars for international broadcasting.[7]
Several significant leaders went to the House to testify in support of the bill, including Secretary of State George Marshall, Chief of Staff General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Under Secretary of State Dean Acheson, Secretary of Commerce W. Averell Harriman (formerly the Ambassador to Russia), and Ambassador to Russia Walter Bedell Smith. They agreed that it was "folly" to spend millions for foreign aid and relief without explaining America's aims.[8]
Congress, in recommending passage of the bill, declared that "truth can be a powerful weapon." Congress further declared six principles were required for the legislation to be successful in action: tell the truth; explain the motives of the United States; bolster morale and extend hope; give a true and convincing picture of American life, methods, and ideals; combat misrepresentation and distortion; and aggressively interpret and support American foreign policy. As a Cold War measure, it was intended to compete with propaganda from the Soviet Union and Communist organizations primarily in Europe. The principal purpose of the legislation was to engage in a global struggle for minds and wills, a phrase used by Presidents Harry S. Truman and Dwight D. Eisenhower.
It established the programming mandate that still serves as the foundation for U.S. overseas information and cultural programs at the Department of State.
Cold War era [ edit ]
Since 1972, the act prohibits domestic access to information intended for foreign audiences. Prior to this, the United States Department of State and then the United States Information Agency (USIA) beginning in 1952, were prohibited from disseminating information intended for foreign audiences, with the express intent that Congress, the American media, or academia would be the distributors of such information.[9]
The exchanges in the act, known as the Mundt Exchanges through about the early 1960s, went beyond those of the complementary Fulbright Program to include any country and any skill. Whereas the Fulbright Act, the name Benton gave the original 1946 amendment to the Surplus Property Act of 1944, required a bilateral agreement signed by the Secretary of State following certification of the availability of local funds by the U.S. Treasury, after the sale of U.S. surplus war equipment in the nation, and supported only the exchange of students and teachers, the Mundt Act used monies appropriated by the Congress for the program and did not require a signed bilateral agreement or other certification. Further, the Mundt exchanges supported educators and students, technicians (from industry experts to sewage treatment engineers), entertainers, and even bureaucrats to help nations develop local capacity and stability.[10]
Amendments to the Act in 1972 and 1985 reflected the Cold War's departure from the "struggle for minds and wills" (a phrase used by both President Truman and President Eisenhower) to a balance of power based on "traditional diplomacy" and counting missiles, bombers, and tanks. As a result, Senator J. William Fulbright argued America's international broadcasting should take its "rightful place in the graveyard of Cold War relics".[11] A decade later, Senator Edward Zorinsky (D-NE) successfully blocked taxpayer access to USIA materials, even through Freedom of Information Act requests, as he compared the USIA to an organ of Soviet propaganda.[12]
Provisions [ edit ]
There are three key restrictions on the U.S. State Department in the Smith–Mundt Act.
The first and most well-known restriction was originally a prohibition on domestic dissemination of materials intended for foreign audiences by the State Department. The original intent was the Congress, the media and academia would be the filter to bring inside what the State Department said overseas. In 1967, the Advisory Commission on Information (later renamed the Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy) recommended the de facto prohibition on domestic distribution be removed noting that there is "nothing in the statutes specifically forbidding making USIA materials available to American audiences. Rather, what began as caution has hardened into policy."[13] This changed in 1972 when Senator J. William Fulbright (D-AR) argued that America's international broadcasting should take its "rightful place in the graveyard of Cold War relics" as he successfully amended the Act to read that any program material "shall not be disseminated" within the U.S. and that material shall be available "for examination only" to the media, academia, and Congress (P.L. 95-352 Sec. 204). In 1985, Senator Edward Zorinsky (D-NE) declared USIA would be no different than an organ of Soviet propaganda if its products were to be available domestically.[14] The Act was amended to read: "no program material prepared by the United States Information Agency shall be distributed within the United States" (P.L. 99-93). At least one court interpreted this language to mean USIA products were to be exempt from Freedom of Information Act requests. In response, the Act was amended again in 1990 to permit domestic distribution of program material "12 years after the initial dissemination" abroad (P.L. 101-246 Sec 202).
The second and third provisions were of greater interest to the Congress as they answered critical concerns about government engaging domestic audiences. Added to the Bloom Bill, the predecessor to the Smith-Mundt Bill in June 1946 by Representative John M. Vorys (R-OH) "to remove the stigma of propaganda" and address the principal objections to the information activities the Congress intended to authorize. These provisions remain unamended and were the real prophylactic to address concerns the U.S. Government would create Nazi-style propaganda or resurrect President Wilson's CPI-style activities. The amendment said the information activities should only be conducted if needed to supplement international information dissemination of private agencies; that the State Department was not to acquire a monopoly of broadcasting or any other information medium; and that private sector leaders should be invited to review and advise the State Department in this work.
Section 1437 of the Act requires the State Department to maximize its use of "private agencies." Section 1462 requires "reducing Government information activities whenever corresponding private information dissemination is found to be adequate" and prohibits the State Department from having monopoly in any "medium of information" (a prescient phrase). Combined, these provide not only protection against government's domination of domestic discourse, but a "sunset clause" for governmental activities that Rep. Karl Mundt (R-SD) and Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs William Benton stated clearly: as private media stood up, government media would stand down.
Excerpt [ edit ]
Section 501(a) of the Act (care of the Voice of America Web site) provides that
information produced by VOA for audiences outside the United States shall not be disseminated within the United States … but, on request, shall be available in the English language at VOA, at all reasonable times following its release as information abroad, for examination only by representatives of United States press associations, newspapers, magazines, radio systems, and stations, and by research students and scholars, and, on request, shall be made available for examination only to Members of Congress.
"This means that VOA is forbidden to broadcast within the United States." However, any American with a shortwave receiver or an Internet connection can listen to VOA. This is incidental, however. VOA cannot direct or intend its programs to be "for" Americans. George W. Bush-era State Department official James K. Glassman has called for directing VOA at American audiences.
Entities covered by the Act [ edit ]
The following are administered by the Broadcasting Board of Governors, an agency of the United States government.
The Department of State is also covered by the Smith–Mundt Act. No other department or agency of the United States government is covered by the Smith–Mundt Act. The United States Agency for International Development and Millennium Challenge Corporation have said they are not sure whether they are covered.[15]
Recent interpretations [ edit ]
A 1998 U.S. Court of Appeals ruling indicated that this act exempts Voice of America from releasing transcripts in response to a Freedom of Information Act request.
The act does not prohibit the entirety of the Executive Branch from distributing information at home, just the State Department and Broadcasting Board of Governors. The result of the amendments to the Act means that most United States taxpayers do not know how the VOA (and its successor agencies) operate or what their programming content was, as was noted in 1967 by the Stanton Commission report noted above. The act insulates the American public from being targeted by the government-sponsored information and broadcasting which is directed at audiences beyond America's borders. Some experts claim that the United States is "the only industrialized democracy to do this, and creates mistrust of the same activities in these audiences who increasingly question why Americans cannot read or hear the same material." However, anyone with an Internet connection can access VOA programs and articles for the Web, radio and television (VOA increasingly emphasizes television programming now) in English and other languages.
U.S. Congressional Amendments to 1948 Act [ edit ]
Chronological legislation relative to U.S. Congressional revisions as pertaining to the United States Information and Educational Exchange Act.
See also [ edit ]
References [ edit ] | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Writers on the Range No, Ted Cruz, Westerners should not follow in Texas’ footsteps The state’s public lands boondoggle was a historical accident.
On a campaign stop in Idaho, presidential hopeful Ted Cruz characterized the West’s federal land system as a “historical accident.” The Republican senator from Texas then stoked resentment over federal management of public lands by telling his audience that the government ought to hand its lands over to the states. This would, of course, set public land — which all Americans own — on a path to private ownership.
Cruz pointed to Texas as a counterexample. He’s wrong: Texas itself is the real historical accident, and its history offers a cautionary tale, not a model, for Idaho and the rest of the West.
Cruz knows there is plenty of anger to tap. The federal indictments against the Bundy bunch remind us of the fervor that public lands can inspire. Meanwhile, many Westerners possess a congenital longing for unhindered access to public resources. They’ve come to believe that all that stands between them and certain riches is a conspiracy designed to deprive the West of its rightful ability to profit from the public domain. That’s clearly what Ted Cruz thinks. But Cruz is confused, especially when it comes to Texas.
When Texas joined the United States in 1845, Congress allowed it to keep its public domain — some 200 million acres. This was a historical exception; in other territories, public land remained under federal control. Spanish law in Texas’s past complicated such practices. But the overriding concern in this case was Texas’ debt. The federal government thought that Texans ought to address financial shenanigans of their own making.
Leaving Texans to their own devices led to excesses. In one instance, the state sold its land to outsiders to pay for a new capitol building. The result was the XIT Ranch, a vast 3-million-acre complex that sprawled across 10 panhandle counties. Selling off lands became the norm, a policy that caused problems well into the 20th century.
Beautiful spots and fragile ecologies in the state faced constant and myriad threats. In the 1930s, the federal government acquired land for Big Bend National Park partly to bail out ranchers who had so overgrazed grasslands as to make continued ranching unprofitable. Logging companies chewed up places like the Big Thicket in East Texas with astonishing speed. Many scenic areas became so overdeveloped that the wildness, beauty and solitude people valued them for disappeared, while still other places were sequestered behind signs announcing “Private Property.” Environmental protection in Texas always lagged, despite courageous conservationists playing David to the Texas establishment’s Goliath.
There is another parable from the Bible – a source Cruz said he reveres – apropos to this situation. King Ahab of Samaria coveted his neighbor Naboth’s fine vineyard, but Naboth resisted and told Ahab, “The Lord forbid that I should give you the inheritance of my ancestors” (1 Kings 21:3). Immediately thereafter, Ahab’s wife, the notorious Jezebel, hatched a scheme whereby Naboth would be falsely charged with blasphemy. A frenzy erupted, and Naboth was stoned to death, leaving his vineyard open for the king to claim.
This was the parable that sprang to U.S. Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas’s mind when he traveled widely in Texas during the 1960s. He saw modern Ahabs in the form of timber companies, ranchers, poachers and utilities everywhere, all trying to appropriate “the inheritance of all the people,” as he put it.
Douglas bemoaned Naboth’s vineyard’s fate. Texas’s environmental woes, Douglas believed, stemmed from its lack of public lands. Half a century later, those Texans who love nature and access to open spaces generally concur. With so little public land open to them in Texas, they flee to states such as Colorado to hunt or to hike.
Our public inheritance in the West was bequeathed to us by our ancestors. America’s publicly owned forests and grasslands, wildlife refuges and hunting grounds, wilderness areas and national parks are accessible to everyone. They help preserve what writer Terry Tempest Williams has called “the open space of democracy,” places that allow for justice and beauty and even the dissent on which democracy depends. They do not fence the public out.
Idaho is no stranger to arguments like Cruz’s. Along with Utahns and Nevadans, some Idahoans dream of “taking back” a public domain that was never theirs. They drink in with gusto Cruz’s words that the 2 percent of Texas land under federal control is “2 percent too much.”
But Westerners ought to recognize Texas as a flawed model with a distinctly poor environmental history. Cruz and those who assail public ownership at every turn resemble the covetous Ahab, or are, like Jezebel, handmaids to duplicity.
Idaho’s Place: A New History of the Gem State. He's on Twitter @AdamMSowards. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
ANAHEIM -- The most embarrassing moment for a first-year player at any team's rookie party usually comes when the youngster has to stand up in front of the team and entertain the group.
Emerson Etem Right Wing - ANA GOALS: 3 | ASST: 6 | PTS: 9
SOG: 38 | +/-: 6
For Emerson Etem , it happened when he broke bread with teammates at said dinner in cuisine-friendly Chicago and it was time to order.
"The guys were giving it to me because I ordered a club sandwich at a fancy steakhouse," Etem said. "They were giving it to me."
Etem did have to get up and tell a story, but he is hesitant to divulge details. His own story is good enough.
Etem, 20, is living a local-boy-makes-good existence with the Anaheim Ducks, who play their penultimate home game of the regular season Wednesday at Honda Center against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
A product of Long Beach – situated halfway between Anaheim and Los Angeles – Etem has given the Ducks speed on the wing and teamed with Andrew Cogliano for a potent combination up top on the penalty kill. He has contributed three goals and six assists while averaging 11:23 of ice time in 33 games.
"He brings so much energy to the team, and he brings that same consistent effort night in and night out, and that's what makes him so useful and so special for us," defenseman Cam Fowler said. "He can create so much with his speed, and I think he's learned how to harness that in certain situations. He's definitely an exciting player to watch."
Coach Bruce Boudreau couldn't keep Etem with the club out of training camp because of the team's positional needs. He initially envisioned Etem spending a year in the American Hockey League then being a part-time NHL player in his second year. But that plan changed quickly.
"He's accelerated the way he plays," Boudreau said. "So he's been a full-time guy."
KEVIN'S TAKE
I've known Emerson since he was 13 years old, when I met him while working out at the Gold's Gym in Venice Beach with TR Goodman. Just to give a little context, TR helped train Rob Blake, Chris Chelios, Anson Carter, Glen Murray and a whole bunch of other NHL guys.
Those guys went there every year, and I just went for the one summer to train there for something different. Anson had been going there for years, and we grew up together in Toronto. At any rate, Emerson is a young guy from Long Beach and he was taking the public transit an hour-and-a-half, an hour-and-20 minutes each way as a 13-year-old to come and work out with us.
When you've got a 13-year-old that has the presence of mind to recognize that has the opportunity to train with these NHL guys, I mean, that's pretty amazing, right? This kid was 13 years old, and we're talking hockey, not tennis. If you want to talk about dedication, someone that gets it, someone that is hungry to play in the League -- we were all so impressed with him.
Sometimes guys who lived in Orange County would give him rides back toward his home so he could catch the bus from there to Long Beach and it would be a shorter commute than from Venice Beach.
That's how impressive this guy was to me, and that's how impressive he remains to me. He's a smart young man, he handles himself well and his work ethic is obviously impeccable. As long as he stays on that path and remains with that mindset, I think he can play in this League for a long time.
-- Kevin Weekes spent 11 seasons as an NHL goaltender for seven teams and now serves as an analyst for the NHL Network and contributor to NHL.com.
I've known Emerson since he was 13 years old, when I met him while working out at the Gold's Gym in Venice Beach with TR Goodman. Just to give a little context, TR helped train Rob Blake, Chris Chelios, Anson Carter, Glen Murray and a whole bunch of other NHL guys.Those guys went there every year, and I just went for the one summer to train there for something different. Anson had been going there for years, and we grew up together in Toronto. At any rate, Emerson is a young guy from Long Beach and he was taking the public transit an hour-and-a-half, an hour-and-20 minutes each way as a 13-year-old to come and work out with us.When you've got a 13-year-old that has the presence of mind to recognize that has the opportunity to train with these NHL guys, I mean, that's pretty amazing, right? This kid was 13 years old, and we're talking hockey, not tennis. If you want to talk about dedication, someone that gets it, someone that is hungry to play in the League -- we were all so impressed with him.Sometimes guys who lived in Orange County would give him rides back toward his home so he could catch the bus from there to Long Beach and it would be a shorter commute than from Venice Beach.That's how impressive this guy was to me, and that's how impressive he remains to me. He's a smart young man, he handles himself well and his work ethic is obviously impeccable. As long as he stays on that path and remains with that mindset, I think he can play in this League for a long time.
Etem made his NHL debut Jan. 29 and became the 13th player born and trained in Southern California to appear in the NHL. He roofed his first NHL goal past San Jose Sharks goaltender Antti Niemi off Daniel Winnik's feed to finish a pretty rush March 18 at Honda Center.
His father, Richard, was in the stands with some buddies enjoying the hometown moment. Etem admits he occasionally watches it on YouTube.
"I kind of want to relive the moment," he said. "Before some of the games, I like to watch the play, watch what happened. It gives me a little bit of confidence. I've watched it a few times."
Etem's welcome-to-the-NHL moment was a simple shot on net in that first game when he skated down the left side and took Kyle Palmieri's soft pass.
"Just to get my first shot on net, I think, was, 'Wow. I finally made it.'" Etem said. "I take it day-by-day still here, but that was a special moment."
So far everything about Etem suggests he can thrive at this level, particularly with his speed. He was a 61-goal scorer last season with Medicine Hat in the Western Hockey League, the first WHL player in 10 years to reach that mark. But for now his skills are being channeled into providing energy and killing penalties.
How easily Etem has adopted his new role hasn't gone unnoticed. Talk to those around him and what stands out most is Etem's maturity and awareness of his place and role within the team.
"Sheldon Souray said the other day," Boudreau said. "He pointed to Emerson and said, 'There's not too many like him anymore,' meaning a young kid that comes up. He's like a sponge and he does whatever you want him to do, no complaints. He's not a prima donna or anything. He's the real deal of a young man."
That can be traced to Etem's background. His parents were athletes, but neither played hockey. Richard rowed and played tennis at the U.S. Naval Academy, and his mother, Patricia, rowed on the 1984 U.S. Olympic team.
"She's instilled a lot of character in me and obviously what she went through, being an Olympic athlete. I think that it kind of says it right there," Etem said of Patricia. "The hard work she instilled in me, she was there at every practice. I think both my parents just did a great job of telling me to stay humble. I think they're very humble people as well, so that kind of fed off each other and it helped me out quite a bit."
Etem's brother, Martin, got him started in hockey and Etem cut his teeth at Westminster Ice rink, about 20 minutes from Anaheim. He left home at 14 to play for Shattuck-St. Mary's School in Minnesota, beating a path from Southern California to the NHL. His 2010 draft year happened to be at Staples Center, where several other California players were selected.
For Richard and Patricia, who rarely got to see Etem play after he left home, landing in Anaheim was fortuitous. With his parents at all his home games, Etem is embracing the hometown hero role in a town that loves a good storyline.
"I feed off the fans' energy," he said. "If I make a good play and they give me a pretty good ovation, I love that kind of stuff. It makes me feel at home. It makes me feel at home that my friends and family are in the stands night in and night out. It's definitely a good feeling."
Rookie parties aside, Etem hasn't had to do much carrying of bags. On the first day of his first training camp with Anaheim, veteran Todd Marchant symbolically had Etem lead the stretch because he was the youngest player. Other than collecting pucks after practice and waiting for the second elevator at the hotel, there aren't too many rookie rituals taking place.
"We don't do that stuff anymore, not in the NHL, anyway," captain Ryan Getzlaf said with a laugh. "He's a good kid. He's got a good head on his shoulders. He likes to listen, and that contributes to his play on to the ice."
It helps that Anaheim's room features four players 36 or older and four 23 or younger. Etem cites 42-year-old Teemu Selanne as an influence and identifies with Fowler, who was drafted 12th in his year. And despite his ridiculed steakhouse order, the rookie party was a fun, light moment.
"You can gain confidence just off the ice," he said. "It's early on in the year, and when you have something like that I think the vets kind of get to know you a little bit better, and that's where the inside jokes start and you start to feel comfortable with the older guys."
Even in a Chicago steakhouse. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Watching the Florida Gators defense under Will Muschamp, it’s apparent the apple doesn’t fall far from the Nick Saban coaching tree.
A front four that can get a rush without a blitz, followed by a linebacker core that swarms the ball carrier and a secondary that presses the receiver and takes balls out the air. It’s a style that Saban is known for and Muschamp has implemented in various coaching stops.
When Florida’s and Alabama’s respective squads take on the opposing offenses Saturday, fans will see where the mentor Saban’s had an impact on Muschamp.
The stats this season show the similarities of the defenses. While Alabama has played one more game than Florida, the Tide and Gators are ranked second and third in the SEC, respectively. Both teams are ranked top-15 in the nation, with Alabama at 10 and Florida at 15. The total yards per game allowed by the defenses are around 20 within of each other, with Alabama allowing 267 and Florida allowing 287.5. The teams also share a close margin of sacks (Florida: 5, Alabama: 7) and tackles for loss (Florida: 15, Alabama: 16).
The same day Florida shut out Eastern Michigan 65-0, Alabama shut out Florida Atlantic 41-0, adding even more to the mirrored identities the squads share.
The secondary of the two teams have also been questioned this season, after facing up-tempo offenses. Last week the Gators gave up 369 yards in the air and three touchdowns against Kentucky’s offense. Alabama faced communication breakdowns in the season opener against West Virginia. The Mountaineers’ high-speed offense amassed 365 passing yards and one touchdown.
Throughout the week Florida’s coaching staff discussed playing better in the slot as well as fixing the secondary’s eye discipline against the pass as the team prepares for preseason All-American Amari Cooper.
“We need to do a better job on the jump ball with Jalen [Tabor] in a couple of situations,” Muschamp said. “There was some contact there, we need to be more firm with the contact and not let the receiver push off on us, and be more firm at the top of the route. So there are some things that are all correctable things as you watch the tape.”
For Alabama, Saban feels the team working young players into the system led to the communication issues, but as the players continue to play the problems will be corrected.
“I think what we’ve done the past two games, both of which have been no-huddle teams, as well, we’ve communicated a lot better and had a lot more mental errors,” Saban said. “We need to build on that as the players get more experience.”
Saturday’s mirror defenses will provide the offenses with identical challenges. Looking at tape of their opponent, Gators wide receiver Ahmad Fulwood can see the influence Saban has had on Muschamp.
‘They play pretty similar,” he said. “They play press in boundary, they move around a lot, they’re very good on play side call. They’re pretty much our defense. I guess if they threw on different jerseys it wouldn’t make a difference.” | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
LOS ANGELES — In his first state of the state address on Tuesday, California Gov. Gavin Newsom proposed "a new data dividend" that could allow residents to get paid for providing access to their data.
"California's consumers should also be able to share in the wealth that is created from their data," Newsom said from the State Capitol in Sacramento. The Democrat said tech companies that "make billions of dollars collecting, curating and monetizing our personal data have a duty to protect it."
Newsom, who took office just over four weeks ago, also called for reeling in two big-ticket projects — the state's high-speed rail and proposed Delta twin tunnels.
The data dividend proposal follows the state legislature's passage last year of a landmark data privacy bill, granting consumers specific rights related to their personal digital information that's collected, shared or maintained by businesses. The legislation allows consumers to request that personal information be deleted and requires businesses that collect personal data to disclose how and why it's being used.
Newsom said his staff asked him to come up with the plan. He didn't provide details in his address, but some tech experts have suggested that companies like Facebook and Google should pay consumers for their data.
Democratic state Sen. Bob Hertzberg, who represents part of Los Angeles County and was one of the primary authors of the data privacy bill, described the plan as "the next frontier of the online and privacy conversation."
Representatives for Facebook and Google didn't respond to requests for comment. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
CR: A Detroit, Michigan, radio station is pulling Kanye West’s songs off the air after his controversial comments about slavery earlier this week.
Fox 2 News reports that morning hosts BiGG and Shay Shay of 105.1 The Bounce, a “throwback Hip Hop and R&B station,” went live on Facebook to announce they would no longer play West’s music.
“Why can’t we make a statement? In the small fish that we are, to say, I don’t want to hear Kanye right now. I don’t want to play his music; I don’t want to hear him on our show,” Shay Shay said.
“As of this moment, we will #MuteKanye on the Morning Bounce and we will not play any of Kanye West’s music, music that he’s featured on, music that he raps on, none of his throwbacks. We are banning Kanye West’s music from this radio station,” BiGG added.
West came under fire earlier this week after he said black slavery in America was a “choice” in an interview with TMZ.
“When you hear about slavery for 400 years … For 400 years? That sounds like a choice,” he said, adding “you were there for 400 years and it’s all of y’all. It’s like we’re mentally imprisoned.”
After backlash for these comments, West took to Twitter Tuesday to clarify his comments in tweets that have since been deleted. more | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Alby Gallun, Chicago Business, July 28, 2014
The high-rise at 500 N. Lake Shore Drive is the second-most expensive in the city, with rents for a one-bedroom apartment approaching $3,000 a month, well beyond the reach of most Chicago residents.
But that’s not too much for the Chicago Housing Authority, which has used federal tax dollars to pick up most of the tab for four lucky residents in the year-old building, with its sweeping views of Lake Michigan, a concierge and a dog-grooming center.
The tenants moved in over the past two years as part of a push by the CHA to expand its housing voucher program so that more low-income residents can leave the city’s roughest neighborhoods and start a new life in places with low poverty and crime and close to good schools and jobs.
Yet some landlords say it’s a mistake to use scarce tax dollars to pay ultra-high rents for a fortunate few when more than 15,000 people sit on the CHA’s voucher waiting list.
“This is nuts,” says landlord Tony Rossi, president of Chicago-based RMK Management Corp., who describes himself as a liberal Democrat. “In a situation where you’re dealing with a low-income person, do they really need a 25th-floor apartment with a lake view? It just doesn’t make sense to me.”
{snip}
The CHA says in a statement that the “exception payments” for high-cost apartments cover less than 2 percent of the authority’s roughly 38,000 outstanding vouchers. The higher payments–known as supervouchers–are necessary to help low-income residents move into better neighborhoods, which have few affordable housing options, the authority says.
Most landlords agree with the effort to expand the use of “housing choice vouchers,” formerly known as Section 8 vouchers, to more prosperous parts of the city. Vouchers have become a bigger part of the CHA’s policy since it tore down big public housing projects like Cabrini-Green, offering recipients more flexibility to choose where to live so they can escape the cycle of poverty.
Under the voucher program, which is federally funded but run by local agencies like the CHA, an eligible resident can rent an apartment in a privately owned building. Voucher holders generally must pay up to 30 percent of their monthly income, if they have any, to cover rent and utilities, with the CHA picking up the rest.
HUD caps how much the CHA can pay a landlord. A few years ago, the CHA could not pay more than 110 percent of a fair market rent calculated by HUD. The current fair market rent in Cook County for a one-bedroom apartment is $826 a month.
But HUD allowed the CHA to change its rules in 2010, pushing the cap up to 300 percent in designated “opportunity areas,” such as downtown and Lakeview, where poverty is low and subsidized housing is scarce.
{snip}
The CHA has approved 706 supervouchers since HUD signed off on the higher limits, and the number has jumped in the past two years. The CHA approved 364 in the first half of the year, up from 291 for all of 2013, 44 in 2012 and seven in 2011, according to the authority. Eighty-seven payments exceeded 200 percent of HUD’s fair market rent in the first six months of the year, versus 49 for 2013 overall.
Eleven leases hit the 300 percent cap in the first six months of 2014, up from three for last year, according to the CHA. {snip}
{snip}
According to the CHA, 15,230 people were on its waiting list for housing vouchers at the end of 2013.
{snip}
In its statement, the CHA says exception payments provide “CHA families the ability to choose where they want to live and enjoy the great diversity that Chicago communities have to offer.” {snip}
{snip} | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Corning’s next-gen wearable glass will be nigh unbreakable
Corning Gorilla Glass SR+ has been revealed today by the company that makes massive amounts of display glass for many mobile devices. Corning makes its mark year after year on phones and tablets – smartphones, mostly – covering them all with their reinforced glass. Corning Gorilla Glass SR+, they suggest, will “significantly reduce visible scratches while delivering the toughness, optical clarity, and touch sensitivity that make Gorilla Glass famous.”
Corning releases new glass mixes and methods for making every year. What makes Corning Gorilla Glass SR+ different is its set of features which make it uniquely suited to wearable devices. Devices that rest on a wrist, that is – devices that could potentially take a lot of damage.
ABOVE: Conceptual “Glass Age Today” video produced by Corning earlier this year.
This new glass has been lab tested by Corning, (as all Gorilla Glass is, of course,) showing “superior scratch resistance approaching that of alternative luxury cover materials.”
While at first it might seem that Corning is suggesting only that their product isn’t quite as scratch resistant as their competition, they add that this new Gorilla Glass SR+ is better than the competition in two different ways. One, this glass “delivers up to 70 percent better damage resistance against impacts” than those of alternative materials.
This new glass also showed “25 percent better surface reflection” than those same alternative materials.
Corning’s Gorilla Glass SR+ “is commercially available” right now and the company expects that it’ll be implemented on a variety of devices “from leading global brands” later this year (that’s 2016.)
If history teaches us where Corning’s Gorilla Glass SR+ will be – based on which companies have used Gorilla Glass before – picking out which will do so again should be relatively easy. But it isn’t. Corning mostly works in smartphones and tablets, and is just now really making a push for the smartwatch (and other wearables, we must assume) market.
If you take a peek at Corning’s Full Product List you’ll find every major electronics manufacturer from ASUS to ZTE. Expect the next generation of Android Wear devices (at least) to be largely Corning-covered.
Note: The image at the head of this article was not created by Corning, nor does it show Gorilla Glass as such. Instead, it’s a set of Romain Jerome Chronograph watches that just happen to have been placed on the arms of a gorilla-like model – it fit! | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Streets of Rogue emerged from Steam's early access program last year, and it's a fast-paced rogue-lite beat 'em up that lets you play as a wide variety of characters as you make your way through its violent levels of procedurally-generated urban decay. The developer has announced that he's working on a sequel, which we sincerely hope also involves gorillas.
You see, in Streets of Rogue, you begin each run by picking a character class, the way you do in many roguelikes. However, here you have options you won't find anywhere else: sure, you could opt to be a soldier or thief, but why not try beating the game as a 500-pound gorilla? Or perhaps as a terrible comedian? Each character type comes with its own specific goals and challenges - gorillas, for example, gain health by eating bananas but cannot speak English.
The sequel is early in development, and developer Matt Dabrowski says he doesn't have a timeline established for the sequel. However, in a recent update to the Streets of Rogue Steam page, he says he'd like to build on Streets of Rogue's existing codebase - which represents six years of work, he writes - and make a game that's more "open-ended" and include even more systems.
from PCGamesN https://ift.tt/2JLrK8Jvia IFTTT | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Indian economy grew at 7.6 per cent in 2015-16.
India’s average economic growth rate of 7.5 per cent in the last 12 years has failed to bring about any significant improvement in the quality of life of the common people, noted development economist Jean Dreze said."The Indian economy has been growing at around 7.5 per cent per year for the last twelve years, with relatively small deviations up or down from this average."Few countries have grown so fast for so long with such limited results in terms of widely-shared improvements in the quality of life," Dreze told PTI in an interview.Dreze, a former member of UPA’s National Advisory Council and now a visiting professor at the department of economics, Ranchi University, said the growth rates of the last two years are in line with this trajectory.“This is an achievement of sorts since the world economy is not doing particularly well at this time,” he said.Dreze, who has done extensive work in India on issues like hunger, famine, and the NREGA said: “The main issue is not to raise the growth rate further, which may or may not be possible, but to ensure that growth is associated with rapid improvements in people’s living conditions.”Indian economy grew at 7.6 per cent in 2015-16. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
PolitiFact's Jon Greenberg [Email him] has an item that says Ann Coulter wrongly claims that U.S. 'has already taken in one-fourth of Mexico's entire population', By June 2nd, 2015.
When Ann Coulter wrote in a recent syndicated column, that
“America has already taken in one-fourth of Mexico’s entire population.”
“Today, about a fifth of all Mexicans in the world live in the US.
There are currently 106 million people in Mexico and approximately 25 million people of Mexican descent in the United States. In other words, just under 1/5th of all Mexicans in the world now live in America. And they got here without an official open borders plan.
The United States is home to the second largest Mexican community in the world second only to Mexico itself comprising over 24% of the entire Mexican origin population of the world.
I added a link to a 2011 column where I said much the same thing:And that was linked to a 2005 Sailer column which saidBut I could have just linked to Wikipedia, which says, in the article on “Mexican-Americans “Wikipedia’s source is the US Census. Ann Coulter sourced a Pew Research Center report in her book.
So what's Greenberg's argument? He's saying that Mexicans aren't Mexican.
In reality, the immigration data from Pew is not nearly as neat and tidy as Coulter concludes. The Pew report attempted to count the number of people who trace their roots back to Mexico, not people who came directly from that country. Why does that make such a difference? Well, about two-thirds of Americans with Mexican ancestry were born in the United States. By definition, they were never part of Mexico’s population. If they weren’t Mexican, they could not be "taken in."
But they are Mexican. They say they're Mexican, and the Government of Mexico thinks they're Mexican . Many of the Mexicans born in the US are born to Mexican parents who are citizens of Mexico, and they can go to Mexico and claim citizenship there if they want.
What we're looking at is colonization. Citizens of Mexico move to the US, live in barrios and colonias, and raise their kids in America, and the so the Mexican population grows until the number of Mexicans in America is equal to, as Ann Coulter says, 25 percent of the population of Mexico.
A much shorter answer to Greenberg is the graph at the top of this post. In 1950, America had 4 million Hispanics. The difference between 1950 and 2015 is due to immigration, not natural increase. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Iranian military fast-boats in the Gulf of Oman are preventing two privately owned tug boats from towing away an oil tanker damaged in attacks on Thursday, a U.S. official said on Friday, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The U.S. official did not say how the United States knew of the reported standoff between the Iranian fast-boats and the tug boats, which were trying to tie up and tow away the Norwegian-owned Front Altair. The United States blames Iran for Thursday’s attacks against the Altair and the Japanese-owned Kokuka Courageous.
Tehran denies the accusations. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Advertisements
Four more Republican Senators all from rural states are withholding support for the Republican health care bill due to the damage it would do to rural hospitals. If McConnell brings this bill to the floor for a vote, Trump will be humiliatingly defeated by his own party.
The New York Times reported, “Senator John Hoeven, Republican of North Dakota, signaled this week that he would not vote for the bill as written, following negative remarks from other senators with large poor and rural populations. That was the 10th defection. Three other Republican senators, Bob Corker of Tennessee, Charles E. Grassley of Iowa and John Boozman of Arkansas, have withheld their support, although they have not declared their opposition, and others have largely remained silent.”
The problem for McConnell is that he doesn’t have enough money to rob Peter to pay Paul in the legislative sense. Moderates want Medicaid funded, the rural Senators want rural hospitals not to lose funding, and Sens. Collins and Murkowski are weighing teaming up on an amendment that would restore Planned Parenthood funding.
Advertisements
There is a larger more underlying issue that may doom the healthcare bill. There are a series of differing ideologies within the Senate Republican caucus for what the healthcare bill should do. Far right Republican Senators want Obamacare repealed and replaced with nothing; there is a faction that wants Obamacare repealed with some popular provisions kept and a moderate faction that basically wants to keep the Affordable Care Act with changes.
McConnell has no margin for error since he is trying to pass this legislation with only Republican votes, but each concession that he makes to gain votes from one faction loses votes from another.
If the Republicans want a health care bill to pass, they are going to need Democratic votes. The only way that they are going to get Democratic votes is by dropping the Obamacare repeal.
It is looking more and more likely that McConnell will bring the Republican bill to the floor for a vote, it will be defeated, and then work will begin on a bipartisan bill that keeps Obamacare.
Trump vow to repeal the ACA will go down in flames, and he will suffer defeat in the most humiliating way possible from his own party. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Hacktivist collective Anonymous has dealt a blow to the recruiting efforts of ISIS by launching cyber attacks on Twitter accounts used by the terror group to mobilize fighters. In a comprehensive strike called #OpISIS, the hackers have managed to breach hundreds of ISIS Twitter accounts and email addresses.
In a statement released by Anonymous, the vigilante cyber cabal said: "ISIS, we will hunt you, take down your sites, accounts, emails and expose you... You will be treated like a virus, and we are the cure. We own the internet."
"Remember – the terrorists that are calling themselves Islamic State (ISIS) are not Muslims."
It also added that its members comprised of people from all over the world: "We are Muslims, we are Christians, we are Jews, we are hackers... We come from all races, countries, religions, and ethnicity."
"We are hackers, crackers, hacktivists, phishers, agents, spies, or just the guy from next door. We are students, administrators, workers, clerks, unemployed, rich, poor. We are young, or old, gay or straight. We wear smart clothes or Uggs. We come from all races, countries, religions, and ethnicity. United as one, divided by zero. We are Anonymous".
Anonymous uploaded a Pastebin link containing all the ISIS-affiliated Twitter accounts that it has taken down along with a list of suspected ISIS-linked Facebook profiles. Given that ISIS' relentless recruitment and propaganda machine has relied so heavily on the use of Twitter as a medium, it'll be interesting to see how far this attack sets back the caliphate.
The hacktivist collective has form for affecting the operations of terrorist organisations. In November last year, Anonymous hijacked the Ku Klux Klan's Twitter account in the wake of threats made by the racist white supermacy group against Ferguson protesters. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
hello
got to the exclamation point and pressed volume up and camera but nothing????did i miss anything?
Click to expand... | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
GLOBAL Number of mobile students out of, and into, China soars Tweet
In all Western nations with large numbers of foreign students, Chinese are by far the most numerous. China is the largest source of international students in English-speaking countries such as the United Kingdom, United States, Australia and Canada.
However, growth in the number of Chinese studying abroad has slowed since 2015, with a year-to-year growth rate of 14% compared with the startling annual average rate of 19% between 2000 and 2015.
The case of America
American universities are still the main attraction for Chinese students and US institutions enrolled 330,000 Chinese last year or nearly one in three of the total. That compares with 166,000 students from India, the second largest supplier of foreign students.
According to the US Institute of International Education’s Open Doors report for 2015-16, the number of international students enrolled in US higher education increased by 7% from the previous year to more than one million for the first time.
China remains the top sending country, with almost twice the number of students as India, although India’s rate of growth and absolute increases are outpacing that of China’s.
Students from the top three countries of origin – China, India and Saudi Arabia – now represent 53% of the total enrolment of international students in US universities.
As the report notes, this was the 10th consecutive year of increasing numbers of foreign students in higher education: “There are now 85% more international students studying at US colleges and universities than were reported a decade ago.”
As other countries with large numbers of foreign students are aware, their value to the national economy is often enormous. In the US, the Department of Commerce reports that international students contributed more than US$35 billion to the economy in 2015 – up from US$31 billion the year before.
In its 2016 Bluebook Report on Chinese Studying Abroad, China’s Center for China and Globalization says the number of Chinese undergraduates in the US now exceeds that of Chinese graduate enrolments. The report says this aligns with the overall trend that more and more young Chinese students “have been sent to study abroad”.
“In terms of their choices of schools, Chinese students are paying more attention to the schools’ reputation and career development services, instead of tuition fee and other spending issues,” the report states.
The case of Britain
British universities have also increasingly benefited from a Chinese student influx dating from the early 2000s.
In the five years to 2012, for example, the number of students from China and the other Chinese-speaking nations jumped from 81,000 to nearly 200,000 while the totals from the other top 10 sending countries remained virtually flat.
The UK Higher Education Statistics Agency reports that for 2015-16, the number of students from China far exceeded any other nationality, at 91,215.
The agency also notes that China is the only sending country showing a significant increase in its student numbers whereas enrolments of Indian students coming to Britain continues to fall, with a startling overall 44% decrease in the last five years.
A 2015 study, carried out by economists at the UK consultancy PwC and the business lobby London First, found that international students made a net contribution of £2.3 billion (US$3 billion) a year to the UK economy in London alone and supported 70,000 jobs in the capital. The economic contribution of students from China comprised a significant proportion of that sum.
Brain drain easing
While China is the world's largest source of foreign students, the number of Chinese studying abroad who opt to return home has also been steadily increasing in recent years.
Statistics compiled by China’s Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security indicate that a record high of 432,500 ‘returnees’ arrived back in China last year, drawn by the booming Chinese economy.
The ministry says the outbound-to-return ratio increased by about 10% in the past four years to 82% in 2016 – yet a decade earlier, only one in three of all Chinese students returned home after finishing their education abroad.
Among Chinese students who obtained masters degrees abroad, more than 60% had returned home and nearly half of them were in the major municipalities such as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.
And as University World News, China’s drive to attract more international students to its universities is paying off, with nearly 400,000 students from overseas studying in China in 2015, according to official figures.
The number surpassed the government’s 2015 target of achieving an overall international student population of 350,000 by 2015.
This year China
One Belt, One Road
Referring to China’s massive ‘One Belt, One Road’ project, the Bluebook Report says this could contribute more growth in the number of international students in China: “But more efforts are needed to provide sufficient scholarship and entrepreneurship opportunities, among other incentives, to attract more to study in China.”
Launched by President Xi Jinping in 2013 as a foreign policy and economic strategy, the project will economically link Europe to China through countries across Eurasia and the Indian Ocean, with other links to Africa and Oceania. The initiative envisages the building of six major economic cooperation corridors and several key maritime pivot points across Eurasia.
As the Asia Times reported on 13 May: “As much as [the project] will act as a boost to economies from Bangladesh to Egypt and Myanmar to Tajikistan, it is also a far-reaching economic-free trade-investment plan that will open up markets for Chinese technology and merchandise. And with this comes priceless geopolitical reach for China.
“In parallel to this connectivity extravaganza, arguably spanning 65 nations, 60% of the world’s population and a third of global economic output, China will accumulate extra capital from Central Asia to the Middle East. It will also polish its status as leader of the developing world, allowing it to once again try and reignite the 120-nation Non-Aligned Movement.”
And almost certainly spread more Chinese students along the world’s new ‘Silk Road’ while also attracting increasing numbers of foreigners to its own universities.
Of the five million international students studying higher education courses outside their own countries, one in four are from just one country: China. But now most Chinese studying abroad are returning home – the outbound-to-return ratio has risen to 82% over the past four years, compared to one in three returnees a decade earlier – and China is attracting hundreds of thousands of foreign students to its shores.In all Western nations with large numbers of foreign students, Chinese are by far the most numerous. China is the largest source of international students in English-speaking countries such as the United Kingdom, United States, Australia and Canada.However, growth in the number of Chinese studying abroad has slowed since 2015, with a year-to-year growth rate of 14% compared with the startling annual average rate of 19% between 2000 and 2015.American universities are still the main attraction for Chinese students and US institutions enrolled 330,000 Chinese last year or nearly one in three of the total. That compares with 166,000 students from India, the second largest supplier of foreign students.According to the US Institute of International Education’sreport for 2015-16, the number of international students enrolled in US higher education increased by 7% from the previous year to more than one million for the first time.China remains the top sending country, with almost twice the number of students as India, although India’s rate of growth and absolute increases are outpacing that of China’s.Students from the top three countries of origin – China, India and Saudi Arabia – now represent 53% of the total enrolment of international students in US universities.As the report notes, this was the 10th consecutive year of increasing numbers of foreign students in higher education: “There are now 85% more international students studying at US colleges and universities than were reported a decade ago.”As other countries with large numbers of foreign students are aware, their value to the national economy is often enormous. In the US, the Department of Commerce reports that international students contributed more than US$35 billion to the economy in 2015 – up from US$31 billion the year before.In its 2016, China’s Center for China and Globalization says the number of Chinese undergraduates in the US now exceeds that of Chinese graduate enrolments. The report says this aligns with the overall trend that more and more young Chinese students “have been sent to study abroad”.“In terms of their choices of schools, Chinese students are paying more attention to the schools’ reputation and career development services, instead of tuition fee and other spending issues,” the report states.British universities have also increasingly benefited from a Chinese student influx dating from the early 2000s.In the five years to 2012, for example, the number of students from China and the other Chinese-speaking nations jumped from 81,000 to nearly 200,000 while the totals from the other top 10 sending countries remained virtually flat.The UK Higher Education Statistics Agency reports that for 2015-16, the number of students from China far exceeded any other nationality, at 91,215.The agency also notes that China is the only sending country showing a significant increase in its student numbers whereas enrolments of Indian students coming to Britain continues to fall, with a startling overall 44% decrease in the last five years.A 2015 study, carried out by economists at the UK consultancy PwC and the business lobby London First, found that international students made a net contribution of £2.3 billion (US$3 billion) a year to the UK economy in London alone and supported 70,000 jobs in the capital. The economic contribution of students from China comprised a significant proportion of that sum.While China is the world's largest source of foreign students, the number of Chinese studying abroad who opt to return home has also been steadily increasing in recent years.Statistics compiled by China’s Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security indicate that a record high of 432,500 ‘returnees’ arrived back in China last year, drawn by the booming Chinese economy.The ministry says the outbound-to-return ratio increased by about 10% in the past four years to 82% in 2016 – yet a decade earlier, only one in three of all Chinese students returned home after finishing their education abroad.Among Chinese students who obtained masters degrees abroad, more than 60% had returned home and nearly half of them were in the major municipalities such as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.And as reported by, China’s drive to attract more international students to its universities is paying off, with nearly 400,000 students from overseas studying in China in 2015, according to official figures.The number surpassed the government’s 2015 target of achieving an overall international student population of 350,000 by 2015.This year China stepped up its drive to attract overseas talent , announcing among other initiatives new measures to allow foreign students to stay in China to work after study and reducing red tape around residence permits.Referring to China’s massive ‘One Belt, One Road’ project, thesays this could contribute more growth in the number of international students in China: “But more efforts are needed to provide sufficient scholarship and entrepreneurship opportunities, among other incentives, to attract more to study in China.”Launched by President Xi Jinping in 2013 as a foreign policy and economic strategy, the project will economically link Europe to China through countries across Eurasia and the Indian Ocean, with other links to Africa and Oceania. The initiative envisages the building of six major economic cooperation corridors and several key maritime pivot points across Eurasia.As thereported on 13 May: “As much as [the project] will act as a boost to economies from Bangladesh to Egypt and Myanmar to Tajikistan, it is also a far-reaching economic-free trade-investment plan that will open up markets for Chinese technology and merchandise. And with this comes priceless geopolitical reach for China.“In parallel to this connectivity extravaganza, arguably spanning 65 nations, 60% of the world’s population and a third of global economic output, China will accumulate extra capital from Central Asia to the Middle East. It will also polish its status as leader of the developing world, allowing it to once again try and reignite the 120-nation Non-Aligned Movement.”And almost certainly spread more Chinese students along the world’s new ‘Silk Road’ while also attracting increasing numbers of foreigners to its own universities. Follow University World News on Facebook
Receive UWN's free weekly e-newsletters | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
For Englishman Damian McGrath, the newly appointed head coach of the Canadian national men's sevens rugby program, the appeal of his sport lies not only in its raw pace and power, but also in its digestibility.
To drive home his point, the native Yorkshireman compares it to his own introduction to "American football," or the NFL to those born on this side of the Atlantic Ocean, back in the 1980s.
NFL stars such as William (Refrigerator) Perry and Joe Montana made their British television bows in condensed one-hour broadcasts of their games, temporarily blowing away a brand new fan base with their aggression, speed and skill.
Story continues below advertisement
"Then they made the mistake … of showing the games in their entirety and it lost all the audience it had," McGrath adds, noting that British fans raised on soccer and rugby were less than impressed with the stop-and-start nature of the other kind of football.
Rugby sevens won't have that problem breaking through with its fledgling fan base here thanks to its "bite-sized chunks of excitement," as McGrath terms the two seven-minute halves that make up a game.
While he looks upon the regular 15-man game as "physical chess" that can be tough for an outsider to grasp and sometimes "a little bit boring," the smaller-sized version of the sport can attract newcomers in a whole new way.
"It's a great introduction and it will grab people's attention and people can see there's a way into the game that might not have been there before," he adds.
When the Canadian men's and women's sevens teams get their seasons under way next week in Dubai in the first leg of the Sevens World Series, the sport will be looking to build on its first Olympic sevens rugby tournament this year.
The Canadian men missed out on qualification for that historic event last August, but the Canadian women reached the podium, successfully avenging an earlier tournament loss against Britain to claim the bronze medal.
Kayla Moleschi, who has played for the national sevens squad since making her senior debut in 2011, says that while the players haven't received a huge pay increase since bringing home the medal from Rio, she is seeing some welcome changes. For instance, because the sport is still very much in its infancy on these shores, the onus is on the players to do a number of community appearances and clinics to help raise the game's profile. However, players are starting to get compensated for their travel or their time in helping out.
Story continues below advertisement
Coaching clinics are one of the ways Rugby Canada is trying to get more girls involved in the sport, and Moleschi says she has seen rapid growth in this area, with even some young boys wanting to grow up and play for the women's team following the success at the Rio Games.
"It's just amazing to see it skyrocket," she says of the growth in involvement in the sport. "… It was a thing before [the Games], but never with this amount of numbers. We'll go to some camps that have 70 girls in age range from 7 to 17, so it's really amazing to see that growth."
While the men didn't get their moment of glory in Rio, they've nonetheless seen the upswing of attention in the game, partly because of the success of their counterparts.
John Moonlight, who plays for Canada in both sevens and the 15-man game, feels the sport is primed to explode in the next six to 12 months. One of the reasons for this is that rugby, much like soccer or basketball, offers a low-cost entry to play – a pair of shoes and a ball – unlike sports such as football or hockey, for which equipment runs into the hundreds of dollars.
"I think it's an alternative that you're going to see a lot of families go to," he says.
The men's game benefits greatly from Canada's inclusion on the Sevens World Series, with its stop in Vancouver's B.C. Place next March. Rugby Canada has signed a four-year deal to host the tournament, and if the inaugural playing in 2016 was any indication both Rugby Canada and Vancouver tourism should benefit financially from the pact.
Story continues below advertisement
More than 60,000 fans attended the two-day event, with many players from opposition teams surprised at the enthusiasm toward the sport in a non-traditional market.
"Usually on Day 1 the first round of games there's never that many people there, but as soon as the doors opened there were 20,000 people already in the stadium for the first game," Moonlight says. "That's the kind of stuff that teams all around the world love."
It should also help Rugby Canada fund its sevens programs. Moonlight says that the players receive $18,000 annually from Sport Canada, but that the Vancouver tournament has allowed them to receive an extra allotment of money to help with training and living costs.
"There just needs to be money in Canadian sports to keep athletes within sports like this," he says. "So many athletes retire because Canadian athletics [organizations], they don't compensate athletes to the level they should be."
When Moleschi moved to Langford, B.C. (the home of Canadian rugby) to join the national team, she had a part-time job as a landscape gardener to help out with the bills. But as training for the Olympics took up almost nine hours a day, that wasn't feasible in the run-up to the Games.
She's confident that the growth of the game, and the influx of funding that success in the sport will provide, will help make those concerns a thing of the past.
Story continues below advertisement
"Hopefully in the years to come … you don't feel you need to have a second job when you're trying to train with the national team," she says.
Rugby Canada is seemingly doing its level best to achieve success and ensure that the sport can continue to grow. A new gym is being installed at the team's training base at Langford, and bringing in a coach of McGrath's calibre, who was previously involved with the setups of the powerhouse Samoan and English sevens teams, would appear to be an indicator of its drive for success.
"I think it would be hard to point a finger at Rugby Canada for the investment they're making in the sevens program," McGrath says. "Within reason of course, because money's not limitless, but they're certainly doing their best to make sure that we have the very best available to do the best we can." | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Last month, we harshly criticized Twitter for responding to questionable legal orders from Russia and Pakistan to take down content. We argued that the company that once called itself “the free speech wing of the free speech party” had caved in the midst of corporate expansion.
We are therefore pleased to see that Twitter has reversed course on its approach to Pakistan. As the New York Times reported, Twitter explained its decision in a statement issued to Chilling Effects. The statement reads:
We always strive to make the best, most informed decisions we can when we're compelled to reactively withhold identified content in specific jurisdictions around the world. On May 18, 2014, we made an initial decision to withhold content in Pakistan based on information provided to us by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority. Consistent with our longstanding policies we provided notice to all of the affected account holders and published the actioned takedown requests on Chilling Effects to maximize transparency regarding our decision. We have reexamined the requests and, in the absence of additional clarifying information from Pakistani authorities, have determined that restoration of the previously withheld content is warranted. The content is now available again in Pakistan.
The initial decision to remove content was criticized by a wide swath of civil society, from advocacy group Bolo Bhi in Pakistan to porn actress Belle Knox, whose photos were among the blocked content.
In response to critics who call the blocking of content censorship, Twitter points out that it is one of the few Internet companies that make public the takedown requests they receive. Being transparent about censorship is a vital first step in the struggle for free expression, but Twitter can and should do more. If Twitter wants to be a defender of free expression, it can and should refuse government censorship requests in countries where it is not subject to that country’s censorious laws.
In Russia, Twitter has no offices and no employees. Despite being an entity outside Russian jurisdiction, Twitter removed the account belonging to "Right Sector" (Pravy Sektor)—the Ukrainian nationalist political party characterized by the Russian government as Neo-Nazi fascists—remains censored. Twitter also continues to honor Russian telecom regulator Rozkomnadzor’s requests to take down accounts related to drug use and suicide. We expect to see many more requests from Russia for the censorship of overtly political content when an Orwellian set of laws restricting the Internet and bloggers goes into effect this August.
If Twitter wants to be a leader in honoring freedom of expression and a champion for users, it needs to think seriously about revising its censorship policies. Right now, policy dictates that Twitter will respond to requests from “authorized parties,” including private individuals or organizations, if the content they submit (by mail or fax) is deemed to be illegal. In one instance, Twitter responded not to an official legal order, but to a letter from a French student organization.
This policy creates more opportunities for censorship than those afforded by similar companies, most of which do not offer such a channel. Free speech would better be served by Twitter only responding when legally necessary.
While we commend Twitter on making the right choice in Pakistan, we’ll be keeping a close eye on how the company responds to legal requests in the future. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
David Seymour opens up the final debate on the End of Life Choice bill.
MPs have casted their final votes on the End of Life Choice Bill. That bill would set in motion a public vote on legalised euthanasia. Stuff will keep you updated with the latest developments.
This blog is currently not available on our Android app. If you're viewing this article on the Stuff app, we suggest you go here to view on your browser. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Heavyweight is an interesting division. Fighters tend to have one or two glaring holes in their game, then they add strengths around them. Or, they never change and stick to what makes them great.
On July 20th, 2019, aged heavyweights Andrei Arlovski and Ben Rothwell look to clash for a second time. Their last fight was in 2008, when Arlovski was heralded as a heavyweight striking god and Rothwell was the plodding giant.
I’m going to discuss how glacial improvements will determine why Rothwell will likely win the rematch against Arlovski.
Andrei Arlovski vs. Ben Rothwell (Affliction, 2008)
In 2008, Rothwell was riding a 13-fight win streak and Arlovski had just left the UFC for a better payday. Arlovski at the time was the better athlete and it carried his limited game.
In the wise words of my editor Ed Gallo in regards to Arlovski, “He punch with one hand.” The name of the game for Arlovski was always spamming his right hand in various angles. It was simple, but for the heavyweight division, it was enough to be the best.
It was clear that Rothwell had a disadvantage in the athleticism department as he was a constant mark for the right hand. Rothwell also stood out in range, tentative, waiting on Arlovski to make mistakes allowed Arlovski to charge at him, throwing right hands.
Rothwell would be exhausted after being hurt multiple times, Arlovski finished him in the third. Their first fight showed that Rothwell had a glaring speed issue, at the very least, and needed to patch it up.
Heavyweight Improvements
Heavyweights tend to hit their peaks far later than other divisions. This means for Rothwell, who started out in MMA in 2001, he had 18 years of time to improve. However, at heavyweight, those improvements usually happen at a glacial pace.
After the Arlovski knockout, Rothwell would go on a win-loss streak, losing to Cain Velasquez, Mark Hunt, and Gabriel Gonzaga. However, he was changing. Against Brandon Vera, Rothwell was far more aggressive and pursued Vera from the opening bell.
The Foreman Comparison
Now is a good time to explicate Rothwell’s style. The best comparison you could make is George Foreman for MMA. Rothwell is a tall man and tends to stand upright, however, his hands are constantly protruding outwards.
Regardless of the stance, Rothwell keeps his hands extended. This gives Rothwell the ability to paw at his opponent’s hands but to also parry straight punches flying at him.
By keeping his arms extended outwards, Rothwell is able to deflect and parry strikes. This allows the slower and bigger fighter to stay in his opponent’s face, flustering them. People have aptly named this the leverage guard. By leveraging his opponent’s punch onto his extended arm, Rothwell can use his long reach and stature to deflect rather than block.
The Difference
The glacial improvements I mentioned earlier, were always there. However, when Rothwell switched to a more aggressive forward mindset, he added some weapons. In order to keep his opponents in his face, Rothwell added the kicks.
The kicks served the purpose of also adding variation. This was able to frustrate but also take his opponent’s mind away from Rothwell’s punching. This also came off the lean, giving Rothwell the momentum to throw these kicks with some power, as he does not rotate his hips into the kick.
Rothwell also throws his harder strikes from the lean. Unlike Foreman, Rothwell doesn’t rotate into his punches or put much body weight into them like a traditional boxer. However, by leaning into the far side and leaning into his punches, he can put some sting into his punch.
The Rematch
Recent Arlovski has looked far more passive and less likely to charge forward with punches. This has been lauded as a thoughtful improvement, however, it is likely because Arlovski no longer has the cardio to constantly charge forward or the chin to risk it.
Furthermore, his charges have become far slower. Look for Arlovski to back up and then charge forward with his winging right.
However, against Rothwell, these charges might end up like his loss to Ngannou. Constant and obvious charges will be a mark for Rothwell to land uppercuts and push Arlovski off.
Denying clinches for Arlovksi to rest will be paramount for Rothwell as he can do meaningful damage if he stays in his face.
Conclusion
In the decade since Rothwell lost to Arlovski, he has found a mindset that supports this style. While he had the beginnings of the leverage guard, it wasn’t until adding aggression and defense that he could start to look this good.
Arlovski, on the other hand, suffers deeply from change. Arlovski has remained the same fighter as he did against Rothwell in their first fight. This leads me to believe that Rothwell this time will likely be able to light up Arlovski in exchanges.
However, Arlovski has proven that he can stall and deny his opponents the opportunity to deal heavy damage. Regardless, it will be a treat to see Rothwell return to winning ways and get revenge for his loss a decade ago. While his glacial improvements took the better part of two decades, Rothwell has turned into an interesting striker and I look forward to the late stage of his career.
Main Photo
Embed from Getty Images | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Share the News
Come this fall, there will be no more stopping on the Francis Scott Key and Hatem Memorial toll bridges in Maryland.
The Maryland Transportation Authority announced this morning that both bridges are going cashless, with tolls to be collected by E-Z Pass or video tolling overhead.
Eighty percent of drivers traversing the Key Bridge on I-695 in the city already use E-Z Pass anyway, as do 93 percent of those who travel the Hatem Memorial Bridge connecting Harford and Cecil counties on Route 40, MDTA said. The planned changes could save drivers $1 million in fuel annually and a combined 44,000 hours in stoppage time at the toll booths, in addition to reducing crashes.
Maryland is among 17 states with the debit-based E-Z Pass system allowing drivers to pass through tolls without stopping, and employs video tolling for those without transponders. (The practical benefit is the same, but those who aren’t pass holders are charged 1.5 times the base toll rate, with a minimum $1 surcharge, and will receive a bill in the mail.)
The state’s Board of Public Works in 2018 awarded a nearly $89 million contract to McLean, Virginia-based KapschTrafficCom for the tolling operations, and a $273 million contract for Transcore LP to handle the customer service end of things. Both contracts run for 13 years, and all of the money used to fund them comes from toll revenues, the state said.
The new tolling infrastructure will be installed at both bridges by September, and all tolls will be collected electronically by late October. Further out, the state said the existing toll plazas, including their manned booths, will be demolished by spring of 2021.
MDTA plans to install other cashless tolling infrastructure across the state in the future, though a schedule hasn’t been finalized. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Marketing
Creating a connection with your audience. Tidalwave understand the love and care that it takes to foster the strength of your brand. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights on Thursday released a list of 55 colleges and universities under investigation for possible Title IX violations over the handling of sexual violence and harassment complaints.
Colleges and universities, in addition to K-12 schools, that receive federal funding must comply with Title IX, a federal law demanding that students should not be denied the ability to participate fully in educational and other opportunities due to sex.
The following schools are listed as being under open investigation as of May 1, 2014:
•Arizona State University
•Butte-Glen Community College District
•Occidental College
•University of California-Berkeley
•University of Southern California
•Regis University
•University of Colorado at Boulder
•University of Colorado at Denver
•University of Denver
•University of Connecticut
•Catholic University of America
•Florida State University
•Emory University
•University of Hawaii at Manoa
•University of Idaho
•Knox College
•University of Chicago
•Indiana University-Bloomington
•Vincennes University
•Amherst College
•Boston University
•Emerson College
•Harvard College
•Harvard University - Law School
•University of Massachusetts-Amherst
•Frostberg State University
•Michigan State University
•University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
•Guilford College
•University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
•Minot State University
•Dartmouth College
•Princeton University
•Cuny Hunter College
•Hobar and William Smith Colleges
•Sarah Lawrence College
•Suny at Binghamton
•Denison University
•Ohio State University
•Wittenberg University
•Oklahoma State University
•Carnegie Mellon University
•Franklin and Marshall College
•Pennsylvania State University
•Swarthmore College
•Temple University
•Vanderbilt University
•Southern Methodist University
•The University of Texas Pan-American
•College of William and Mary
•University of Virginia
•Washington State University
•University of Wisconsin-Whitewater
•Bethany College
•West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
-- Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton is maintaining a decided advantage in the Electoral College this November, strengthening her grip around states tipping her way while forcing Republican nominee Donald Trump to defend a handful of typical GOP strongholds.
But a narrow path still exists for Trump. Toss-ups in North Carolina and Florida — as well as optimism that states like Pennsylvania and Michigan might tip back into play -- leave supporters hopeful.
So ABC News dug through states’ voting history, demographic shifts and head-to-head polling to develop these electoral ratings. ABC News’ puts Clinton at 274 electoral votes and Trump at 188, when including both solid and leaning states, which would give Clinton enough states right now in the solid and lean blue columns to hand her the White House. Seventy-six electoral votes are in toss-up states.
Still, this election cycle has shown that this race can be unpredictable, and Trump has vowed to shake up the traditional map and put several blue states in play. A candidate needs 270 electoral votes to win the White House.
Solid Democratic
Despite Trump’s hopes of putting New York’s 29 electoral votes in play this election, the Empire State would be expected to pull for Clinton, along with other reliably liberal-leaning swaths of the mid-Atlantic. Most of the rest of the historically liberal Northeast would likely remain solidly Democratic in November. In the Midwest, Minnesota and Illinois would likely deliver Clinton a combined 30 electoral votes.
California, which boasts the largest share of electoral votes, at 55, has not voted Republican since George H.W. Bush in 1988. Recent polling there shows Clinton leading Trump by double digits, keeping the Golden State safely in the Democratic column, along with Oregon and Washington. New Mexico is predicted to vote Democratic for the third consecutive presidential election.
Leaning Democratic
More states across the Mountain West and Rust Belt would give Clinton another 75 electoral votes, but Trump is hopeful that he could pick off at least of one them. Colorado voted for Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012, and growing Hispanic populations in both states may keep these states in the blue column for good.
Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania are usually reliable Democratic states, but Trump’s popularity among working-class whites may put these states in play. A win would be an upset for Trump: Democrats have won every presidential race in Michigan and Pennsylvania since 1992 and Wisconsin since 1988.
Virginia, home to Democratic vice-presidential pick Tim Kaine, is also expected to tip toward Clinton, having voted for Obama in 2008 and 2012. New Hampshire polling also shows a Hillary Clinton advantage there. And polling in Maine, another classic Democratic state, has shown the state's at-large electoral votes could be up for grabs.
Toss-ups
Five toss-up states, worth 75 electoral votes, could tip the election toward a Clinton blowout, as Trump would likely need to win nearly all those states in order to reach the White House. Toss-up states this year include large electoral vote prizes like North Carolina and Florida, which were decided by just a few percentage points in the 2012 election.
Though once leaning Democratic, New Hampshire polling has shown the state now split between the two candidates.
Georgia has voted for the Republican nominee in seven of the last eight presidential elections, but white voters are quickly making up a smaller proportion of active registered voters in the state. White voters made up 68 percent of registered voters in 2004, but they now make up only 58 percent of registered voters, according to data from the Pew Research Center.
Leaning Republican
Ohio will be one of the key states to watch: The Buckeye State has voted for the winner of the White House every election since 1960.
Polling in Iowa also shows Trump with a slight advantage there, mostly thanks to an overwhelmingly white electorate. Nebraska's Second Congressional district, which Obama won in 2008, is also showing signs it could tip Hillary Clinton's way in 2016. And Utah, which hasn't gone blue in decades, is at risk this year because of the anti-Trump conservative candidacy of Evan McMullin.
Solid Republican
The bulk of Trump’s electoral votes would likely come from historically Republican portions of the Great Plains, West and Midwest, as well as the Bible Belt, which stretches from South Carolina to Texas and boasts large numbers of evangelical Christian and social conservative voters.
West Virginia, which has seen unemployment levels rise under Obama, is expected to vote Republican for the fifth presidential election in a row, as is Alaska, which has not voted for a Democrat since Lyndon Johnson in 1964.
Ratings Changes
NOV. 4:
New Hampshire from Leans Democratic to Tossup.
Despite having voted Democrat in five of the last six presidential elections, the once leaning blue state is now a tossup. In a UMass Lowell/7 News poll out this week, Clinton’s lead over Trump in the Granite State disappears, as both candidates garner in 44 percent support. Earlier polls showed Clinton with a big lead in the battleground state – the Democratic nominee teamed up with Bernie Sanders, who maintained a stronghold in the critical state, back in September. In 2012, Barack Obama won in New Hampshire by 6 points over Mitt Romney.
Georgia from Leans Republican to Tossup.
Recent polling in the race between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton show that the once reliably Republican state of Georgia is a tossup. The last three polls have Trump with a slim lead over Clinton, including a one-point race in a recent NBC/WSJ/Marist poll. Black turnout in polling and early voting appears to be in line with 2008 turnout, when John McCain won by only 5 points. But the major factor will be college educated whites: McCain won college educated whites -- 31 percent of voters -- by a whopping 73-25 percent margin.
NOV. 2:
Utah from Tossup to Leans Republican.
Trump's climb in national polls and other battleground state polling makes it more likely this state will ultimately tip toward Trump. The Republican nominee has won the state every year for the last five decades - including dramatic wins by more than 20 percentage points even in years like 1996. McMullin's candidacy still poses a threat to Trump there, but the recent narrowing of the national race bodes well for Trump among Mormon voters who may be on the fence.
NOV. 1:
Ohio from Tossup to Leans Republican.
Clinton has not held a statistically significant lead in the state in any polling there in nearly two months. Recent polling has shown a tight race. But early voting statistics have shown positive signs for Trump. Ohio does not show early vote by party. But voting is down by almost 80,000 votes in Cuyahoga County compared to 2012 – an Obama stronghold – and turnout is up in Warren County – a key Romney stronghold. Clinton has shifted her efforts and resources to other firewall states like Pennsylvania and Florida, only holding six events there herself during the last two months.
Alaska from Solid Republican to Leans Republican.
Alaska has supported the Republican candidate in every presidential election since 1964. Alaska has a historical willingness to vote for third party or unconventional candidates, like its independent governor and Joe Miller over incumbent senator Lisa Murkowski in the 2010 Republican senate primary, then wrote-in Murkowski to victory in the general election. Alaska’s small population also allows for more realistic swings in its preferences.
Maine At-Large from Leans Democratic to Solid Democratic.
A recent poll from the Press Herald/UNH showed Hillary Clinton with an 11-point lead there. The state’s second Congressional district remains a toss-up, but we don’t expect a potential Trump victory there to be wide enough to tip the entire state his way.
OCT. 28:
Florida from Leans Democratic to Tossup.
A new Bloomberg Politics poll out this week shows Trump earning 45 percent support vs. 43 percent for Clinton. Meanwhile, early voting shows the two parties running virtually even in early votes.
OCT. 21:
Florida from Tossup to Leans Democratic.
Florida has been seen as a must-win for Trump, so this shift makes the Republican nominee's shrinking path even narrower. The latest Quinnipiac poll out this week shows Clinton leading Trump by 4 points in the Sunshine State, which went for Obama in 2012 and 2008.
Nevada from Tossup to Leans Democratic.
The state has voted with the overall winner of the presidential election since 1980 and campaign officials there feel that the state is tipping toward the Democrats.
Utah from Leans Republican to Tossup.
Independent candidate Evan McMullin’s rapidly growing popularity in the state, especially among Mormon voters who are defecting from Donald Trump, threatens to siphon votes from the GOP nominee – increasing the odds that Hillary Clinton edges ahead or McMullin wins the state outright.
Arizona from Leans Republican to Tossup.
Clinton has put once-reliably red Arizona in play, a state that hasn't voted for a Democrat since Bill Clinton in 1996. Michelle Obama and Bernie Sanders campaigned there this week in hopes of galvanizing Democratic support, particularly among the state's growing number of Latino and young voters.
OCT. 14:
Utah from Solid Republican to Leans Republican.
There is only one change to the ABC presidential race ratings this week. Utah, which changed in August from "Solid Republican" to "Leans Republican" before returning to "Solid Republican," is once again being downgraded to "Leans Republican." Utah's large religious population expressed dismay over last week's release of a video clip showing Trump making derogatory comments about women and third party candidates such as Gary Johnson and Evan McMullin could siphon votes away from Trump.
OCT. 7:
Maine's first Congressional district rated as Solid Democratic.
ABC News is now rating Maine's first congressional district for the first time: "Solid Democratic." While Clinton holds a solid lead in CD-1, the race in the second congressional district is still a "Tossup." The state's two electoral at-large votes continue to be rated "Leans Democratic."
SEPT. 2:
New Hampshire from Tossup to Leans Democratic.
ABC News changed New Hampshire from "Tossup" to "Leans Democratic." New polling from WMUR/UNH shows Hillary Clinton with a nine-point lead in the Granite State, which hasn't voted Republican since 2000.
Nevada from Leans Democratic to "Tossup.
Hillary Clinton's campaign continues to dump big television advertising dollars into Nevada - second only to Ohio in the most dollars per electoral vote - showing that state very much up for grabs.
AUG. 30:
Maine from Solid Democratic to Leans Democratic.
Maine's second Congressional district from Leans Democratic to Tossup
Recent polling in Maine has shown a competitive race. Maine could split its electoral votes for the first time - with two votes going to the state's overall winner and one to the winner of each of the two Congressional districts. A new poll from Press Herald/UNH shows Clinton and Trump within the margin of error, with Trump leading by 14 percentage points in the state's more rural second Congressional district. Still, the state hasn't gone red in 1988.
Missouri from Leans Republican to Solid Republican.
While the race for the U.S. Senate remains competitive in Missouri, the presidential race there has tipped back toward Republican nominee Donald Trump. The state has gone blue only twice in the last four decades - both times for Bill Clinton in 1992 and 1996. Still, Mitt Romney won the state by a wide 10 percentage points in 2012 and Clinton's campaign and super PAC have not invested time or resources there.
AUG. 22:
Iowa from Tossup to Leans Republican.
Utah from Leans Republican to Solid Republican.
ABC News rates Maine's second Congressional district as Leans Democratic.
ABC News rates Nebraska's second Congressional district as Leans Republican.
AUG. 12:
Virginia from Tossup to Lean Democratic.
Recent polling and other changes in the race between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton show that Virginia, once a tossup state, is leaning Democratic. Virginia, historically a battleground state, last awarded its votes in the Electoral College to a Republican in 2004. For the past four election cycles, Virginia has cast its votes in the Electoral College for the eventual winner of the presidential race. In new NBC/WSJ/Marist poll out today, Clinton’s lead over Trump widened since last month, with 46 percent of voters going for Clinton and only 33 percent saying that they would vote for Trump. Clinton’s recent selection of Tim Kaine as her running mate strengthens her position in Virginia. Kaine, a former governor of Virginia and the state’s current senator, is a popular figure in the Old Dominion. All signs show a state leaning towards voting for a Democrat in the White House once again.
Utah from Solid Republican to Lean Republican.
Trump is still favored to win Utah, but it won’t be as easy a lift as previous GOP nominees. Clinton has signaled she wants to play in the state, penning an opinion piece in the Deseret News this week. “Every day, Trump continues to prove he lacks the morals to be our commander-in-chief,” she wrote, appealing to deeply-religious Mormons who make up a crucial voting bloc in Utah. With prominent players like Mitt Romney still sitting on the sidelines, the Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson and new conservative candidacy of former CIA operative Evan McMullin threaten to strip some support from Trump. Still, Utah has voted for a Republican in every presidential election in the last 50 years, including delivering a sweeping 73-25 percent victory for Mitt Romney in 2012.
JUNE 17:
Missouri from Solid Republican to Lean Republican.
Arizona from Solid Republican to Lean Republican.
ABC News' Noah Fitzgerel, Adam Kelsey and Ben Siegel contributed to this report. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
You are very welcome! Remember, it isn't the many many many bad photos that make the photographer. It is the good ones. Do you know how many photos are taken at model shoots, compared to how many are actually chosen to be used? It's incredible!So yes, you are a GREAT photographer. Keep it up! | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
About 20 children, all aged between 5 and 15 years were reportedly rescued last night from an illegal ‘orphanage’ being run in Kathua town of Jammu. According to reports, many of the rescued children have levelled grave accusations of sexual abuse and exploitation on the missionary who ran the orphanage, a person named Father Thomas Anthony.
According to reports, eight of the rescued children are girls. The police were informed about the illegal orphanage and the abuse of children after the teachers at the government school filed a written complaint against the missionary and the orphanage to the district administration. The children had reportedly shared with the teachers that they were being sexually abused for a long time in the orphanage.
The arrested person, Thomas Anthony allegedly had no registration or permit for the orphanage. The so-called orphanage was being run from a rented accommodation in Kathua town and had no official documents, boards or papers. Thomas Anthony reportedly told the police that his ‘orphanage’ was a sister concern of the Pentecostal Mission in Pathankot. However, the Assistant revenue commissioner (ACR) of Kathua, Jitendra Mishra has reportedly informed media that upon inquiry, the Pentecostal Mission has denied granting any permission to run an orphanage in Kathua.
ACR Mishra has also reportedly informed that the Children housed in the orphanage mostly hail from Gurdaspur in Punjab and nearby areas such as Samba, Bari Brahamana and Jammu. Upon inquiry, many of the children were revealed to have single parents. The district administration has shifted the children to the local Bal Ashram and Nari Niketan in Kathua town. The families of the children had been informed too.
- Advertisement -
Upon police inquiry, it was also revealed that the orphanage had no female warden and Anthony reportedly informed that his wife has gone to her hometown in Kerala.
District administration officials have also informed that a detailed inquiry of the case will be conducted and the children will be medically examined too.
It is notable here that the Kathua town had grabbed national and international headlines after the gruesome rape and murder of an eight-year-old girl came to light in April. Many Christian organisations have been found connected with cases of child sexual abuse in India. Recently in Bihar, some NGOs running care homes for girl children are facing legal consequences after a study by TISS, Mumbai revealed that girl children are being sexually abused by the officials at the care homes. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
そこで最新の 2014年版世界寄付指数 を元に世界そして日本のあたたかさを見てみよう。左最上部のリストによって総合/人助け/ボランティア/寄付指数を切り替えてみることができる。地図はその指数の値により暖色から寒色に色分けされている。つまり、国の色を見ればおよそその国のあたたかさを知ることができる。また、地図右部のラジオボタンで地域ごとにフィルタして見ることができる。地域ごとの特色を見る場合に利用してほしい。次に、「貧すれば鈍す」という言葉があるように、懐に余裕がある方が他人に優しくなるのかと思い、縦軸に指数、横軸に一人あたりの購買力平価(PPP)をとってみた（PPPが10万ドル近いルクセンブルクはグラフの枠外に位置する）。円の大きさはGDPの大きさを表している。赤いラインは平均値を、青い線は傾向線を表している。それぞれマウスをポイントすれば詳細情報を知ることができる。最下部には選択した指標における順位で並び替えた全指標のリストを示した。リストの背景色は地図と同じように指標値により色分けした。総合指数の結果を見ると、米国とミャンマーが1位タイとなった。この2カ国は一人あたりの購買力平価では10倍以上の差があるが、共に最も他人を気遣うことができる国であると言える。ミャンマーは寄付指数が91%となっており、寄付が広く一般的に行われていることが分かる。これは50万人の僧侶を抱える 上座部仏教 の影響が大きい。 布施 を行うことがご利益を得る一番の方法なのである。宗教が人々の寄付行動に大きな影響を与えている例と言える。一方、米国は3指標全てでトップ10に入った唯一の国である。困っている人を助けようとする意識が社会に根付いているように見える。全体的に見れば、一人あたり購買力平価とはP値0.0001以下で正の相関があり、懐に余裕がある方が他人に優しくなれるようだ。地域的には北アメリカ、西ヨーロッパ、オセアニアが他人に優しい。経済的な理由の他にも、キリスト教などの宗教も大きな影響を及ぼしていると考えられる。また、特に15-29歳の若年層の失業率が寄付指数に大きな影響を与えていることがわかっている。G20のうちトップ20に入ったのはわずか5カ国。11カ国はトップ50にも入れず、内3カ国はトップ100圏外である。ノブレス・オブリージュという考え方があるが、力をもつ国はそれに見合う高潔な精神を有していてほしいものだ。日本を棚に上げて言えば中国の低さが気がかりで、国力の急速な増強に中身が追いついていない印象を受ける。翻って日本を見ると、次のような状況だ。見事に緑である。世界でも有数な豊かな国の一つであるはずの日本は他人に対して冷たい国である事が一目瞭然だ。特に人助け指数が135カ国中134位とカンボジアに続き世界ワースト2位だ。大震災が起こった2011年にピークに達して以降、寄付指数は減少を続けている。逆にボランティアに費やす時間は増加傾向にあって、実は日本は3つの指標の中でボランティアが最も一般的な唯一の国である。日本の世界寄付指数が90位と残酷な状況にある理由としては複数考えられる。寄付をアピールすることを良しとしない傾向、チップ文化の不在、ムラ社会を基盤とした文化背景、弱者救済を積極的に行うキリスト教の低い普及率、他人を思いやる心を醸成する教育の不足、長い不況にあえぐ経済、じわじわと高まる失業率、国力を奪う少子高齢化──いずれにせよ、世界で最も他人に冷たい先進国、それが今の日本なのである。日本は生活保護などの貧困対策への反発が高い国である。 前回のエントリ のようにひとたび生活保護の充実を訴えれば、 自己責任論が幅を効かせる ことになる。民間による支援の受け皿が発達している欧米と異なり、日本では民間支援を期待できる状況になく、文字通り行政による支援が最後の砦となっている。貧困問題が深刻化しつつある今、長期的視野に立ってこの状況を改善していかなければ待っているのはディストピアだ。経済的・精神的余裕の無さの現れか、ネット上ではこの傾向を助長するかのようなコメントが溢れている。どうも悪い方向に向かっているように思えてならない。もっと皆他人に優しくしても良いんじゃない？例年通りなら今月中にはおそらく2015年版世界寄付指数が発表される見込みだ。少しでも改善の兆しがあれば良いのだけど。 | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
In October 2004, excavation of fragmentary skeletal remains from the island of Flores in Indonesia yielded what was called "the most important find in human evolution for 100 years." Its discoverers dubbed the find Homo floresiensis, a name suggesting a previously unknown species of human.
Now detailed reanalysis by an international team of researchers including Robert B. Eckhardt, professor of developmental genetics and evolution at Penn State, Maciej Henneberg, professor of anatomy and pathology at the University of Adelaide, and Kenneth Hsü, a Chinese geologist and paleoclimatologist, suggests that the single specimen on which the new designation depends, known as LB1, does not represent a new species. Instead, it is the skeleton of a developmentally abnormal human and, according to the researchers, contains important features most consistent with a diagnosis of Down syndrome.
"The skeletal sample from Liang Bua cave contains fragmentary remains of several individuals," Eckhardt said. "LB1 has the only skull and thighbones in the entire sample."
No substantial new bone discoveries have been made in the cave since the finding of LB1.
Initial descriptions of Homo floresiensis focused on LB1's unusual anatomical characteristics: a cranial volume reported as only 380 milliliters (23.2 cubic inches), suggesting a brain less than one third the size of an average modern human's and short thighbones, which were used to reconstruct a creature standing 1.06 meters (about 3.5 feet tall). Although LB1 lived only 15,000 years ago, comparisons were made to earlier hominins, including Homo erectus and Australopithecus. Other traits were characterized as unique and therefore indicative of a new species.
A thorough reexamination of the available evidence in the context of clinical studies, the researchers said, suggests a different explanation.
advertisement
The researchers report their findings in two papers published today (Aug. 4) in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
In the first place, they write, the original figures for cranial volume and stature are underestimates, "markedly lower than any later attempts to confirm them." Eckhardt, Henneberg, and other researchers have consistently found a cranial volume of about 430 milliliters (26.2 cubic inches).
"The difference is significant, and the revised figure falls in the range predicted for a modern human with Down syndrome from the same geographic region," Eckhardt said.
The original estimate of 3.5 feet for the creature's height was based on extrapolation combining the short thighbone with a formula derived from an African pygmy population. But humans with Down syndrome also have diagnostically short thighbones, Eckhardt said.
Though these and other features are unusual, he acknowledged, "unusual does not equal unique. The originally reported traits are not so rare as to have required the invention of a new hominin species."
Instead, the researchers build the case for an alternative diagnosis: that of Down syndrome, one of the most commonly occurring developmental disorders in modern humans.
advertisement
"When we first saw these bones, several of us immediately spotted a developmental disturbance," said Eckhardt, "but we did not assign a specific diagnosis because the bones were so fragmentary. Over the years, several lines of evidence have converged on Down syndrome."
The first indicator is craniofacial asymmetry, a left-right mismatch of the skull that is characteristic of this and other disorders. Eckhardt and colleagues noted this asymmetry in LB1 as early as 2006, but it had not been reported by the excavating team and was later dismissed as a result of the skull's being long buried, he said.
A previously unpublished measurement of LB1's occipital-frontal circumference -- the circumference of the skull taken roughly above the tops of the ears -- allowed the researchers to compare LB1 to clinical data routinely collected on patients with developmental disorders. Here too, the brain size they estimate is within the range expected for an Australomelanesian human with Down syndrome.
LB1's short thighbones not only match the height reduction seen in Down syndrome, Eckhardt said, but when corrected statistically for normal growth, they would yield a stature of about 1.26 meters, or just over four feet, a figure matched by some humans now living on Flores and in surrounding regions.
These and other Down-like characteristics, the researchers state, are present only in LB1, and not in the other Liang Bua skeletal remains, further evidence of LB1's abnormality.
"This work is not presented in the form of a fanciful story, but to test a hypothesis: Are the skeletons from Liang Bua cave sufficiently unusual to require invention of a new human species?" Eckhardt said.
"Our reanalysis shows that they are not. The less strained explanation is a developmental disorder. Here the signs point rather clearly to Down syndrome, which occurs in more than one per thousand human births around the world."
Additional context is available on the authors' website at www.LiangBuaCave.org. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Egypt’s Islamist government teetered on the brink Monday in the wake of stunning weekend protests against Muslim Brotherhood rule.
“Theocracy failed here,” Egyptian blogger Mahmoud Salem, also known as “Sandmonkey,” wrote in a Twitter post Monday.
Sixteen people were killed and hundreds were injured during weekend protests that reportedly drew millions of Egyptians to the streets. Many estimated that the protests were larger than the 2011 demonstrations that forced dictator Hosni Mubarak from power. Numerous media accounts describe the broad demographic base of the protesters, from young women to old men, from liberal secularists to conservative Muslims.
Several deaths took place when Muslim Brotherhood members opened fire on demonstrators who attacked, set on fire or looted Brotherhood offices.
Related coverage Hezbollah Says Two Obstacles Remain for Lebanon Government The leader of Lebanon's Iran-backed terrorist group Hezbollah said on Saturday that two obstacles remain before the formation of a...
Four cabinet ministers – over tourism, parliamentary affairs, environment and communications – resigned from the government Monday in support of the protesters.
Opposition organizers, calling themselves the June 30 Front, are asking demonstrators to wage a campaign of civil disobedience until President Mohamed Morsi resigns, just one year into his four-year term. That includes a continuation of protests, a general strike and other actions.
More ominously, the Egyptian army gave Morsi a 48-hour ultimatum to negotiate some kind of resolution with the opposition or face what could amount to a coup, as the military promises to “announce a future roadmap and measures to oversee its implementation.”
The masses in Tahrir Square – predominantly Muslim and including many who previously had supported Morsi – roared with approval Monday when army helicopters trailing Egyptian flags flew past.
But a Morsi aide told The Guardian that the army wouldn’t be able to carry out a coup without Washington’s approval. “The aide’s comments implied that the regime was hopeful of continued American support,” the newspaper report said. “They also suggested the presidency was banking on the likelihood that the military would not risk upsetting America, which provides it with significant funding.”
Faced with this historic outpouring of discontent, the best President Obama could muster Monday was a tepid call for “restraint.” There was no statement of support for the protesters, but Obama did make a point of saying Morsi had been democratically elected. “There’s more work to be done to create the conditions in which everybody feels that their voices are heard, and that the government is responsive and truly representative,” he said.
The president’s comments expose a fatal misunderstanding of the Muslim Brotherhood’s totalitarian doctrine. The Brotherhood has no interest in being democratic or pluralistic. The very basis of its existence is to impose Sharia and strict Islamic law upon everyone in Egypt as the first step of establishing a global caliphate. In a rare moment of candor, two top Brotherhood spokesmen said as much last year.
In a speech, Supreme Guide Mohammed Badie reminded followers of the Brotherhood’s original agenda laid out by founder Hassan al-Banna. “It begins with the reform of the individual and then to start building the family and society, then the government; then the rightly guided caliphate, then instructing the world; instructing guidance, wisdom, truth and justice.”
That same fatal misunderstanding was exhibited two weeks when the White House hosted a radical Muslim Brotherhood cleric. Abdullah Bin Bayyah received high-level access even though he is a senior official of a Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated group that had issued a fatwa calling for the killing of American soldiers in Afghanistan and has routinely supported Hamas terrorists against Israel.
The president can’t say he wasn’t warned about the hazards of Brotherhood rule. Administration officials repeatedly have ignored concerns that, despite its warm assurances to the contrary, the Brotherhood would not govern democratically. After a power grab last fall neutered the Egyptian judiciary, the Obama administration issued similarly half-hearted statements.
Morsi and his fellow Islamists rammed through a new constitution which sparked international concern for women’s and minority rights. Analysts at that time expressed concern the power grab pushed Egypt closer to civil war.
Egyptians who now demand that Morsi and the Brotherhood leave don’t seem to feel part of a representative government. Morsi has done little to resolve the country’s economic crisis, as infrastructure breaks down and resources become scarce. Instead, the group was seen doing more to consolidate its own power and impose religious law.
As we have reported, Coptic Christians in Egypt have faced constant threats and injustices. Morsi has stacked the government with fellow Islamists, including a recent attempt to appoint a hardline Islamist tied to a terrorist group as governor over Luxor, which has a tourist-driven economy and was the site of a slaughter on tourists in the 1980s.
Elections also do not guarantee stability, writes Eric Trager of the Washington Institute on Near East Policy. Mohamed Morsi is “now president in name only.” The United States needs to gear its policy toward a longer vision and try to limit the damage done to the state by the ongoing turmoil.
Protesters tried to issue a similar message Sunday. They chanted against the United States and carried signs criticizing Obama and U.S. Ambassador Anne Patterson.
Arabic media reports claim Patterson held secret meetings with Brotherhood deputy leader Khairat al-Shater last week. And many protesters carried signs with Patterson’s image crossed out alongside Morsi, or with critical comments.
An Egyptian blogger who calls himself “the Big Pharaoh,” wondered “Will the State Dept. fire Anne Patterson for all the inaccurate Egypt reports she was sending back to Washington?”
The Brotherhood had a distinct advantage going into last year’s elections. It was the only organized, relatively harmonious political movement standing after Mubarak fell. Even with that edge, allegations of fraud followed Morsi’s narrow victory. Pleas to delay elections to give others time to organize largely were ignored and the Brotherhood cruised to parliamentary victories to go along with Morsi’s presidential election.
Now, a grass-roots opposition group called “Tamarod” – or “Rebel” claims to have 22 million signatures on a petition demanding Morsi step down and allow new elections. Morsi won 13 million votes in last year’s election. In 2011, the United States saw the depth of Egypt’s unrest and called on Hosni Mubarak to resign. More people made the same request of Morsi on Sunday, and now the Egyptian military is poised to intervene.
The Obama administration’s hesitancy this time serves only to alienate whatever Egyptian government follows the Muslim Brotherhood. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
"Thank you for your time, we'll notify you of our decision in three days." Calls you two hours later to give you the job at $500/mo more than you asked for.
162 shares | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
KATHMANDU, Nepal — Just as I admired the banana bicycle I encountered on the streets of Kathmandu, not to mention the beautifully elaborate bicycle rickshaws around town, I had to give props to whoever modified what looked like a Bajaj utility auto-rickshaw — or tuktuk — and gave it a “chopper” look.
If I had to guess as to its provenance, I would say it was a three-wheeled Bajaj with a pickup-like bed that broke down — or maybe just wasn’t providing enough horsepower for serious hauling — and was refitted with the steering column, front wheels and engine from a more powerful vehicle.
Judging from the front tractor tires on the homemade hybrid, this vehicle could probably hold its own off-road. (It made me think of a cool and completely impractical custom truck built by a Jeep engineer that I’d read about.)
I’m no engineer, but I did wonder if the chassis would hold up to the stress of major payloads. Yet the driver seemed way less concerned about such details and much more carefree than I might’ve been — and that’s more aligned with spirit of such a curious ride.
Incidentally, I have a term — and a collection of photos — for automotive curiosities: Vehicularity. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
what if i told you your parents don't know everything
388 shares | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
VIENNA: The meeting between Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz has created history as a meeting between the oldest and youngest leaders in the world.
The Prime Minister, 93, is in Vienna after his last visit here in 1985.
Kurz, 32, is the youngest national leader in the world.
Dr Mahathir is on a three-day working visit here.
He said that he welcomes more foreign direct investment from Austria apart from strengthening bilateral relationship from the European Union country.
“We know that the trade volume is not very big but substantial.
“So the investment can increase the volume trade between the two countries,” he said at a joint press conference with Kurz.
Dr Mahathir said Austria is also involved with the Langkawi cable car project. — Bernama | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
The SNP will remain the largest party, but it could lose up to a dozen seats to a Scottish Conservative Party.
Glasgow, Scotland – As the UK electorate prepares to go to the polls on June 8 for the country’s second general election in two years, Britain’s politicians are readying themselves for yet another unexpected turn of events.
In a nation that unexpectedly voted to quit the European Union in last year’s in/out EU referendum, the election campaign has seen Britain’s current prime minister Theresa May lose ground to UK Labour Party opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn.
While British Conservative Party leader May, who has said she called the snap election to strengthen her hand in Brexit negotiations, still looks on course to remain as UK premier, in the febrile atmosphere of Brexit Britain there are few political certainties.
As has been the case for a decade, intrigue continues to surround the electoral trajectory of Scotland, which somewhat narrowly rejected independence in the constituent country’s 2014 independence referendum and which voted by 62 to 38 percent to remain in the EU in the June 2016 plebiscite.
READ MORE: How will Scotland vote in the UK general election?
Indeed, ever since the pro-independence Scottish National Party (SNP) secured victory in the 2007 Scottish Parliament election, constitutional matters have dominated Scottish political life. Today, and after SNP victories in the 2011 and 2016 Scottish Parliament elections, some 40 to 50 percent of Scots remain supportive of Scottish statehood.
Yet, despite the party’s success in Scotland, this week’s UK general election is threatening to strike a blow to the SNP’s dominance. After stunningly capturing 56 out of Scotland’s 59 Westminster seats in the UK’s 2015 general election – up from just six seats five years before – the SNP is facing a battle from a party that has failed to win more than one Scottish Westminster seat since 2001 – the pro-union Scottish Conservatives.
“It’s the rise of the Conservatives and how much the SNP will slip – that’s the big story in Scotland,” said Simon Pia, a former Scottish Labour press adviser, speaking to Al Jazeera. “Will the Conservatives do as well as polls suggest in Scotland, and what will be the position of the SNP after the election – and how weakened will they be?”
SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon with supporters and local SNP candidate for Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale Mairi McAllan, second from right, while campaigning for the General Election on June 3, 2017 in Biggar, Scotland [Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images]
‘T he root of everything is fear’
Polls indicate that, while the SNP will remain the largest party in Scotland after June 8, it could lose up to a dozen seats to a resurgent Scottish Conservative Party, which has been appealing to Scots heavily disgruntled with the prospect of a second Scottish independence poll.
At the root of everything is a fear that another independence referendum can only make the Brexit process more difficult, or make the SNP day job impossible to deliver Ian Duncan, Conservative Party
SNP leader and Scotland’s first minister Nicola Sturgeon won a vote in the Scottish Parliament in March, which called for Scots to be given another chance to vote for sovereignty in light of a British Brexit vote that will see Scotland taken out of the EU against its popular will.
However, Conservatives in Scotland – who maintain that few Scots want another “divisive” referendum – are spying gains in Scotland’s rural areas – along the Scotland-England border and in Scotland’s north-east. Conservative Ian Duncan, who is looking to topple a leading SNP MP in the seat of Perth and North Perthshire, told Al Jazeera that his party’s unabashed anti-independence message, which has drowned out the pro-union voices of Scottish Labour and the Liberal Democrats, is resonating on the doorsteps.
So, too, said Duncan, are accusations that the SNP has “taken their eye off the day job” at the Scottish Parliament in pursuit of independence.
“At the root of everything is a fear that another independence referendum can only … [make] the Brexit process more difficult, or make the SNP day job impossible to deliver, or simply that the people had their chance [for independence] and didn’t want it, so let’s move on,” said Duncan, a current member of the European Parliament.
With Scottish Labour – which lost a catastrophic 40 seats to the SNP in 2015 to leave it with just a solitary seat in Scotland’s capital, Edinburgh – also looking to challenge for second place, the SNP appears unlikely to hold on to its 56 constituencies. Indeed, while British Labour leader Corbyn has somewhat closed the gap on May’s Conservatives UK-wide, Labour in Scotland, once the party of choice for Scots, has also appeared to have enjoyed a so-called “Corbyn bounce” and could go on to stage some kind of recovery.
So, despite forecasts suggesting that the Nationalists will emerge with anything between 40 and 50 seats after the election, its opponents insist that any drop in SNP support should be taken as a loss of appetite for independence itself.
WATCH: UK media’s obsession with Jeremy Corbyn (25:00)
‘2015 was a supernatural exception’
Prolific SNP blogger James Kelly disagrees. He said that “the contention of the anti-independence parties is that they will have secured some sort of mandate if they take perhaps one-quarter of the seats between them, leaving the SNP with three-quarters”, which is “ludicrous”.
“There’s no great mystery as to why the SNP’s vote share has dropped a little since 2015,” continued Kelly, the author of the Scot goes Pop! blog. “In most Westminster elections, the London-based broadcast media becomes preoccupied with the Labour v Conservative battle, which makes it hard for the SNP to get a look-in.”
He added: “2015 was a supernatural exception with the SNP moving to the centre of the campaign because of paranoia south of the border over the influence they might enjoy, but normal service has been resumed on this occasion.”
Should the Scottish Conservatives go on to take seats off the SNP – and high-profile seats too – their ability to remain a significant presence in Scotland, at a Westminster level, say experts, would depend on whether they could translate their anti-independence message to a show of long-term support for a Conservative Party that, for many Scots, remains a toxic political brand. Professor James Mitchell stated that while the “Conservatives were getting the unionist vote, the messaging was about the union and not about Conservative policies”.
“I think that is limiting their appeal,” said the Edinburgh University academic. “It may mean that the support they win is transient because they’ve got to somehow move beyond from just talking about [their opposition] to another independence referendum. They are still a long, long, long way off to coming close to governing Scotland at the Scottish Parliament.”
That said, with Conservatives in Scotland almost certain to secure some SNP seats this week, no Nationalist majority appears too big. Scots Conservative Duncan, who is fighting to overturn a 9,641 SNP majority in rural Perthshire, has his eye firmly fixed on delivering an upset.
“I’m under no illusions about the mountain I’m climbing,” he said. “But as I tell people, the Perthshire mountains are the best.”
Follow Alasdair Soussi on Twitter: @AlasdairSoussi | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Supporters of abortion rights voiced trepidation outside the United States Supreme Court on Wednesday as justices weighed the fate of one of the numerous restrictive laws passed by conservative states which make access to the procedure more difficult.
Hundreds of demonstrators rallied on a cool and sunny day in the US capital as the nine justices heard arguments in Shreveport abortion clinic's appeal of a lower court ruling that upheld a restrictive Louisiana abortion law. Abortion rights supporters outnumbered opponents. Some carried signs saying "Protect Safe, Legal Abortion" and "My Right, My Decision".
"I remember a time when abortion wasn't legal. It was illegal when I was a teenager. And we aren't going back. We're just not going back," said demonstrator Bambi Nelms, 62, of Maryland. "My mother had an illegal abortion before I was born - coat hanger variety - and it darned near killed her. She had me after that."
More:
Louisiana's law, put on hold during the legal challenge, requires doctors who perform abortions to have a sometimes difficult-to-obtain arrangement called "admitting privileges" at a hospital within 30 miles (48km) of the abortion clinic.
Abortion rights advocates have argued that restrictions such as admitting privileges are meant to limit access to abortion, not protect women's health as proponents say.
Steffani Bangel, 30, who works at a Louisiana organisation that supports access to abortion clinics, noted that the Supreme Court in 2016 struck down a Texas abortion law that contained an admitting privileges mandate.
"It's frustrating to be back here after four years. We were just here four years ago," Bangel said.
"We believe the law is on our side," Bangel added.
Today, SCOTUS is hearing a case on Louisiana’s clinic shutdown law. Today, we are reaffirming that abortion care IS healthcare. Every person, regardless of income, sexual orientation or gender, deserves equitable access to comprehensive reproductive healthcare #MyRightMyDecision pic.twitter.com/360k78yJgz — Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (@RepPressley) March 4, 2020
Activists who oppose abortion are hoping the Supreme Court, with a 5-4 conservative majority, will scale back or even overturn the landmark 1973 Roe vs Wade ruling that legalised abortion nationwide.
Some anti-abortion demonstrators held flags emblazoned with Bible quotes and the image of a bald eagle - a symbol of the US - carrying a Christian cross. Others stood silently with red tape over their mouths with the word "LIFE" in black letters.
Demonstrator Dennis McKirahan, 75, of Ohio said supporters of abortion rights were "distorting what God intended".
"When that baby is a seed in the womb, scientifically, it's going to be a baby. And you can't stop that or you're killing that baby," McKirahan said. "God didn't intend us to stop our creation."
Louisiana's law is one of many passed in conservative states to restrict abortions. Others enacted in recent years bar abortions after a certain number of weeks of pregnancy, require ultrasound exams and state-mandated counselling for women, and impose waiting periods and compel parental consent for minors seeking the procedure.
Lillian Kaminer, 69, of Virginia said she attended the rally because preserving access to abortion is her "number one political cause".
"Women should have a choice about their health, their healthcare and their families," Kaminer said.
The court on Wednesday heard about an hour of arguments in an appeal by Shreveport-based abortion provider Hope Medical Group for Women seeking to invalidate the 2014 law. Two of Louisiana's three clinics that perform abortions would be forced to close if the law is allowed to take effect, according to lawyers for the clinic.
Some conservative judges signalled sympathy towards Louisiana's law. Chief Justice John Roberts, a conservative considered the court's ideological centre and a potentially decisive vote, asked questions that seemed to focus on whether he felt bound by the court's 2016 ruling when it struck down similar restrictions in Texas.
Roberts cast the deciding vote when the justices last year on a 5-4 vote blocked Louisiana's law from taking effect while the litigation over its legality continued.
That vote brings him into conflict with his position in the Texas case, when Roberts was among the three dissenting judges who concluded that an admitting privileges requirement did not represent an undue burden.
Divisive social issue
During Wednesday's arguments, his questions indicated that the chief justice may feel that he is bound by the 2016 court's finding that admitting privileges laws provide no health benefit.
Two of the court's conservatives, Justice Neil Gorsuch and Justice Clarence Thomas, said nothing during the arguments.
The liberal justices, including the three women on the court, appeared sceptical towards the admitting privileges provision.
Justice Sonia Sotomayor said it was a "mystery to me" why a 30-mile limit was imposed if the intent of the law was to show that doctors were properly credentialled.
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg made a similar point, noting that medical complications for women who undergo abortions generally occur at home, meaning that the fact the doctor has a relationship with a nearby hospital is irrelevant.
"That's what I don't understand," Ginsburg said.
A federal appeals court upheld the law. President Donald Trump's administration supports Louisiana in the case.
The Supreme Court struck down a similar Texas admitting privileges requirement in 2016 when conservative Justice Anthony Kennedy, who retired in 2018, joined the four liberal judges to defend abortion rights. Trump has tightened the conservative grip on the court with his 2018 appointment of Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who replaced Kennedy, and his 2017 appointment of Justice Neil Gorsuch.
An anti-abortion demonstrator holding a mock human foetus outside the US Supreme Court during a protest on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC [Tom Brenner/Reuters]
Neither Kavanaugh nor Kennedy ruled directly on abortion rights during their prior service as federal appellate judges. Trump promised during the 2016 presidential race to appoint justices who would overturn the Roe vs Wade ruling. The Supreme Court in 1992 reaffirmed Roe vs Wade in a ruling that prohibited laws that placed an "undue burden" on a woman's ability to obtain an abortion.
The Louisiana case will test the willingness of the court to uphold Republican-backed abortion restrictions being pursued in numerous conservative states.
Baton Rouge-based US District Judge John deGravelles cited the undue burden precedent when he struck down Louisiana's law in 2016, prompting the state to appeal to the New Orleans-based 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals. The 5th Circuit upheld the law despite the 2016 precedent, concluding there was no evidence any Louisiana clinic would close due to the admitting privileges requirement.
Abortion remains one of the most divisive social issues in the US, with Christian conservatives - an important constituency for Trump - among those most opposed to it. A Supreme Court ruling in favour of Louisiana's law could prompt other states to pass similar statutes. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Spiller leads No. 10 Texas A&M over Vanderbilt 17-12
Isaiah Spiller had 117 yards rushing and Ainias Smith ran for a touchdown to help No. 10 Texas A&M overcome three turnovers in a mistake-filled game to beat Vanderbilt 17-12 on Saturday night in the season-opener for both teams. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
I’ve heard it over and over from pastors and elders in the Christian Reformed Church. As a decreasing number of young people come forward for public profession of faith, too many display a general ignorance of the basic doctrines of the Christian, much less the Reformed, faith. They say they love Jesus but can’t really explain what their faith means.
In his book Soul Searching: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of American Teenagers, Christian Smith describes the religious beliefs of the majority of teens in the church as “moral therapeutic Deism.” It goes like this:
A God exists who created and orders the world and watches over human life on earth. God wants people to be good, nice, and fair to each other, as taught in the Bible and by most world religions. The central goal of life is to be happy and to feel good about yourself. God does not need to be particularly involved in a person’s life except when needed to resolve a problem. Good people go to heaven when they die.
It’s plain to see that this version of Christianity has little to do with the Bible or with the Christian faith. But I have little doubt that it actually describes the lived faith of a large number of Christian Reformed teens. It seems that the church has failed to teach an adequate understanding of the Christian faith to many of its youth.
It was not always so. Many of us remember having to go to those midweek catechism classes, often taught by the minister. In third grade we learned our little summary catechism called the Compendium. Growing older, we memorized at least some Q&As of the Heidelberg Catechism. We had some basic theological foundation that could inoculate us to the banal religion of moral therapeutic Deism.
Most of us would not want to return to those sometimes dull classes and their rote memorization. What we have done instead is far worse. Over the last 20 years or so, a large number of congregations have abandoned catechism classes altogether and parents have given the theological education of their teens a low priority.
In many congregations Sunday school (which often consists only of telling Bible stories) and youth groups (often defined by activities and mission trips) are the only kind of education on offer for children and teens. Other churches don’t include children and teens in worship services where they can hear the sermon or participate in the drama of worship. By sending them out to be with their own age group, we send the message that worship is not really that important.
Teaching the theology or doctrine of the church to our teens is not optional. Theology is essential alongside the Bible for an understanding of the Christian faith. Doctrine is a key that unlocks the biblical treasury. To put it another way, doctrine offers us a map through the often confusing and trackless biblical terrain.
That’s why our confessions and creeds and catechism are so important. It’s theology that helps us understand that the God we meet in the Bible is the triune God, the original and eternal community of love who made this world and everything in it. It’s theology that enables us to grasp the enormity and depth of human rebellion and the covenant of grace by which God set out to save us. It’s theology that teaches us that Jesus Christ is the new human that God intended us to be, that his death and resurrection usher in a new creation, the kingdom of God, and that this world will be made new in him.
Dorothy Sayers once wrote that the gospel “is the greatest drama ever told . . . a terrifying drama of which God is the victim and the hero.” Evangelical theologian Kevin VanHoozer picks up on this with his book The Drama of Doctrine. Theology is what the church does when it takes up the biblical script and stages it for the church and the world to see, he says. But it’s more than a drama we watch for entertainment or inspiration; it’s a drama in which we are also actors every day. It is the drama of life in God’s world.
The Christian theological drama is a counter-story to the world’s story. It changes how we perceive our place in the world and transforms how we live. The Bible is the indispensable script, the underlying true story, but it’s the theological drama written over the centuries and told afresh in every generation that enables the biblical story to come alive in every age.
The 16th century Heidelberg Catechism does so with the ringing words of Q&A 1: “I belong, in body and soul, in life and in death, to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ. . . .” The catechism goes on to provide a powerful outline—guilt, grace, gratitude—of how we are to live into that belonging. Did you ever stop to think how important it is, for example, that the law of God comes under the rubric of gratitude? Law and gospel coalesce, obedience becomes freedom. That’s the kind of important insight doctrine can give.
More recently in the CRC we have another treasure that tells the drama of Christian theology even more vividly, the contemporary testimony “Our World Belongs to God.” In stirring, poetic language, it tells the biblical story as the drama of life in this world that belongs to God.
In the contemporary testimony we discover that God is not a benevolent deity out there somewhere but a divine community of love intimately and deeply involved with the world God made. Sin is not some unfortunate mistake but an act of radical rebellion against our Creator that infects every aspect of our lives. Salvation is not just that Jesus died for our sins, but that he, as our human brother, brings us into the fellowship of our Abba Father as adopted children through the Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ, now enthroned as Lord and King, calls us to share the message of his saving love and to bring the transforming power of his kingdom into every area of life. And no matter how the powers of evil seem to flourish, we are people of hope, looking for a new heaven and a new earth purged of sin, injustice, pain, and death.
That’s the Christian drama! It’s exciting, it’s transforming. It challenges our minds, feeds our souls, warms our hearts, and stimulates our imagination.
It is the task of the CRC to discover new ways to make that theological drama real for our teens. Our most recent synod called on Faith Formation Ministries to report on the feasibility of new curriculum materials. Hopefully, this will include catechetical materials as well. We can do this at a time when we have new tools—digital technology and the Internet—with which to accomplish this important task. We have access to a variety of media that can deliver imaginative and engaging teaching materials to our churches and our homes.
We have the world’s greatest drama to excite our teens, and we have the technological tools to deliver it to every church and every home. What remains is the commitment of parents and congregations to expect our youth to have that drama of doctrine in their spiritual DNA, and to provide the financial and pedagogical resources to make it happen.
Discussion Questions | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
By Caribbean Journal Staff
American Airlines has officially begun its first-ever flights from New York to Georgetown in Guyana.
The new nonstop flights will operate daily between New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport and Guyana’s Cheddi Jagan International Airport.
While much of the demand will likely be filled in the shorter term by the Guyanese diaspora living in the northeast, it’s hoped that the flights could boost Guyana’s burgeoning tourism sector — which has been having an excellent year in terms of stayover tourist arrivals in 2019.
The New York launch comes a year after American Airlines launched its inaugural service from Miami to Georgetown.
Guyana, set at the northern tip of Southern America, is the seat of CARICOM, the Caribbean Community.
— CJ | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Yoshimoto Kogyo, the holding company of the Kansai-based entertainment giant Yoshimoto Group, which manages Shimada through its Yoshimoto Creative Agency, has tasked their compliance committee with trying to eliminate any ties between the company and organized crime. The recent scandal has drawn significant scrutiny from law enforcement. Further scandal could result in serious problems for the firm in the future.
Until recently, it has not been illegal to make payoffs to organized crime members; however, the Tokyo Organized Crime Exclusionary Ordinances, which go into effect on October 1, criminalize payoffs, payouts, and anything else that would fall under “providing services” to the yakuza. Under the law, companies involved with organized crime will be given warnings, but on their second violation managers will be arrested and their company name publicly announced. While Shimada may be at risk of being prosecuted under the new statute, police sources say that he could possibly face charges under current laws, including extortion, interference with auction bidding, or violations of the Attorney Act (弁護士法), which governs Japan’s legal system.
In March of 2008, according to the Japan Times and police sources, the TMPD arrested several members of a Yamaguchi-gumi front company for working to evict tenants from properties that a listed firm, Suruga Corporation, wished to acquire. In Japan, only lawyers are allowed to negotiate evictions and the yakuza members had clearly violated those laws. In the subsequent investigation, Suruga Corporation was revealed to have paid millions of dollars to the yakuza for their help in acquiring properties. However, the investigation eventually fizzled out and no one from Suruga Corporation was charged with a crime. Even though paying off the yakuza was not a crime at the time, the presence of former high-ranking bureaucrats from the National Police Agency and an ex-prosecutor on the Suruga board of directors made the scandal an embarrassment to all involved. The relationships between Suruga and the Yamaguchi-gumi, however, did result in almost all banks cutting financial ties with the firm, as well as the company’s delisting from the Tokyo Stock Exchange. According to law enforcement and Kyodo News service, Suruga Corporation executives who knew about the police investigation and sold off their stock before it became public knowledge were later arrested for insider trading this May.
Yoshimoto Kogyo was listed on the stock exchange for several years but voluntarily and mysteriously delisted themselves in January of 2010 with little public explanation. Police sources say the delisting was done to obscure problematic ties with organized crime, though Yoshimoto Kogyo has never admitted this.
Since Shimada’s resignation from TV, the roots of his ties to the yakuza began are coming into focus. It appears to stem from an angry exchange that he had roughly a decade ago with members of a Kansai-based right-wing group popularly known as Jingisha who were in the middle of a demonstration. Shimada demanded they move their vans out of the way so he could get to work on time. One of the right wing group members told him, “You should know that we have the mark of the emperor behind us.” To which Shimada replied, “That’s no big deal, I have the mark of the emperor on my ass too,” comparing the imperial crest (菊の紋) to his anus. According to the TMPD Public Security Bureau that deals with radical left and right-wing groups, when Shimada related this episode on a television program, Ningen Mandala, in the spring of 2005, Taikosha, Japan’s third largest right-wing party, staged demonstrations in front of his house and at the Yoshimoto Kogyo Offices. According to Osaka Police Department sources, Shimada turned to the yakuza for help in dealing with the situation and that is when his relationships with them became extremely close. Many right wing groups in Japan are often backed by or financially supported by yakuza. The Yamaguchi-gumi Kyokushin Rengo was able to stop the demonstrations and Shimada responded with a large cash donation to their leader, Hirofumi Hashimoto, as a gesture of thanks.
This article is from the archive of our partner The Wire. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Body camera footage of two officers shooting an armed suspect released Monday added details to what happened during a robbery in Okolona, but ultimately left more questions than answers.
The man was identified Monday night by the Jefferson County coroner's office as 24-year-old Corey Antonio Boykin Jr.
While Major Frank Hardison of the department's Public Integrity Unit named the officers involved and said that a victim was pistol-whipped, bound and gagged by the suspect, simple details such as if the gun was loaded or if officer's properly shouted for him to drop his weapon were left unanswered.
"Because this investigation is ongoing the comments we are going to make are preliminary," LMPD Police Chief Conrad said. "We will be unable to answer all of your questions today."
The shakey bodycam footage shows LMPD officers John Dillion and Nick Ulery and a third officer approaching a door of the Industrial Park plaza on Fern Valley Road. As soon as they get up to investigate the door, it swings open.
Seconds later, Dillion and Ulery's service weapons rang out. Boykin, dressed in a black hoodie with a black mask on lay there motionless.
In the video, officers quickly dragged Boykin between two parked cars and began performing CPR. Boykin was later transported to the University of Louisville hospital where he was pronounced dead at around 11 p.m. Sunday.
While only three separate bodycam clips were shown, Hardison did say there were more but that they didn't "provide the right angles" or vantage points necessary.
"Those grant the best angles and the best footage that we have, given the position of the body cameras ... sometimes the angles are not pristine," Hardison said.
When asked if the gun was loaded or if the gun was pointed at officers, Hardison said it was too premature to say and that it was part of an ongoing investigation.
Hardison also said he could not give a definitive answer if the officers asked the man to drop his weapon.
"Policing is a dangerous job," Conrad said. "And it requires split-second decisions that will be judged and scrutinized for many years to come."
Sunday night, around 9 p.m. officers received a call of an assault in progress in the 3200 block of Fern Valley Road. Officers investigated, but didn't see any evidence of it, Hardison said.
More LMPD:Scout's mom says supervisor urged her to keep quiet
Also:LMPD's release of JCPS case review to Courier-Journal a 'significant' open-records victory
Shortly after, they received another call of a robbery in progress. When they went to investigate a loading dock on the side of the building, the door swung open and the shootout occurred.
One victim was bound with duct tape and pistol-whipped according to Hardison. He was transported to University of Louisville hospital and has since been released.
Dillion has been with Louisville Metro Police since September of 2015, and Ulery has been with the department since Feb of 2016. Both have been placed on administrative leave during the investigation.
It has been seven months since the last fatal shooting involving an officer, when police shot William Young Jr. in February, according to LMPD transparency data.
Reach Reporter Thomas Novelly at 502-582-4465 or by email at [email protected]. Follow him on twitter @TomNovelly. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Jon and Flava Dave have plenty to talk about despite back-to-back Pacers losses. The good: Donald Sloan’s performance against Washington and Solomon Hill’s budding talents. The bad: Just about everything else, especially CJ Miles and Chris Copeland’s behind-the-back pass to nowhere. All that, plus talk of video games, ice cream and the return of AJ Price.
Click here to subscribe to the show in iTunes.
Click here to subscribe to the show in Stitcher.
Click here for the RSS feed stem. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Twitch:
Twitter:
Patreon:
A fanart piece inspired by Princess Zelda in both the BotW and other LoZ universes. Done on my Twitch stream so follow me there if you want to see more content like this! | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
A contestant on US reality TV show Survivor has been outed as transgender by a fellow competitor,prompting online criticism and condemnation by a major LGBT rights group.
Jeff Varner made accusations of “a deception” being carried out by Zeke Smith before revealing that Smith was transgender on the Wednesday night episode. Varner was immediately criticised by other contestants. He repeatedly apologised, but was voted out of the competition.
In the episode, which was taped last year, Smith explained that he didn’t mention that he was transgender because he didn’t want to be known as “the trans Survivor player. I wanted to be Zeke the Survivor player.”
On the contrary, he now says appearing on Survivor was a step toward becoming the man he wants to be. He writes in the Hollywood Reporter that by calling him deceptive, Varner invoked “one of the most odious stereotypes of transgender people, a stereotype that is often used as an excuse for violence and even murder.
“In proclaiming ‘Zeke is not the guy you think he is’ and that ‘there is deception on levels y’all don’t understand,’ Varner is saying that I’m not really a man,” Smith continues, “and that simply living as my authentic self is a nefarious trick. In reality, by being Zeke the dude, I am being my most honest self – as is every other transgender person going about their daily lives.”
In a statement on Thursday, CBS said: “We have always been guided by the principle that this is his [Smith’s] story to tell, and it remains so.”
The network also said it had “respect for how Jeff Varner expressed remorse for his mistake” on the episode and in interviews.
“In the end, we believe this episode, accompanied by Zeke’s own remarkable writing and speaking on the subject, has provided an unexpected but important dialogue about acceptance and treating transgender people with respect,” CBS said.
The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (Glaad) criticised the outing of Smith. “Zeke Smith, and transgender people like him, are not deceiving anyone by being their authentic selves,” said Nick Adams, director of Glaad’s transgender media program. “It is dangerous and unacceptable to out a transgender person.”
Adams noted the show of support Smith had received since the episode’s airing.
“Moments like this prove that when people from all walks of life get to know a transgender person, they accept us for who we are,” he said.
Glaad said it worked with Smith and CBS “for several months” to prepare Smith for the publicity blitz that would accompany the episode’s airing.
Survivor host Jeff Probst added to the opprobrium against Varner. “I cannot imagine anyone thinking what was done to Zeke was OK on any level, under any circumstances, and certainly not simply because there was a million dollars on the line,” he told Entertainment Weekly. “You just don’t do that to someone.”
Varner calls his actions a “mistake” and said he was “deeply saddened”.
“Let me be clear, outing someone is assault,” he said in a tweet. “It robs a strong, courageous person of their power and protection and opens them up to discrimination and danger. It can leave scars that haunt for a lifetime.”
| {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Dive Into Mass Prayers
Burning to learn more about the Mass?
Easily find timeless commentary on the propers of the Mass. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Scientists from the University of Nottingham have discovered that drinking a cup of coffee can stimulate 'brown fat', the body's own fat-fighting defenses, which could be the key to tackling obesity and diabetes.
The pioneering study, published today in the journal Scientific Reports, is one of the first to be carried out in humans to find components which could have a direct effect on 'brown fat' functions, an important part of the human body which plays a key role in how quickly we can burn calories as energy.
Brown adipose tissue (BAT), also known as brown fat, is one of two types of fat found in humans and other mammals. Initially only attributed to babies and hibernating mammals, it was discovered in recent years that adults can have brown fat too. Its main function is to generate body heat by burning calories (opposed to white fat, which is a result of storing excess calories).
People with a lower body mass index (BMI) therefore have a higher amount of brown fat.
Professor Michael Symonds, from the School of Medicine at the University of Nottingham who co-directed the study said: "Brown fat works in a different way to other fat in your body and produces heat by burning sugar and fat, often in response to cold. Increasing its activity improves blood sugar control as well as improving blood lipid levels and the extra calories burnt help with weight loss. However, until now, no one has found an acceptable way to stimulate its activity in humans.
"This is the first study in humans to show that something like a cup of coffee can have a direct effect on our brown fat functions. The potential implications of our results are pretty big, as obesity is a major health concern for society and we also have a growing diabetes epidemic and brown fat could potentially be part of the solution in tackling them."
The team started with a series of stem cell studies to see if caffeine would stimulate brown fat. Once they had found the right dose, they then moved on to humans to see if the results were similar.
The team used a thermal imaging technique, which they'd previously pioneered, to trace the body's brown fat reserves. The non-invasive technique helps the team to locate brown fat and assess its capacity to produce heat.
"From our previous work, we knew that brown fat is mainly located in the neck region, so we were able to image someone straight after they had a drink to see if the brown fat got hotter," said Professor Symonds.
"The results were positive and we now need to ascertain that caffeine as one of the ingredients in the coffee is acting as the stimulus or if there's another component helping with the activation of brown fat. We are currently looking at caffeine supplements to test whether the effect is similar.
Once we have confirmed which component is responsible for this, it could potentially be used as part of a weight management regime or as part of glucose regulation programme to help prevent diabetes." | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
In a new research report, noted Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo predicts that prices for the rumored iPhone SE 2 will start at $399, MacRumors reports. Alongside the new pricing information, Kuo also used the report to re-iterate several of his previous predictions for the device, including that it will be powered by the iPhone 11’s A13 chip, will have 3GB of RAM, and will be released in the first quarter of next year.
Kuo also says that the new phone will be available with 64GB or 128GB of internal storage (although a report from earlier this year said it would only have 128GB), and will come in gray, silver, or red. He also said that the phone won’t include 3D Touch, although that’s less surprising given the feature has recently disappeared from Apple’s top-end devices. The analyst has previously said he expects the iPhone SE 2’s design to be similar to that of the iPhone 8, echoing a previous report from Bloomberg.
As 9to5Mac notes, a $399 starting price is exactly the same as what the original iPhone SE had when it launched way back in 2016, although it dropped to $349 by the time it was discontinued the following year. Selling cheaper devices like the SE is particularly important for Apple if it wants to compete on unit sales in markets like India, where phones costing more than around $450 only made up 4 percent of the market as of last year. The cheapest phone Apple currently sells is the iPhone 8, which starts at $449. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Subsets and Splits