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By Andre Borges
There seems to be a recurring theme in jiu jitsu’s media circle, especially coming from the mouths of the “old school” crew, of how this martial art has changed over the past few years and how disconnected it has become from its roots. But how much has it actually changed, and how much of these changes have been for the better?
When listening to the gym banter after the usual “old vs. new” headline, it seems obvious to me that these “warnings” from the old timers are widely dismayed by the younger generations. Although I have no horse in this race (both jiu jitsu facets fascinate me), I have been training jiu jitsu for long enough to know that the change is real, a change that can be felt not only on a competitive level, but also on a coaching and student mentality plain.
To help the reader understand the differences between the BJJ student of old vs. new, allow me to outline the general profile of the mid/late 1990’s jiu jitsu student. The majority of us got into jiu jitsu at that time after watching Royce Gracie dismantle his opponents inside the octagon (UFC 1 to 5). We were young and highly interested in martial arts from a self-defense perspective. Most of the people I trained with on my first academy had a vast background in martial arts, I vividly remember training partners such as a goju ryu and a shotokan karate black belt, 1 kung fu instructor, Thai boxers, a few judo guys, and more than a fair share of nightclub bouncers. I myself practiced taekwondo for many years prior to BJJ. Most of us didn’t know there was a sporting facet to jiu jitsu outside the cage before we signed up, but we all embraced the competition side and eagerly learnt the point system.
As for the coaches, having travelled a fair bit and trained in different environments, I can say that the lessons (in most cases) were structured very differently. The classes would be longer, often 2 hours or more. Takedowns would be drilled as warm ups every day, punches, kicks and footwork were taught sometimes (yeah, crazy!). In fact one of my coaches at the time once confided that he wouldn’t grade someone past blue belt if he couldn’t throw a simple 1-2 boxing combo to takedown properly.
The gi/sporting facet was predominant, but we would regularly do no gi or take the gi tops off and do the famous “taparia” - open hand slaps and MMA rules groundwork. All was great fun, there was no rush, everyone just wanted to be better at fighting, and many would stay for long periods in each belt. On the flip side, the desertion rate was radically higher than it is today.
Though competitions were important in all the academies I visited, I didn’t feel like coaches completely disconnected from the self-defense aspect of jiu jitsu until the late 2000’s decade, when jiu jitsu as a sport grew to a point where it became the sole interest of coaches and students alike. With mixed martial arts (MMA) stepping towards acceptance as a mainstream sport, students who wanted to become better at fighting moved on to MMA, while anyone interested in the sport of jiu jitsu/grappling stayed. The students became people who were interested in doing sports, we even saw the Gracie Barra academy change their motto to “Jiu-Jitsu for everyone”, a contrasting approach to the old way where grapplers took primal/tribal pride in stating the opposite.
The late 2000’s also coincided with the sport making a gigantic attempt to outgrow its country of origin, by bringing the International Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Federation (IBJJF) head office to the United States as well as the sport’s biggest event, the World Championship. With jiu jitsu’s main federation and tournament migrating to the United States, the selling point changed. It was no longer a martial art, but a sport.
In just a couple of years, jiu jitsu became “BJJ” - one of the fastest growing sports in the United States. Events became more regular and started being streamed, this meant excellent news for many black belts who managed to make a living from jiu jitsu instead of moving to MMA like many used to do in the past.
The growth of the sport meant more focus on sport specific moves. Until the mid 1990’s we saw many advancements such as the closed guard (early 1980s), De La Riva (mid/late 1980s), half guard (early 1990s), spider guard (late 1990s) etc. Many of these innovations, exception made to the spider guard, had a self-defense application, but as BJJ progressed, these positions became more and more extreme.
Today we are lucky to see some incredibly creative minds being put to work to solve the grappling riddle. These minds have developed breathtaking moves and positions, from berimbolos to a whole new level of lapel games.
The complexity of the ground game has risen to a level never witnessed before, like it or not, this is a fact. But what drove men to jiu jitsu for the past 8 decades weren’t the intricate lapel games, it was the fact that this martial art proved to be superior to other combat styles on the ring and inside the cage. Today, with the sports aspect being 100-percent of the curriculum taught by 99.9-percent of the academies, you can’t help but think that jiu jitsu is no longer teaching its students how to be better fighters and defeat other styles, but instead it has turned against itself. Double guard pulling is the norm. In fact, it is often taught by instructors with an insignificant amount of time dedicated to takedowns. This is understandable. It doesn’t pay to teach takedowns, if you don’t need them on a competitive environment.
This article may be seen as an attempt to shame the sport and the modern style of jiu jitsu, but I really hope it won’t be deemed as such. This is not my intention. I follow the sport more than the vast majority of BJJ’ers, it is my Saturday night movie, it is my 9 o’clock soap opera, its my news, it is my football weekend. I love watching every match and pay very close attention to the innovations happening today. I often find myself in awe of these advancements and the people behind these great techniques. However, I still feel disheartened in the fact that all focus is being given to the game and very little is being done to preserve the fighting aspect of this martial art.
Yes, most high-level BJJ competitors will dismantle the average human being in seconds, but the average student is not an athlete, and they are being sold this false sense of security. To further illustrate my point, just today I saw a full time athlete (blue belt) drilling a snazzy berimbolo type back take from a mounted armbar. I asked, “Why are you doing that when you have the arm?” He replied, “Because I find it hard to finish the armbar.... "
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Over 85% of the web is still using HTTP/1.1, an old protocol that was introduced back in 1991, and was not designed to handle the amount of data we are dealing with today. In 2015, we finally got a much-needed update to the most used protocol on the web — HTTP/2. It’s astronomically faster, more secure, and generally offers a much better experience for everybody. Here’s how the current HTTP/1.1 protocol looks like:
Despite HTTP/2 having released 2 years ago, websites are still slow to make the transition, which is why we built Falcon Push in hopes to ease that transfer. The essential idea was to take one of the most beneficial and tricky features of HTTP/2, server push, and automate it as much as possible.
What is HTTP/2?
HTTP/2 was originally developed by Google under the name SPDY as an experimental protocol to replace HTTP/1.1. Eventually IETF made part of SPDY the HTTP/2 standard.
HTTP/2 is aim to solve the following problems:
Create a negotiation mechanism that allows clients and servers to elect to use HTTP 1.1, 2.0, or potentially other non-HTTP protocols.
Maintain high-level compatibility with HTTP 1.1.
Decrease latency to improve page load speed.
The most interesting part is the methods to reduce latency. HTTP/2 introduces several mechanism that HTTP/1.1 can’t do, such as compressing HTTP headers, server push, multiplexing requests, and requests pipelining.
We think we’ve come up with a good solution for server push and can’t wait to show you how it works!
Server Push
Server push provides you the ability to push data to the client without the client ever requesting it. In theory, we could push some assets on the page when the client first makes the request, thus saving the time for the client to make follow up requests. And that, could use some optimizations, which is where our middleware comes in!
Our Node JS implementation
Falcon Push is a Node/Express middleware library that easily plugs into your server for server push implementation. On server startup, it will automatically parse any HTML files you have and extract the static files you need — these static files include any css, js, jpeg, etc.
Once a client makes a request to the server, our middleware will run and create a cache awareness mechanism using cookies and a Golomb compression hash of all the assets being pushed. This will cache the assets that are ready to be pushed in the client’s browser, effectively reducing page load time on subsequent page requests. Once the caching mechanism is finished, our middleware will send all the requested assets using server push, which is all done in one client request.
You can checkout the speed differences with our middleware at https://falconpush.io, github, and npm. | {
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Reporters around the world were left terrified, heartbroken and angry over the vote in the United Kingdom to withdraw from the European Union.
"No words. The dream is over. Britain has voted to fall into the sea. This is the end," Fusion's Felix Salmon opined on social media. "I despair. This is not my England."
"I feel like there's been a death in the family. There needs to be some kind of funeral," he added.
U.K. journalist Oliver Bullough despaired, "If you voted Leave, you voted to destroy my country and ruin my children's future. Do not expect me to be cool about this, because I'm not."
Political scientist and columnist Ian Bremmer contemplated, "Brexit is the most significant political risk the world has experienced since the Cuban Missile Crisis."
"No one really knows what happens now. The collective imagination leads to dark places," the New York Times said in a note dripping with panic.
An early look at next week's cover, “Silly Walk Off a Cliff,” by Barry Blitt: https://t.co/brZjcbpbbZ pic.twitter.com/LJ1kZjABpg — The New Yorker (@NewYorker) June 24, 2016
The so-called "Brexit" vote Thursday gave voice to U.K. residents' worries over immigration and lost jobs, as well as their apparent distaste for being governed by a world body headquartered in Brussels.
For many reporters on both sides of the Atlantic, the surprise success of the "leave" vote marks a dark and terrifying moment in world history, mostly because, they say, it shows that aging racists and xenophobes won the day.
"Fascinating and telling to watch some in the U.S. blame 'neoliberalism' for Brexit vote, ignoring racism, xenophobia, and nationalism," said the Guardian's Jill Filipovic.
Salmon decided, "this was a racist campaign that ended up causing both death and disaster."
CNN's Christiane Amanpour linked the vote to xenophobia five times during her Brexit coverage late Thursday evening and early Friday morning.
"We must learn from brexit: Elderly xenophobes will lie to pollsters to hide their racist views, then vote for destructive policies anyway," said blogger Anil Dash.
Journalist Yasmin Alibhai-Brown warned, "1963 Tory Peter Griffiths won a safe Labour seat with the slogan 'If you want a ni**er for a neighbour vote Labour'. We return to those days."
"Okay, xenophobic exclusionary nationalism. You won a few fights today. But you will lose in the long run," said CNN contributor Sally Kohn.
An Esquire headline declared, "Some of the oldest, whitest people on Earth voted against monsters in their heads."
"Brexit is a an [sic] incredibly sad victory for racists and bigots and much that is vile in the world," said CBS News foreign correspondent Debora Patta.
Vox.com's Zack Beauchamp added in a note of his own, "Congratulations to the U.K. for screwing over millions of people."
He later penned an article titled, "Brexit isn't about economics. It's about xenophobia."
It went on and on, as members of the media declared June 23, 2016, as some sort of apocalyptic victory for society's worst elements.
However, not all media criticism involved allegations of racism and xenophobia, as many in the press chose instead to focus on the possible economic repercussions of the U.K.'s withdrawal from the EU.
Boston Globe columnist Michael Cohen wrote, "The British have literally decided to destroy their economy. We need to revise Churchill's line about democracy being least worst option."
Former Vermont governor and frequent cable news guest Howard Dean added in a note of defeat, "The sun is also setting on David Cameron's time as Prime Minister. Given Scottish results, Brexit likely means the end of the U.K. as well."
"I want my country back," read the headline to an op-ed that appeared Friday in the U.K.'s New Statesman. "This was never a referendum on the EU. It was a referendum on the modern world."
The Washington Post's Griff Witte, Karla Adam and Dan Balz grumbled in a report, "British voters have defied the will of their leaders, foreign allies and much of the political establishment by opting to rupture this country's primary connection to Europe in a stunning result that will radiate economic and political uncertainty across the globe."
"Picture your worst break-up. How long it took to untangle your lives and all the anger and sadness. That's the next three years for the U.K.," said BuzzFeed's Hayes Brown.
CNN published an article proclaiming the Brexit vote a likely "disaster" of historical proportions.
"Britain has had its fair share of foreign policy fiascoes over the past century: the disastrous decision to seize the Suez Canal from Egypt in 1956, the appeasement of Hitler in the 1930s, and the military strategy in World War I, which destroyed a generation and gave us such synonyms for military misadventure as Gallipoli and the Somme," it began.
"'Brexit,' the British vote Thursday to leave the European Union, will surely join this list of disasters," it added.
U.K. journalist Ben Judah bemoaned, "Cameron will be remembered as the second Lord North. A Prime Minister who lost Europe, Scotland and our world role."
Vox.com's Dylan Matthews asked, "Is there another example in history of a country consciously voting to destroy its own economy, knowing that was what it was doing?" | {
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In online social networks, users tend to select information that adhere to their system of beliefs and to form polarized groups of like minded people. Polarization as well as its effects on online social interactions have been extensively investigated. Still, the relation between group formation and personality traits remains unclear. A better understanding of the cognitive and psychological determinants of online social dynamics might help to design more efficient communication strategies and to challenge the digital misinformation threat. In this work, we focus on users commenting posts published by US Facebook pages supporting scientific and conspiracy-like narratives, and we classify the personality traits of those users according to their online behavior. We show that different and conflicting communities are populated by users showing similar psychological profiles, and that the dominant personality model is the same in both scientific and conspiracy echo chambers. Moreover, we observe that the permanence within echo chambers slightly shapes users' psychological profiles. Our results suggest that the presence of specific personality traits in individuals lead to their considerable involvement in supporting narratives inside virtual echo chambers. | {
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Art lovers will be given a rare treat when the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam restores Rembrandt van Rijn's "The Night Watch," the museum's director announced on Tuesday. Rather than take the museum's crown jewel away from its gallery for the years-long restoration, the project will be carried out in public and also be streamed online.
"The Night Watch … is one of the most famous paintings in the world and we feel we have to preserve it for future generations," Rijksmuseum General Director Taco Dibbits told French news agency AFP.
"Over two million people a year come to see The Night Watch, it's a painting that everybody loves, and we feel that the world has the right to see what we will do with it."
Art restoration specialists will work behind a glass case in the museum's "Gallery of Honor" so that visitors can appreciate their painstaking task.
Read more: Computer fakes a work by Rembrandt
Storied history
The enormous oil painting, which is technically called "Militia Company of District II under the Command of Captain Frans Banninck Cocq," was commissioned by Cocq, then the mayor of Amsterdam, and completed in 1642. The painting is particularly notable for the Dutch master's dramatic use of shadow and light and is considered Rembrandt's most ambitious work.
Over the years it was covered with a series of heavy varnishes that led viewers to think it depicted a nighttime scene, hence its colloquial name, "The Night Watch."
It has survived a number of major restorations over the years, first having "multiple layers of boiled oil and varnishes" cleared off in the 1700s. It also survived the 1939 evacuation of 30,000 artworks from the Rijksmuseum as the Nazis closed in on the Netherlands.
It was then badly damaged in 1975 when a mentally ill man slashed the painting 12 times. The deepest cuts can still be seen in the painting today.
The Rijksmuseum is planning a major exhibition of Rembrandt's work to coincide with the 350th anniversary of his death in March 2019. The restoration, which will take years and cost millions, is set to begin in July 2019.
es/aw (AFP, dpa) | {
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Romeo Lane , a place spreading three generational romance is set to entice the city’s food lovers with the melange of its urban interiors amalgamated with delectable food and upbeat handcrafted drinks and more. With artistic and romantic interiors, The Romeo Lane is divided into three sections, with a spot for everyone’s liking with a minimalist indoor setup with dark wood frets and bright colored upholstery. A place with a pleasant vibe is a first of its kind restaurant to have Cabanas and the only one to have “curved” LED displays for its guests. With the largest and the biggest space in North Delhi, The Romeo Lane is a place for plenty of good drinks and dine playground for the finest of Delhi’s epicureans. | {
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T-Mobile taking on the new OnePlus 6T
OnePlus has been making Android smartphones for a while now, offering phones that are almost flagship rate at specifications close to Apple, Samsung, LG, and more – but at hundreds of pounds less than some of these mega companies.
The OnePlus 6T will be starting its market race from somewhere around £500. We’re not expecting it to cost much more than the OnePlus 6, which currently retails around £469. The 6T is likely to carry a few minor improvements on the OnePlus 6, but it’s still going to be around half the cost of the new Samsung Galaxy Note 9.
OnePlus started their life in business as a value company, but they have been increasing their prices, and with it, their capabilities to bring the public better phones. When you consider that most Apple and Samsung phones are around £1000 now, sometimes more, then the OnePlus can still be considered a great value brand.
OnePlus phones are also known for getting quick updates, and some have unique capabilities, as well as an energetic community for phone support.
T-Mobile and OnePlus partnering up is perhaps one of the best moves both companies could have made in today’s market. Partnering with a US carrier means that OnePlus will get more recognition around the world, and T-Mobile isn’t a company with a habit of loading up useless software on mobile phones to take up valuable space. The OnePlus 6T also supports the 600MHz band 71 extended range LTE, so it’s essentially ahead of its time.
T-Mobile will benefit too, by offering a flagship phone at half the price of Apple and Samsung products in the same spec range. It’s certainly going to prove to be a popular alternative choice when it comes down to a £500 phone or a £1000 phone that do most of the same things and are similarly built.
It looks like the OnePlus 6T might be arriving in October from the rumours circling the market. It will be the first of the OnePlus mobile range to be available in the US, and the version optimised for T-Mobile will include support for T-Mobile’s extended range LTE technology, as well as being a technically improved version of the OnePlus 6 with a few adapted and better features.
The deal with T-Mobile is tentative at the moment, but should it be secured, it could present a major milestone for OnePlus, and an amazing opportunity for T-Mobile, themselves. Should the deal go through, OnePlus would succeed where other companies like Huawei have failed – it’s believed that a deal between Huawei and T-Mobile fell through earlier this year due to security concerns.
OnePlus will still be selling both the global, unlocked version of their phone, as well as their T-Mobile version. OnePlus isn’t yet a household name, but this deal with T-Mobile in the US could help broaden their horizons across the world and really make them a bigger name in the mobile market. Considering the specs of their phones combined with their prices, we couldn’t see why not. | {
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Effort-based decision making addresses how we make an action choice based on an integration of action and goal values. The nucleus accumbens (NAc) is implicated in allowing an animal to overcome effort constraints to obtain greater benefits, and it has been previously shown that cannabis derivatives may affect such processes. Therefore, in this study, we intend to evaluate the involvement of the cannabinoid system in the entire NAc on effort-based decision making. Rats were trained in a T-maze cost-benefit decision making the task in which they could choose either to climb a barrier to obtain a large reward in one arm or run into the other arm without a barrier to obtaining a small reward. Following training, the animals were bilaterally implanted with guide cannulae in the NAc. On test day, rats received cannabinoid agonist (Win 55,212-2; 2, 10 and 50 μM) and/or antagonist (AM251; 45 μM), afterward percentage of large reward choice and latency of reward attainment were investigated. Results revealed that the administration of cannabinoid agonist led to decrease of large reward choice percentage such that the animals preferred to receive a small reward with low effort instead of receiving a large reward with high effort. The administration of antagonist solely did not affect effort-based decision making, but did attenuate the Win 55,212-2-induced impairments in effort allocation. In agonist-treated animals, the latency of reward collection increased. Moreover, when the effort was equated on both arms, the animals returned to choosing large reward showing that obtained results were not caused by spatial memory impairment. Our finding suggested that activation of the cannabinoid system in the NAc impaired effort-based decision making and led to rats were less willing to invest the physical effort to gain large reward. | {
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Washington:
In a first, scientists have created experimental chickens with dinosaur-like feet by manipulating their genes, highlighting the evolutionary link between dinosaurs and birds. In dinosaurs - the ancestors of birds - fibula, one of the two long bones of the lower leg, is tube-shaped and reaches all the way down to the ankle.
However, in the evolution from dinosaurs to birds, it lost its lower end, and no longer connects to the ankle, being shorter than the other bone in the lower leg, the tibia.
Scientists noted that bird embryos first develop a tubular, dinosaur-like fibula. Afterward, it becomes shorter than the tibia and acquires its adult, splinter-like shape. Brazilian researcher Joao Botelho, working at the lab of Alexander Vargas from the University of Chile studied the mechanisms that underlie this transformation.
In normal bone development, the shaft matures and ceases growth (cell division) long before the ends do. Botelho found that molecular mechanisms of maturation were active very early at the lower end, ceasing cell division and growth.
Inhibiting a maturation gene called Indian Hedgehog resulted in chickens with a tubular fibula as long as the tibia and connected to the ankle, just like a dinosaur. Researchers believe that early maturation at the lower end of the fibula occurs because of the influence of a nearby bone in the ankle, the calcaneum.
Unlike other animals, the calcaneum in bird embryos presses against the lower end of the fibula. They are so close they have even been mistaken for a single element.
Botelho proposes that at this stage, the lower end of the fibula receives signals more like those at the bone shaft. In normal development, the calcaneum then becomes detached from the fibula.
However, its distal end has already become committed to shaft-like development, and matures early. In the chickens with experimentally dinosaur-like lower legs, the calcaneum was attached to the fibula.
Botelho also confirmed the calcaneum strongly expresses PthrP, a gene that allows growth at the ends of bones.
Another interesting observation in the experimental chickens was that the other bone of the lower leg, the tibia, was significantly shorter, researchers said.
This suggests that a dinosaur-like fibula connected to the ankle stops the tibia from outgrowing the fibula, as it normally would. Working with Jingmai O’Connor from the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (IVPP) in China, the research team realised this was consistent with an evolutionary pattern documented by the fossil record.
The earliest forms to evolve reduced fibulas were toothed birds from the early cretaceous age, which lived alongside dinosaurs. The study was published in the journal Evolution.
For all the Latest Science News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. | {
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The channel also did not show Lakshadweep and Andaman Islands in some of the maps.
An inter-ministerial committee of the Information and Broadcasting ministry has found that Al-Jazeera channel violated the programme code by showing wrong maps of India on repeated occasions and recommended that it be taken off air for five days.
According to sources, it had come to the notice of the I&B ministry that on repeated occasions the channel had showed a wrong map of India in some of its broadcasts in 2013 and 2014, after which the matter was referred to the Surveyor General of India (SGI).
According to an order issued by the ministry on April 10, the SGI observed that the maps displayed by the TV channel were shown wrongly. The SGI said that a portion of Indian territory has not been shown as a part of Indian territory in some of the maps while the territorial boundary of India is not shown with clarity and proper shape in another map. The channel also did not show Lakshadweep and Andaman Islands in some of the maps, it said.
The Ministry of External Affairs also pointed out a similar airing of a wrong map on July 2, 2014 by the channel. The I&B ministry had issued a show-cause notice to the channel on August 21 last year.
In their reply, Al-Jazeera said that all maps that are displayed by them are generated by an internationally-known software used by Global News Providers. The channel also added that it takes the Indian government’s concerns about maps very seriously and accordingly reviews all its India and Pakistan maps to ensure compatibility with recent official U.N. map.
As per the order of the I&B ministry, the Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) which was also attended by representatives of the MEA, after deliberations, held that the channel had clearly violated the provisions of the programme code and recommended to prohibit transmission or re-transmission of the channel throughout India for five days.
When contacted, a senior official confirmed that the IMC had recommended prohibition of transmission or re-transmission of the channel for five days and said further action will be taken as per norms.
An e-mail sent to the channel seeking its comments remained unanswered. | {
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- Il presidente turco Recep Tayyip Erdogan lancia un appello inquietante ai turchi che vivono nell'Ue: "Da qui faccio un appello ai miei fratelli in Europa. Vivete in quartieri migliori. Comprate le auto migliori. Vivete nelle case migliori. Non fate tre figli, ma cinque. Perché voi siete il futuro dell'Europa. Questa sarà la migliore risposta all'ingiustizia che vi è stata fatta". Ha detto il presidente tornando sullo scontro con i Paesi Ue, durante un comizio, in vista del referendum, nella città di Eskisehir, a sud di Istanbul, nell'Anatolia nord-occidentale. Le parole del leader di Ankara fanno riferimento al suo frequente appello alle famiglie turche a "fare almeno tre figli". Lui stesso ne ha quattro.La crisi tra Ankara e l'Ue è stata innescata dal rifiuto di autorizzare alcuni ministri turchi a tenere dei comizi elettorali in città tedesche ed olandesi in vista della consultazione che mira a rafforzare i poteri del presidente. Erdogan è arrivato a definire "nazista" il comportamento di Berlino e dell' Aia
Circa 2,5 milioni di cittadini turchi che risiedono in Europa possono votare alle elezioni in patria. Ma diversi milioni di più sono le persone di ascendenze turche che vivono negli stati dell'Ue.Erdogan inoltre non perde l'occasione per attaccare anche la decisione della Corte di giustizia europea che permette di vietare il velo islamico nei luoghi di lavoro. "Siamo stanchi di tutto questo. Voi dite che è libertà di religione. Io vi sfido a vietare la kippah", ha detto Erdogan, durante lo stesso comizio. | {
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Abortions are not permitted in Kenya unless a woman's life or health is in danger and emergency treatment is required
(Updates with background on previous suspension in para 18,19)
By Nita Bhalla
NAIROBI, Nov 19 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Kenya has banned the international charity Marie Stopes from offering abortion services to women and girls after complaints it was promoting the termination of unwanted pregnancies, the government and charity officials said on Monday.
Abortions are not permitted in Kenya unless a woman's life or health is in danger and emergency treatment is required.
The Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Board (KMPDB) said it had acted after the public, pro-life campaigners and the Kenya Film Classification Board complained that Marie Stopes radio adverts promoted abortions - a claim the charity denies.
"Marie Stopes Kenya is hearby directed to immediately cease and desist offering any form of abortion services in all its facilities within the Republic of Kenya," KMPDB said in a letter to Marie Stopes Country Director Dana Tilson dated Nov. 14.
The charity - which provides family planning, counselling, emergency abortions and post-abortion care to thousands of women and girls - said its campaign promoted awareness about unsafe abortions.
"At no point did we promote abortions," marketing director Christopher Wainaina told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
"Our media campaign talks about the legal status of abortion in Kenya, the stigma of abortion that exists and how it is leading to high numbers of women becoming victims of botched backstreet abortions and dying as a result."
Almost half a million abortions were conducted in Kenya in 2012 - mostly in backstreet clinics - with one in four women and girls suffering complications such as high fever, sepsis, shock and organ failure, said a February health ministry report.
An estimated 266 women die per 100,000 unsafe abortions in Kenya - higher than rates estimated in other east African nations, it added.
Campaigners warned that the ban on Marie Stopes could hit victims of backstreet abortions who desperately need emergency treatment.
"There aren't many places for women to go in that situation - many would rather die than go to a government hospital because of the stigma and discrimination they face," said Evelyne Opondo, Africa Director for the Center for Reproductive Rights.
"I think many girls and women could lose their lives due to this ban. Those who do not lose their lives may end up with life-long disabilities due to no proper treatment."
Government hospitals are the main provider of safe abortions, but are often overstretched.
Campaigners said authorities, influenced by powerful Christian organisations, were making it harder for women to access safe abortions.
Since 2010, the ministry of health has withdrawn essential guidelines on conducting safe abortions and banned health workers from training on abortion.
The KMPDB also reprimanded the charity for contravening advertising rules for medical practitioners, and ordered it to file weekly reports on all services provided in its 23 clinics across the country for the next 60 days.
Wainaina said Marie Stopes - which has operated in Kenya for over three decades - was working with the KMPDB and the ministry of health to seek clarity on the issues raised in the letter and hoped to find a resolution soon.
This is not the first time Marie Stopes - which works in 37 countries in Africa, Asia, Europe, South America as well as the United States - has faced a suspension.
A British watchdog in 2016 suspended the charity from performing abortions on under-18s and vulnerable women, and suspended abortions under general anaesthetic after raising concerns over patient care. (Reporting by Nita Bhalla @nitabhalla, Editing by Claire Cozens. Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, women's rights, trafficking, property rights, climate change and resilience. Visit http://news.trust.org)
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. | {
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By G. Jeffrey MacDonald
Tens of thousands in donations to the Centre d’Agriculture Saint Barnabas have been diverted to other causes, according to Dan Tootle, who oversaw fundraising for Haiti.
Since 2014, the Episcopal Church has raised more than $250,000 for the school, which trains students for leadership roles in Haiti’s agriculture industry.
More than $21,000 went to two former directors, who used the money for personal expenses and for another school they oversaw, according to an analysis conducted by the current CASB director and the school accountant. Another $9,700 supported unexplained and unauthorized payments, Tootle said.
A report to the church’s finance office came from the CASB Support Group, which Tootle cofounded to raise funds directly for the school. It specifically cited mismanagement of funds at CASB, as well as the school’s dire financial situation, including unpaid staff and taxes, Tootle said. It called on the Episcopal Church to tell donors what happened to their money, among other remedial measures.
“All of this was written up in an extensive report that was sent to [church CFO] Kurt Barnes in May of this year,” Tootle said.
But donors who supported CASB have not been warned that their dollars supported other purposes, and the school still awaits its missing money. It has been trimming costs by slashing enrollment from a peak of 85 to 13 today.
“The school has no money,” Tootle said. Both bank accounts assigned to the school are empty.
Barnes declined to be interviewed, but said through Nancy Davidge, interim public affairs officer, that he was not aware of the report from the CASB Support Group. The church has not written to donors, or taken steps to restore CASB funding, because it has not been alerted to the problem, she added.
Barnes “seemed genuinely perplexed when this whole thing came up,” Davidge said. She said he is not aware of a report detailing financial mismanagement at CASB.
She added that oversight responsibilities rest with individual dioceses, not the Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society, which administers national church programs.
“There isn’t direct oversight or control by the Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society over the business matters of an individual diocese,” Davidge said. “When it’s in another country, you have the civic and governmental channels there as well. So it’s more complicated.”
Twice since 2016, the Episcopal Church has paused fundraising for Haiti projects, citing insufficient financial controls in Haiti. The current fundraising moratorium led to abolishing Tootle’s position as the fundraiser for Haiti.
If the finance office has known about the discrepancies for the past four months, as Tootle alleges, then it should implement several best-practice steps to make amends and establish new safeguards, according to experts in nonprofit governance.
First, the church should enlist a well-known accounting firm to conduct an audit to verify claims and determine if additional problems need addressing, said Kathy Keeley, executive vice president of the Georgia Center for Nonprofits. If misuse is confirmed, the church should promptly notify donors.
“Credibility is important,” Keeley said. “There are a lot of very poor people in Haiti that need help. The need it now. So the quicker the church can fix this, the quicker they can get back to fundraising and getting money to where it’s needed in Haiti.”
In Keeley’s view, the church bears responsibility as the fundraiser for assuring that the school receives all monies raised on its behalf. One way to do this, she said, is to file an insurance claim on a policy that covers embezzlement.
The CFO has not taken any such actions, Davidge said, because allegations of mismanagement of CASB funds were not brought to Barnes’s attention.
The CASB directorship did not come with a salary in recent years, Tootle said, because it was counted among other job responsibilities of clergy paid by the Diocese of Haiti. The compensation arrangement for the director changed last year. The current director is paid via funds newly raised for that purpose.
When past directors took school funds as unauthorized salaries, their actions came at the expense of a school that is now in financial trouble, Tootle said.
As CASB struggles to stay open, the church needs to reassure donors that the financial history is being addressed openly and will lead to new safeguards, said Liz Shear, a consultant to nonprofits and retired professor of nonprofit governance at the University of San Diego.
“You have to have a trusting relationship with your donors,” Shear said. “You need to act quickly, and you can do it in a way that doesn’t create a hornet’s nest of ‘Ick!’ You can just say, ‘This is what the church is doing.’”
Tootle said members of Executive Council, the House of Bishops, and the presiding bishop’s staff have long suspected that funds raised for Haiti were being mismanaged by the diocese.
Not all are convinced the DFMS needs to act. If an Episcopal school director in Haiti has been pocketing donated funds, Davidge said, that is not a problem for the DFMS to sort out.
“That really is a diocesan and a country of Haiti matter,” Davidge said. | {
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“Well, how are you feeling when you watch it?”
My editor asked me this, when he called to see if I would write this column. I started to answer and realized my voice was shaking and my throat felt tight. My eyes were hot and I realized I was about to cry. I did not want to cry on the phone with my editor. I thought about how Dr. Christine Blasey Ford probably did not want to cry in front of a committee of senators, on national television and livestreamed in front of the entire world.
It was very hard not to cry, thinking about that.
I’m not good at writing emotional things quickly, without time to process my feelings. It takes me a long time working things over in my head, and sometimes out loud, to understand — even when the thing I’m trying to understand is myself.
I’m not surprised Dr. Ford didn’t talk about her assault for decades. No woman who has undergone anything remotely traumatic would be surprised by that.
But it is stunning to imagine being her, sitting there, forced to participate in this national drama when the thing that really matters is a very personal, awful thing that she’s had to carry around with her for all these years. If I need time to be able to write about my feelings observing someone else’s experience, what must it be like for Dr. Ford still testifying as I began to write this, who had less than 10 days to try to emotionally prepare for this experience?
Dr. Ford is close in age to my mother. That’s what I was saying to my editor when I started to choke up. Something filial in me thrummed when I heard her voice shake. I felt angry and protective and upset. Upset in a childish way, too — shaken. Anxious.
How could I not be? Watching this accomplished woman be so clearly still affected by a horrible thing she experienced as a teen. Knowing that so many of us hold these experiences inside of us, and probably always will.
“ Ford ultimately found a way to thrive despite her trauma by doing one of the bravest things I can imagine — becoming an expert in trauma. ”
But while I got angrier and more frustrated by the hearing, it is Dr. Ford who is saving me from utter despair. The bravery to keep talking while her voice shakes. The way she is clear, polite, restrained.
Part of me hates that. Watching her smile and be pleasant to people who have utter disregard for her personhood, the way we women so often are. When asked to confirm if she wanted to take a break, she did and quickly asked, “Does that work for you as well?”
Shaken, Chuck Grassley — who has interrupted his female colleagues and Ford to fume angrily about politics and brag about how correct he is — tried to pull focus back to himself and his team’s good behavior. He repeated his worn-out mantra that they all just want to do what makes her comfortable. Ford smiled a little sheepishly and almost apologetically said, “I’m used to being collegial.”
And then there are the moments when I was reminded that, though she drifted and struggled for a few years, Ford ultimately found a way to thrive despite her trauma by doing one of the bravest things I can imagine — becoming an expert in trauma. The psychology professor explained that the release of hormones like norepenephrine during a traumatic experience imprints the memory on the hippocampus, making it so “the trauma-related experience is kind of locked there, whereas other details drift.”
When Patrick Leahy asked what her strongest memory is, she responded, “Indelible in the hippocampus is the laughter. The uproarious laughter between the two… having fun at my expense.”
And here it is. The pattern we are always looking for. Not of sexual assault; of something deeper, more fundamental, more insidious. Recall Debbie Ramirez’s account of Brett Kavanaugh humiliating her at a party, and her classmates saying that he and his friends often sought to have fun with each other at her expense. Recall Renate Dolphin, who signed a letter saying what a great guy Kavanaugh is, discovering all these many years later that he and his pals referred to themselves as “Renate alumni” in their yearbooks, an inside joke about who’d been intimate with her, or at least claimed to have been. She said the discovery was “horrible, hurtful.”
Of course it was. It’s horrible to discover that someone, let alone a group of people, did not see you as a human being, but a prop for their enjoyment in what Lili Loofbourow at Slate termed “a toxic homosociality... that involves males wooing other males over the comedy of being cruel to women.”
There’s something particularly galling about this kind of cruelty, though. Something especially damaging about someone, let alone a group of people, telegraphing that you are not valuable, that you do not have worth, that you are not a person. That you are less than they are, fundamentally.
This is an experience far too many of us recognize. Women, yes, but also men who have been victimized.
Grassley and Orrin Hatch behaved like petulant children. They retraumatized half the nation, and then wasted Dr. Ford’s time by interrupting her and their female colleagues. They hand-picked a conservative prosecutor to badger Dr. Ford about having the bravery to confront her fear of flying, and then still didn’t keep their mouths shut. They are a shame to their profession and to this country. They did nothing at this hearing besides prove how acutely unfit they are to serve the public, let alone on a committee dedicated to the notion of justice.
Dr. Ford was this hearing’s redemption. Her courage, her grace, her ability to explain in scientific terms how trauma tattoos itself on us all, while also showing us that doesn’t mean we’re broken. The scars we bear show not humiliation or defeat, but strength and survival.
For that, I will be forever grateful to her. | {
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Brampton Santa Claus Parade Route
Here's a handy little map, to not only show you the Parade route, but where the best parking facilities and transit terminals are located
*PLEASE NOTE THE 2020 PARADE IS A VIRTUAL PARADE ONLY AND WILL NOT BE PHYSICALLY TAKING PLACE*
(Please be advised there are many road closures not listed on this map. Please check back here for the most recent list of road closure information) | {
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Opinion - Announcing her resignation as Greens co-leader, Metiria Turei said she was tired of the scrutiny her family had been placed under. If there was ever a statement that summed up the sheer absurdity of her situation, it was this.
Having invited scrutiny of her private life, her past, and her family situation, she has found that scrutiny unbearable. If it is not too blunt to ask, what the hell did she expect?
Photo: RNZ / Rebekah Parsons-King
For what it's worth, I believe Turei is a compassionate person, an honourable person, and a decent person. The cause on which she has martyred herself is a genuine one, too.
Our social welfare system has become heartless, and beneficiaries made to suffer, because of a sorry ideology that pretends deliberately impoverishing people will "incentivise" them to improve their lot. The Victorians would have felt right at home with it.
But it is one thing to agitate to change the system, and quite another to set yourself up as the embodiment of all that is wrong with that system. If you are going to turn your own personal history into a narrative of social injustice and the case for reform, you had better be very sure your story has a beginning, a middle and an end.
It's called political management 101, and the Greens failed it so spectacularly a cynic could be forgiven for being glad of the heads up, lest they got anywhere near a lever marked "power".
Photo: RNZ / Rebekah Parsons-King
Had Turei's admission that she fiddled WINZ by concealing she had a flatmate ended there, it's conceivable the story might have worked.
If the narrative had held that she did it only to put food on the table for her daughter, the argument that it's wrong to lie or cheat the taxpayer could at least have been countered with a moral one: it was an act of civil disobedience born of necessity, and who wouldn't do the same were the tables turned?
The moment that original story began to change, however, every half-seasoned political observer knew it was curtains. As a journalist with a conscience (yes, we do exist), I long ago learned to be sceptical of any story that seems too neatly emblematic of a great wrong.
We long for good morality tales, but almost inevitably the tale turns out to be messy, missing crucial elements, subjective and all too human.
Which is not to say you abandon the story. It means you work it until the loose ends are tied down, the ambiguities explained, the untidy reality of life put into a context that - you hope - still describes a situation that could be improved, or a case that has to be answered.
Turei needed to have explained her entire situation from the outset, anticipated the hard questions and been able to spin them honestly, and perhaps even have already paid back the notional amount owing.
The Greens should have known all this. They should have known that the moment Turei spoke, it would be an invitation to the media, their political enemies, and the vast number of New Zealanders who wouldn't necessarily agree with what she did, to start looking for the exposed flank.
Photo: RNZ / Rebekah Parsons-King
They should also have known they were risking the entire left bloc's credibility, at a time when their wounded partner Labour was fashioning a survival strategy that would leave no room for compromise or kindness if things went a bit pear-shaped.
In other words, they should have been a whole lot more professional. It may not be ideal or even acceptable that politics is a blood sport, that there is a mean streak in this country that couldn't care less about "bludgers", or that the media is often wilfully shallow in its coverage of complex issues. But that's how it is, and if you're not ready for the counterpunch, you shouldn't be in the game. The Greens backroom team should probably quit, too.
The current hurt mewling about all of the above from offended Green supporters misses the point entirely.
The institutionalised mistreatment of beneficiaries, and the effects of poverty on far too many people, demand political actions that raise awareness and offer solutions. But the victims of mistreatment and poverty actually deserve better than a weak hand played at the wrong moment.
And it's just plain pathetic, when you've damaged your party's fortunes and set your own cause back in the process, to say it isn't fair.
* Finlay Macdonald was editor of the New Zealand Listener magazine from 1998 to 2003, commissioning editor at Penguin New Zealand from 2003 to 2005, and a weekly columnist for the Sunday Star-Times from 2003 to 2011. | {
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Although hundreds have defected, analysts say until there’re breaks in upper ranks, there’ll be little effect on Maduro.
Cucuta, Colombia – Ricardo* sat on the stairs inside a Colombian migration office, dressed in his green Venezuelan military fatigues. He recalled his childhood, watching the late Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez deliver charismatic speeches on television.
Ricardo said Chavez inspired him to join the armed forces.
A member of the Venezuelan National Guard, Ricardo defected on Saturday, in an escape he had planned for days with a colleague, leaving the military and their homeland behind them.
“I was filled with adrenaline, nerves and fear, but I was greeted with open arms by Colombia and now I will continue fighting for Venezuela’s freedom,” said Ricardo, 23, who, after four years’ training, served for just six months.
Saturday’s attempts to deliver US humanitarian aid to Venezuela by US-backed opposition leader Juan Guaido turned violent in the Colombian border town of Cucuta as Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro sent flocks of military to block the borders. Security forces fired rubber bullets and tear gas, leaving more than 300 injured.
“They’d threaten us. If we weren’t part of their political party, they’d lock us up,” Ricardo said about the Venezuelan government.
After months of feeling trapped and frustrated in the military, the young soldier saw the border operation as his chance to escape, even if it meant leaving his young fiancee and four-month-old child behind.
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“I didn’t have the chance to make this decision before. Another colleague and I followed through on what we had been planning for several days. We took the risk of crossing the border and recognised Guaido as our rightful leader,” he said at a migration centre in Cucuta, where dozens of defectors dressed in their uniforms were being officially registered by authorities.
Cause for concern for Maduro?
According to Colombian migration authorities, more than 560 members of Venezuela’s armed forces have defected to Colombia, but analysts say until there are breaks among the higher ranks, such defections are likely to have little effect on Maduro.
Venezuela’s military leaders have repeatedly affirmed their support for Maduro. Last weekend, as the US-backed opposition planned their efforts to bring aid across the border, Venezuelan Defence Minister Vladimir Padrinos said opposition leaders would have to pass over “our dead bodies” to install a new government.
“The fracture of the military unit is an important element in the transition that is coming in Venezuela. The dissidents will help consolidate the hierarchy of the new government and reflect how cracked the regime is,” said Sergio Guarin, director of the post-conflict programme in Fundacion Ideas para la Paz, a Colombian peace and conflict think-tank.
“However, until there is a dissidence within the power ring close to Venezuela’s Minister of Defence, Vladimir Padrinos, the dissidence will not be the breaking point for the Maduro’s government,” he told Al Jazeera.
A Venezuelan National Guard sets on fire a copy of a document, regarding a proposed amnesty law for members of the military, police and civilians [Ronald Pena/El Pitazo/Reuters]
Sergio Guzman, director of Colombia Risk Analysis, a political risk consultancy firm, added that what has happened is significant from the point of view of morale, but it is insignificant from the point of view of Maduro losing his grip on power.
“Four hundred from an army of 200,000 is virtually nothing,” Guzman told Al Jazeera.
“It’s something that affects morale because no military wants to have defectors, but it’s not significant in terms of turning the tide,” he added.
“Many people expected a domino effect of sorts, and I think this is not a domino of 400 pieces, it is a domino of 200,000 pieces, and to see 400 men and women at arms change sides to a really unexpected future gives hope that there may be many more, but that hasn’t manifested.”
‘I was a Chavista’
Daniel*, another defector, said he was the first to cross into Colombia last weekend.
190222210148032
He entered through an illegal ditch passageway near the Simon Bolivar bridge, where the main part of the violence unfolded on Saturday.
“I was operating a military vehicle and I abandoned it and went off with my colleague when the confrontation began on the bridge,” the 31-year-old National Guard said. “I didn’t go across the bridge because I thought the pro-government armed groups might have lynched me – the ones that were throwing petrol bombs and shooting at people – so that’s why I crossed through the ditch,” he said.
Like Ricardo, he also used to support the socialist government under Chavez.
“Truthfully, I was a Chavista. I voted for Hugo Chavez and believed in his government project,” said Daniel, who served in the military for 12 years, following in his father’s footsteps.
“But since his death, the country’s situation changed a lot and it quickly became clear that the project wasn’t going anywhere,” he added. “I’ve never believed in Maduro, even his way of speaking, he says such stupid things and he wasn’t the one to take control of the country.”
Boots belonging to defected members of Venezuela’s National Guard sit out to dry where several dozen Venezuelan military defectors are sleeping at a shelter run by a priest in Cucuta, Colombia [Christine Armario/AP]
Since defecting, Daniel, who grew up and lived close to the Colombian border, made sure his wife and child were moved to another city for their safety.
Maduro has denied there is a humanitarian crisis in the country despite hyperinflation and food and medicine shortages. More than three million people have fled since 2014.
“The situation in Venezuela affected me a lot, or more importantly, my two-year-old son. We weren’t able to get milk or diapers, all of that we had to get on the Colombian side,” Daniel said. “It was hard to find in Venezuela, and if you could get it, it was overly expensive.”
Guaido, who declared himself interim president last month, has repeatedly called for the military’s support and promised some level of amnesty. On Saturday, he praised those who have switched their allegiance.
“The guards and members of the Armed Forces who decided to join our struggle are not defectors. They have decided to side with the people and the Constitution! Welcome! The arrival of freedom and democracy in Venezuela is now unstoppable,” Guaido tweeted.
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However, some critics have called the actions of these men and women cowardly.
“I don’t see myself as a coward or as a defector, I see myself as someone fighting for the benefits of all Venezuelan people, for what they all deserve,” Daniel said.
Daniel knows that Venezuela isn’t going to get better overnight, but hopes that Maduro will make “the right decision soon” and let Guaido take the reigns of his country.
“Leave government. Make the right decision and hand the power over to Guaido,” Daniel said in a message to Maduro. “Let the country be free, hand it over, before there’s a bloodbath.”
*Name has been changed to protect the individual’s identity. | {
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Erstes interfraktionelles Treffen des ‚Arbeitskreises Familie‘ der AfD am 13. Mai in Berlin.
Am 13. Mai hatten sich Familienpolitiker und familienpolitische Sprecher einer Reihe von AfD-Landtagsfraktionen und Mitglieder der AfD-Bundestagsfraktion im Ausschuss für Familie, Senioren, Frauen und Jugend in Berlin zum ersten interfraktionellen Treffen des Arbeitskreises Familie getroffen.
Unter dem Motto „Willkommenskultur für Kinder – Ausweg aus der demographischen Krise“ hatten die AfD-Familienpolitiker aus den Ländern für ihre Fraktionen über familienpolitische Themensetzungen und parlamentarische Initiativen informiert. Für die AfD-Bundestagsfraktion skizzierten Mariana Harder-Kühnel, Martin Reichardt, Nicole Höchst und Thomas Ehrhorn den aktuellen bundespolitischen Sach- und Arbeitsstand der AfD auf dem Feld der Familienpolitik. Einigkeit herrschte bei den Teilnehmern darüber, dass das übergeordnete Ziel einer gelungenen Familienpolitik in einer Willkommenskultur für Kinder und einer geburtenfördernden, aktivierenden Bevölkerungspolitik bestehen müsse.
Die Mitglieder des AK Familie der AfD fordern die Bundesregierung auf, sich der zunehmend verschärfenden demographischen Problematik des deutschen Volkes bewusst zu werden und entsprechend zu handeln. Als gutes Beispiel einer aktivierenden Familienpolitik könne z. B. die ungarische Regierung unter Ministerpräsident Viktor Orbán dienen. | {
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‘I spoke out about institutional racism in politics on Question Time, then 100 racist trolls attacked me online’ I’m still glad I had my say and would encourage young black women like me to speak out and challenge politicians
Ann-Marie Debrah, 20, studies History at King’s College London. After she remarked that British politics is institutionally racist on Thursday’s episode of Question Time, she received more than 100 racist threats online. She spoke to Jasmine Andersson about racism in politics and dealing with racist trolls online.
For years, I’ve grown up watching Question Time. I was spurred on to apply and it’s something I’ve always wanted to do.
My family and I are politically-minded and we’ve always had discussions about what politics means over the dinner table.
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Coming from ethnic minority background, we feel the need to educate ourselves; not just on British domestic politics, but international issues.
My family and I are Ghanaian, so we have a lot of interest in the politics of Ghana and how colonialism is seen and discussed in the UK.
I didn’t expect to be picked to be in the audience on Thursday’s episode of Question Time, but when I was given the opportunity, I jumped at the chance.
I wanted to share my opinions outside of the comfort of my living room and didn’t want to miss this golden opportunity.
I’m a history student, and it’s shaped my political ideas. The way I feel politics is fashioned is that political ideas are always formed by the past.
I have spoken to my mum and my neighbours about how people in the 80s and 90s still used the n-word, and how a Conservative campaign in the 1960s said if people voted for Labour, a person of colour would live next door to them, like it was some kind of threat.
‘Both parties have an issue with racism’
But I’m not a Labour or Conservative party member, and I think that both parties have an issue with racism.
While Labour fought against decolonisation, Conservative politicians like Boris Johnson have used racist rhetoric throughout their political careers.
I believe in civilised debate, and reaching out to both sides to form a view.
While Labour struggles to deal with antisemitism in the party, Baroness Warsi has said the Conservative party has “tell-tale signs of institutional racism” over Islamphobia.
And after Labour MP Barry Gardiner and Conservative MP Nadhim Zahawi debated whether Labour was an inherently racist party I couldn’t just sit there. As a black woman interacting in a political debate I wanted to challenge a Tory MP on the amalgamation of violent racist rhetoric from Tory MPs and the far-right.
I said a Tory MP shouldn’t sit on stage denying that the party has a legacy of racism
I spoke about how Boris Johnson had called black people “pickaninnies” and said they had “watermelon smiles.” I spoke about how the former Foreign Secretary had said people of colour have low IQs. I said a Tory MP shouldn’t sit on stage denying that the party has a legacy of racism.
This audience member says ‘the right have a legacy of racism’. #bbcqt pic.twitter.com/tJLZ9brb2o — BBC Question Time (@bbcquestiontime) February 28, 2019
I knew as a black female engaging in political debate, my intellect would be challenged due to my skin tone. That’s why I kept my university lanyard on.
‘They called me a black scrounger’
Question Time is known everywhere, so I was attacked everywhere. I must have had over 100 violent messages in total – I’d say sixty were on Twitter, 20 were on Instagram and ten were through Twitter DMs. The rest were just left on Question Time’s Facebook page after they posted a video of me expressing my views.
I had to release a statement on my social media and Twitter page, but it didn’t seem to help.
https://twitter.com/annn1018/status/1101837387230076929
The comments people posted were very stereotypically racist.
People left comments using the same language Boris Johnson did. They called me a pickaninny, said I have a chip on my shoulder, calling me a stupid black bitch, and a black scrounger.
One said I should be owned by a master, like I should be a slave.
I was just a woman engaging in a debate, and I was fiercely opposing what they wanted me to be.
‘Twitter is a war zone sometimes’
Twitter is a war zone sometimes. I used to be very wary, and watch other people on there, wanting to comment but never quite committing because of the wave of violence I could receive.
Although I have a thick skin, my family could see it was troubling me. My parents tried to contact someone from the BBC to see if my video could get taken down.
Although I could delete the comments on Instagram pretty easily, I had trouble getting a lot of the comments taken off Twitter.
For the most part, they said the accounts didn’t go against their policies. If someone is calling you a pickaninny, you think it would be a clear call for action.
By Saturday, the comments had died down – but I am still glad I had my say.
‘Don’t be afraid to speak out’
If you’re a person of colour living in a democratic society, please don’t be afraid to have your say. You are a citizen in this country just as much as anyone else is. You have to abide by citizenship, you pay taxes and pay money to this country – you can say whatever the hell you want within reason.
For people of colour living in western society, it can be a shadow-like experience. You can’t access the realms of western society like others do. It’s a cautious living. We should be allowed to grow and prosper, we should be allowed to challenge politics.
If racism is challenged – and it should be challenged – there’s a form of respectable racism that’s been allowed to happen. It makes it very unequal and very unfair. We need to look at what’s happening with Baroness Warsi.
We need to challenge racism on both sides of the political spectrum
I know many Jewish friends who are on the left who are afraid and don’t think it’s their home any more. We need to challenge racism on both sides of the political spectrum.
But I think politicians on the right accept racism as part and parcel of society, but it isn’t okay.
It’s led to the murder of an MP. We’re not making this up. Muslims mowed down outside of a mosque is a product of racism on the far-right.
If you’re a person of colour, regardless of your politics, you do not deserve that form of abuse.
We live in a democratic society where we should all have our say. | {
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Our era of profound spiritual crisis is equally an era of spiritual forment rivaled only by that time two thousand years ago that saw the emergence of Gnosticism, Christianity, and the Hermetic Tradition in the West and Mahayana Buddhism and Vedanta in the East. Today, as then, this transformative crisis is being fueled by the confluence of cultures, none of which will remain the same for that contact. Two such cultures, contemporary Paganism and Tibetan or Vajrayana Buddhism, have the potential to deeply revitalize each other and positively effect our world.
Problems with Pagan Practice
Paganism has survived awful abuse for thousands of years. It is a testimony to the vitality and resilience of the culture that it survives in any form today. Outside of the Roman and Greek Churches, contemporary Paganism preserves the only remaining living ritual tradition in the West. Protestantism has vestiges of ritual in baptism and such rites but mostly is a preaching tradition. Even the High Churches have preserved only a narrow range of ritual practice. The Pagans however still create rituals from generative grammars as needed to supplement the more established forms. Yet due to the abuse the tradition has experienced the degree of self-critical reflection and refinement of that ritual tradition is very thin. At most we have only a generation or two’s examination of our process, which, while helpful, is no match for a thousand years of sustained attention.
Over the years of practicing Pagan magickal ritual I have noticed a variety of consistent problems with our practice. Many solutions for these have been attempted with varying success. When I was introduced to the Tibetan contemplative tradition, (read Vajrayana) one of the points my teacher made was how the practitioners noted problems with their practices and with insight (and I suspect lots of trial and error and sharing results) they were able to solve them. Indeed, he noted, most books of Tibetan ritual practice were structured with the first chapter or so giving the practice itself and the remaining many chapters delineate all the ways the practice could go wrong and how to fix them. He also shared some of the more general techniques and what they were remedies for. Perhaps because ritual is ritual and it is humans doing it regardless where on the world they are, the same problems he mentioned among the Buddhists I had seen among Pagans. Shamelessly, and in true Hermetic manner, I began applying some of the remedies in my own ritual practice and with my community. Needless to say it helped.
One of these that was very easy to adopt was the dedication of the benefit of the ritual to all beings (this of course includes the ritual practitioners). Either by verbally dedicating the benefit in this manner or by ‘sweeping’ the good that we have done into an energy ball in the center of the ritual space and tossing it up into the sky to rain down on all beings, we were easily able to incorporate this ritual element. However effective as this sharing might be, the most immediate benefit to the group was the complete absence of the post-ritual blues, ungroundedness and general irritability that I and many other practitioners have experienced. Instead a calm sense of satisfaction tends to pervades the space.
Another more pervasive issue among magickal practitioners is the problem of magick going awry or causing harm, which it can easily do since it is refracted through our subconsciousnesses (thus not wholly under our conscious control) and since it is simply a power of nature. With our practice of magick comes an interaction with the world that requires, due to its power, a deeper level of responsibility and accountability and for non-practitioners. Instead we regularly cause trouble for ourselves, but this is more due to a lack of skill than necessity.
Looking back over our history, I suspect that in the frightful need to transmit the how the Western Magical Tradition lost the why. In the face of oppression and ridicule the practice of magick was nearly, but not successfully, exterminated. But those who transmitted the core of our way forward in time did not include as inherent the process of rooting our work in compassion.
Perhaps those who bequeathed us the magickal tradition thought it obvious or maybe the view as to what magick is to be used for never arose. But its absence today, this lack of high intention cripples us. Though we value the Earth and root to it when we do our work, this is not enough to place the momentum of the greatest good for all behind our magickal efforts, our spells and rites. Yet by generating compassion we can invoke the inherent power of the entire Universe driving us all toward our eventual enlightenment to strengthen and fulfill our magick.
The Buddhists call this “boddhichitta” and make a particular point of generating it at the beginning of every ritual. This is also what the Mahayana brought to the magick users of India and Tibet, giving rise to Buddhist Tantra and the Vajrayana.
Vajrayana is what happens when a magickal culture becomes Buddhist and decides on Compassion. And is not compassion needed by every person, organization, business, government, etc.? Thus a practice that makes a virtue of compassion/Boddhichitta would be helpful to and for all. But, when done by magick users it is particularly powerful. Is it not our responsibility, since we have the power, to invoke compassionate action? In a deep sense this is a means of casting a vote in the ultimate franchise by determining what kind of world we live in.
The great hope that we can integrate Vajrayana practice in Pagan ritual is made clear by Steven Beyer’s work “The Cult of Tara”. There he shows that the only way to interpret Tibetan ritual practice is to take seriously their view of the reality of magick. To do this Beyer had to turn to the Western magickal tradition to find useful categories of analysis. When he returned with these tools to the Tibetan culture, he found that the same (not merely similar) methods were being used in both traditions. I note in my study that the principle difference, besides the presence of the Buddhist view, is the that Tibetan techniques are much more thorough.
The structural identity of the two systems permits us to conclude that should the Pagani adopt the practice of generating Boddhichitta they will (potentially) achieve the same result, a compassion based practice that is both effective and helpful to self and others.
Should the Pagani let themselves be effected by an alien culture
The contemporary Pagan and Magickal communities share an oddly interconnected history with the Buddhadharma. While some scholars have suggested connections between classical Paganism and the classical Far East and some connections may be found during the Renaissance, it is with the first translations of the eastern holy texts into European languages that the initial and most obvious effect appears and that in reaction. Christopher McIntosh, in his biography of Eliphas Levi, determined that one of Levi’s motivations was a sense that it is all well and good that the eastern traditions have all these esoteric spiritual practices, but so has the West-we just have to dig harder. And so while the Transcendentalists and German Romantics were enraptured by the Upanishads and the Bagavadgita and Pali Cannon, Levi was fusing Hebraic Kabbalah with the Tarot and goetic conjurations and Paracelcian elemental work with Agrippa’s methods.
Within a generation Madam Blavatski would be in contact with “the Tibetan” and other teachers from the orient and claimed that her Secret Doctrine was rooted in Buddhist Teachings. While this last was debatable due to the doctrine of the soul she presented being contrary to fundamental Buddhist teachings, both the text and her teachings show evidence of Buddhist philosophy intertwined with western occult thought. Joscelyn Godwin tracks this process in his Theosophical Enlightenment.
In the next generation, Aleister Crowley takes up the same attraction to Buddhism in its Sri Lankan form partly under the tutelage of Alan Bennett, his principal teacher of magick. Crowley later integrated the yogic techniques they learned from their teacher with magickal practice, and further blended some Buddhist principles into the Thelemic Holy Books, particularly Liber B vel Magus. Bennett went even farther by abandoning magick and becoming a Buddhist Monk, the second westerner to do so. He formed the Buddhist Society of Great Britain and Ireland, an organization to bring Buddhism to the west, but the severe monastic tradition he brought was not readily accepted by Europeans. Godwin, at the end of his book, wonders what it would have been like if Bennett and Crowley had discovered Tantric Buddhism, the Vajrayana or Tibetan Buddhism. What would have happened then? [It is clear that Crowley did not have any significant experience of Tibetan Buddhism since in his last great work, the Thoth Tarot deck which he created with Lady Frieda Harris, the Two of Wands depicts what he calls crossed Dorje and the Ten of Wands presents two more. However the image is not of a dorje wand or scepter but of a Purba, a three edged ceremonial knife.]
Telos
One of the key features of Buddhism is its thrust towards enlightenment. The classical Pagan tradition had similar goals. Plato had his aspiration towards Beauty through philosophy, Plotinus towards the One through contemplation. The Mystery traditions were said to free the aspirant from the fear of death and secure a pleasant afterlife. Christianity itself holds out the hope of heaven. Yet, while in each of these systems the ultimate aim was clearly formulated, in contemporary Paganism the goal is vague. Some speak of enlightenment, or of attaining unity with the Godhead (Goddess-head?) or perhaps some particular deity. Ceremonialists have inherited the Renaissance goal of the divinization of the Mage, or Prospero’s attainment of becoming one with the Cosmos and being able to wield its power. However, the methods of attainment are unclear.
Even this being the case, I would still contend that the strongest notions about our goal in Pagan practice are deeply influenced by the impact of eastern religions on our society. Any ideas we have about enlightenment are qualified by our apprehension of Buddhist concepts of Nirvana and the Vedanta Hindu Moksha or Liberation. Some of this comes from the historical intertwining of Buddhism with the Magical tradition. Some of this comes from the efflorescence of the Sixties, formative years for the current Pagan Revival.
Nonetheless there is a certain alien quality to these views with respect to the contemporary Pagan view of the divineness of the Earth. Each of them postulate that there is some place else, some place better, where we would rather be. This is Gnostic dualism, and leads, as amply demonstrated by our current ecological crisis, to the denigration of the here and now, of the world on which we live, even of our bodies and the pleasure available in the immediate moment.
But when we push past the initial understandings of Buddhism, past the Theravada/Hinavana, past the Mahayana, we can find in the most exalted forms of Buddhism a view that corresponds directly to the Pagan view of the sanctity of the immediate. It is in the Vajrayana of Tantric Buddhism and in Dzogchen, “the Great Perfection” that we find a explicit positive valuation of the world and the body. In Vajrayana, the challenging aspects of the world are not avoided, like the Theravadin, or antidoted as in Mahayana, but embraced and transformed into pristine and purified wisdoms. The Vajrayana practitioner strives to experience all sound as mantra (divine speech) all vision as mandala (divine image) as well as all the senses pure and holy, and all beings as Goddesses and Gods, something H.V. Gunther calls the symbolic recreation of the world. In a sense, Pagans strive to do no less. One less than ultimate goal of Paganism is to live in a world that is loved and respected and cared for by all the people in it. To do this most Pagans strive to see the very Earth as divine. Many of our rituals embody the value of a sacred world and many of them seek to “heal the Earth” (however this is understood). Many Pagan ritual also focus on experiencing and calling forth the innate divine nature in the participants. There, of course, remains the question of the efficacy of these rites.
In the pinnacle of Buddhism, the Great Perfection or Dzogchen, this process is taken to its ultimate conclusion, foregoing the transformational quality of Vajrayana. Rather the Dzogchen practitioner seeks the inherent purity in all things, and integrates with the experience while not seeking to change anything about it. This is in accord with the Pagan contra-gnostic view of the immediate goodness of the here and now. In Dzogchen this process is said to liberate the practitioner from creating any more karma and eventually lead to the Great Transference in which the body is transformed in to pure awareness and light upon death, or in advanced practitioners even before then. Certain deep teachings of the Ceremonialist path speak to this realization, yet it is the distinct failing of the Western path that we have not produced anyone of the caliber of a Tibetan Tulku.
Fortunately we are not finished. If we examine the history of Vajrayana’s creation and development as outlined by Miranda Shaw in Passionate Enlightenment we can see that the contemporary Pagan movement is in a state very similar to that of the cultural stratum out of which Tantric Buddhism arose and also similar to pre-Buddhist Tibet when Padmasambhava arrived to spread the Dharma.
Unfortunately the Pagan tradition is floundering and needs a deeper, richer, tap root by which to develop itself beyond mere spellcraft and seasonal celebrations. When Buddhism escaped the hands of the monastics and attained to the greater view of the Mahayana it began to spread outside the Buddhist philosophical colleges to the villages and craftsfolk. There, among the native magick using folk of India who were used to honoring the seasons and their many Deities, some heard the call of the greater view. They embraced the understanding of the void nature at the ground of things (Shunyata) and saw that compassion (Boddhichitta) was the necessary corollary and result. Rather than give up the magick and methods for worship they had known for countless generations, they brought them to bear on the task of attaining to the complete realization of this View. Thus was born Tantric, Vajrayana Buddhism.
I find it striking that, according to Shaw, it was circles of women seeking buddhahood in feminine form (contrary to the prevailing dogma) that lead to this development. They were usually common folk and craftswomen and are accompanied by tales of their enterprising and accomplished skillfulness. They welcomed men into these circles but always with the requirement of the adoration of the feminine as the embodiment of the goal. This is little different from contemporary Pagan circles, whether Gardinarian, Thelemic, Eclectic or Dianic. The automatic authority available to women on the Pagan path is a powerful attraction to women (and men) and one of its deepest strengths.
And so if Pagan folk can learn from Buddhism about sharing the benefit, the compassionate basis for action and a variety of ritual techniques, what can Buddhism learn from Paganism? In a number of conversations I have had during the writing of this essay with folk on this frontier, humor is the first quality mentioned. While I have found Tibetan teachers to be of good humor and Sogyal Rinpoche, in his Tibetan Book of Living and Dying to stress the need for humor, the Pagani raise humor and general silliness to a high, even spiritual art. This levity brings a joy of spirit and a resilience and freshness of soul to the work, especially necessary when our rites become to pompous or weighted with needless gravity. A sense of humor is also required when one is a member of an oppressed under class in order to survive.
Perhaps this is the greatest gift we can offer in return. We believe we belong here is this world now, for all the reasons discussed above. We have been hunted and ridiculed for two thousand years, yet we remain. It is our humor in the presence of the Divine and the Ultimate and our sense of belonging here and now that we can share with the Buddhists and all practitioners. This is what has given us the ability to survive, and this we wish for all oppressed folk of good will.
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Godwin, Joscelyn. The Theosophical Enlightenment. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1994.
McIntosh, Christopher. Eliphas Lévi and the French Occult Revival. London: Rider and Company, 1972.
Shaw, Miranda. Passionate Enlightenment. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1994.
Sogyal Rinpoche. Tibetan Book of Living and Dying. San Francisco: Harper San Francisco, 1992. | {
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KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — Wyandotte County leaders have voted to end the county's 29-year-old ban on pit bulls.
Fox4KC reports that the Unified Government's Board of Commissioners voted 6-3 Thursday evening to repeal the ban, which had prohibited ownership of breeds including Staffordshire bull terriers, American pit bull terriers, American Staffordshire terriers or dogs with characteristics of those breeds.
The county joins other cities, including Liberty, Missouri, and Eudora and Roeland Park, Kansas, which have repealed bans in recent years.
Anyone who violated the ban before Thursday night's vote could have been fined up to $1,000 or been sent to jail for up to 90 days.
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Information from: WDAF-TV, http://www.wdaftv4.com | {
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The RSR Modding Team has released a major new version of their popular Formula 3 mod for Assetto Corsa.
The new version of the carefully-crafted mod comes with a very large list of improvements, including a major 3D, sound & physics overhaul of the nimble formula racer.
3D Model
Improved 3D and shaders
Added chromo, opaque and metallic effect (thanks to Marco Calesella for his help)
Several parts completely remodeled:
rear wing
rear diffuser
tyre profile (the thread is now much more visible)
steering wheel is now fully modeled in 3D. Small bolts, display screen and so on.
rear light is now also remodeled in 3D. The rear light is now blinking in the pitlane
new tiny details on the interior
rear wing rear diffuser tyre profile (the thread is now much more visible) steering wheel is now fully modeled in 3D. Small bolts, display screen and so on. rear light is now also remodeled in 3D. The rear light is now blinking in the pitlane new tiny details on the interior 3D optimization to improve performances
New LODs
Added seat belts (created by Marco Calesella)
Driver helmet is now appearing in the showroom
New delta function added to the steering wheel display
New internal/external cameras
Added dashcam
Tuned driver head movements
specific VR modifications:
Oculus KN5. The package includes also a specific KN5 optimized for the Oculus. The only difference are the RPM lights that are more visible also in case you are not using post processing effects. Just use the kn5 included in the f312_oculus.zip
During our tests we’ve noticed that in some systems the driving position is a roughly meter higher that is should be. The driver eyes position seems to be ignored for some reasons.
A similar issue has been reported for official cars as well. Hopefully we will be able to fix this issue in a near future.
As a workaround use the official app to save the correct position. You just need to do this once.
Skins
added new skin Scuderia MRT (created by Marco Calesella) as an example of the new chromo effects introduced in the new version.
added seatbelts_textures_package. Those are created as skins for easy preview in the showroom. You can use those seatbelts of different brands in your own skins simply copying textures in your skin folder.
Sound
Sound upgraded to the new fmod project structure (updated by Davide “elMariachi90” Cervone).
Physics
Tyres upgraded to the newest tyre model v10 and fine tuned.
Tyre radius dependent on speed, calculated based on tyre manufacturer specs
Tyre falloff tuned to have a realistic feeling when losing grip
Improved tyres behaviour in fast changes of direction. The car has a now more direct response.
Improved overall force feedback feeling. The car is now more communicative. You will feel more even smaller bumps on the track. The wheel feels also a bit stronger.
Improved car behaviour on corners where there is a fast change of track camber, like the last chicane at Spa
Brakes pads efficiency based on real data
Thermal model for brakes. Driving feeling with cold brakes has been verified with Omicron Motorsport’s drivers
Added aero dependency between wings in the aerodynamic model. For example, increasing the angle of the front wing does change the efficiency of the rear wing. The new aero model is much more complex than the previous model to achieve better correlation to the experimental data. There are still few limitations that we hope we could address in the future.
Tuned damage model for the aerodynamics.
Refinement on dampers model based on new document provided by a user on RD. In the setup screens dampers options are now shown in steps for easier selection of the 8 settings available on the damper knob.
Steer assist set to 100% by default instead of 50. It’s still possible to change it anyway in the car setup screens. Best results with FF postprocessing configured correctly.
Fixed downshift profile causing the car to slightly lock the rear during downshifting
Changed step for ARBs to be make the selection easier
Added fuel consumption for accurate fuel estimation for AI (no changes for driver fuel consumption that was already tuned to the same number)
[boxdownload] Download RSR Formula 3 3.0 for Assetto Corsa [/boxdownload] | {
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Del Piero: 'Guardiola a good fit'
By Football Italia staff
Legend Alessandro Del Piero admits it would be “interesting” to see Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola at Juventus and predicts “a hot summer”.
Pep Guardiola has been linked with a move to the Allianz Stadium and the speculation swelled up when Manchester City were punished by the FFP and banned from the Champions League for the next two seasons.
The former Barcelona and Bayern Munich coach is tied to the Citizens until June 2021, but Del Piero expects something to happen already this summer.
“I think Guardiola is a good fit for every club for what he did in the past and what he is doing now,” Del Piero told Sky Sports News. “He won I Germany, he won in Spain and now I guess what’s missing is Italy and France.
“It could be really interesting to see him in Italy, definitely. This summer will be a hot summer, also in football.”
Juventus prepare to face Lyon on February 26 in the first leg of the last 16 in the Champions League and Del Piero insisted that they are among the favourites to win the competition.
“Both Liverpool and Juventus are big challengers for the Champions League, and why not Real Madrid,” he added. “With the Champions League it doesn’t matter what is going on in your own league, it creates different vibes and it’s always like this.”
Watch Serie A live in the UK on Premier Sports for just £9.99 per month including live LaLiga, Eredivisie, Scottish Cup Football and more. Visit: https://www.premiersports.com/subscribenow | {
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I’m going to try to bring some clarity to this issue, understanding how difficult it can be whenever we discuss anything that touches on Israel.
To be clear, I do this as someone who was raised in an intensely Zionist family with a long history of devotion and sacrifice for Israel, but who also — like many American Jews — has become increasingly dismayed not only by developments in Israel but by how we talk about it here in the United States.
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In the latest round of controversy, Omar said during a town hall, regarding U.S. policy toward Israel, “I want to talk about the political influence in this country that says it is okay for people to push for allegiance to a foreign country.” This comment was roundly condemned by members of Congress and many others for being anti-Semitic. Rep. Eliot L. Engel (D-N.Y.) called her statement “a vile anti-Semitic slur” and accused her of questioning "the loyalty of fellow American citizens.”
Pelosi then announced that the House would vote on a resolution which, while not mentioning Omar by name, is clearly meant as a condemnation of her. It contains multiple “whereas” statements about the danger of accusing Jews of “dual loyalty.”
So let’s talk about this idea of “dual loyalty,” and how it does and doesn’t relate to Omar’s comments. For many years, Jews were routinely accused of having dual loyalty, to both the United States and Israel, as a way of questioning whether they were truly American and could be trusted to do things such as serve in sensitive national security positions.
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That charge was anti-Semitic, because it was used to allege that every Jew was suspect, no matter what they thought about Israel, and that they could not be fully American because they were assumed to have too much affection for another country. It wasn’t about the particulars of U.S. policy or what Jews at the time were advocating; it was about who they (allegedly) were, their identity.
Now, back to Omar. Here’s the truth: The whole purpose of the Democrats’ resolution is to enforce dual loyalty not among Jews, but among members of Congress, to make sure that criticism of Israel is punished in the most visible way possible. This, of course, includes Omar. As it happens, this punishment of criticism of Israel is exactly what the freshman congresswoman was complaining about, and has on multiple occasions. The fact that no one seems to acknowledge that this is her complaint shows how spectacularly disingenuous Omar’s critics are being.
You may have noticed that almost no one uses “dual loyalty” as a way of questioning whether Jews are loyal to the United States anymore. Why has it almost disappeared as an anti-Semitic slur? Because, over the last three decades, support for Israel has become increasingly associated with conservative evangelicals and the Republican Party.
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Not coincidentally, this happened at the same time as the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC, the most prominent and influential pro-Israel lobby, went from supporting Israel generally to being the lobby in the United States for the Likud, Israel’s main right-wing party. While AIPAC works hard to keep Democrats in line, its greatest allies are in the GOP, where support for Israel and a rejection of any meaningful rights for Palestinians have become a central component of party ideology. When the most prominent advocates for Israel are people such as Mike Huckabee and Sarah Palin, “dual loyalty” loses any meaning as a slur against Jews.
The idea that taking issue with support of Israel means one is necessarily criticizing Jews as Jews ignores the last few decades of political developments around the United States’ relationship with Israel. “Supporters of Israel” hasn’t been a synonym for “Jews” since the 1980s. I have to repeat this: In the United States today, a “supporter of Israel” is much more likely to be an evangelical Christian Republican than a Jew.
Ilhan Omar certainly didn’t say that Jews have dual loyalty. For instance, in one of the tweets that got people so worked up, Omar said, “I should not be expected to have allegiance/pledge support to a foreign country in order to serve my country in Congress or serve on committee.” You’ll notice she didn’t say or even imply anything at all about Jews. She said that she was being asked to support Israel in order to have the privilege of serving on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, which was true. Many on the right have called for her to be removed from that committee (see here, or here, or here, or here). Her argument, to repeat, isn’t about how Jews feel about Israel, it’s about what is being demanded of her.
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And here’s the ultimate irony: Dual loyalty is precisely what AIPAC demands, and what it gets. Again, it makes this demand not of Jews, but of every member of Congress, and even of politicians at the state level whom you wouldn’t think would be conducting foreign policy. And it is working.
Take, for instance, the wave of state laws passed in recent years in opposition to the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement, in which a state would refuse to do business with anyone who supports BDS. In some cases, those laws require that contractors sign a document promising not to support any boycott of Israel. It’s illustrated by the case of a speech pathologist in Texas who sued over a requirement that she sign such a pledge to work in a public school district. That is literally a demand that she pledge her loyalty to Israel. She’s not Jewish, and the officials who demanded that she do so aren’t either; the Texas Republican Party is not exactly an organization dominated by Jews. When Gov. Greg Abbott (R) — also not a Jew — proclaims that “Anti-Israel policies are anti-Texas policies,” he’s expressing his dual loyalty.
Yet, when Omar says she shouldn’t have to do the same, everyone jumps up to accuse her of anti-Semitism, on the bogus grounds that 1) //she is secretly referring to Jews and not to what she is being asked to do; and 2) it’s some kind of anti-Semitic smear to even raise the issue of people being asked to promise their allegiance to Israel, when the truth is that members of Congress are asked to do just that.
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When this episode is over, Omar and everyone else will have learned a lesson. You’d better not step out of line on Israel. You’d better not question AIPAC. You’d better not criticize members of Congress for the craven way they deal with this issue. You’d better not talk about how policy toward Israel is made and maintained. Because if you do, this is what you’re going to get. | {
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ARLINGTON, Va. -- A 10-year-old German shepherd Irgo was supposed to be on a flight from Oregon to Kansas City, but when owner Kara Swindle arrived in Missouri, United Airlines gave her a Great Dane instead. The dogs got switched, and Irgo was sent to Japan.
"At this point all I can do is be hopeful that my dog is going to be OK," said owner Kara Swindle. "I've cried too much."
Kara Swindle / KCTV-TV
United says the error happened during the dogs' connection in Denver. On Wednesday, the airline apologized -- something it's done a lot of this week.
On a Monday night flight from Houston to New York, a flight attendant ordered Catalina Robledo and her 11-year-old daughter Sophia to put a bag in the overhead bin. Inside was their 10-month-old French bulldog, Kokito.
"She got the dog off and he was literally not moving," said Sophia.
Kokito died, and now United admits the family told the flight attendant about the dog, but she "did not hear or understand her, and did not knowingly place the dog in the overhead bin."
A puppy died after it was put in an overhead bin CBS News
More than a half million animals flew in 2017, nearly 140,000 of them on United. Overall, 24 died -- 18 of those also on United flights.
"What happened to this pet was disgraceful," said Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy.
The lawmaker has two dogs himself, and sent a letter to United demanding answers.
"We need to get to the bottom of it," Kennedy said. "I know we have many important things to do but this is important too."
United says Irgo will be home Thursday, and he'll be flying in the cabin with a human escort. The airline also says that starting in April it will issue brightly colored bag tags to customers traveling with in-cabin pets. | {
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Associated Press
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — A Florida police department has removed a widely-shared Facebook photo of three officers who had been praised for their good looks amid an investigation into a complaint against one of the men.
Gainesville police say in a statement that several people have brought information to the department's attention regarding a complaint against Officer Michael Hamill, the bearded officer at the center of the group selfie. The department hasn't disclosed the nature of the complaint, but The Gainesville Sun reports screen shots sent to the newspaper show anti-Semitic posts on Hamill's personal Facebook page. The Sun reports the posts were made in 2011 and 2013.
In this Sunday, Sept. 10, 2017, photo provided by the Gainesville Police Department, officers, from left, John Nordman, Michael Hamill and Dan Rengering take a selfie in Gainesville, Fla. (Gainesville Police Department via AP)
Hamill's selfie produced more than 100,000 comments after it was posted to the Gainesville police Facebook page on Sunday. | {
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For 24-year-old Romy, the tipping point in her relationship came during a family dinner when she says she saw 15 text messages and 27 missed calls on her phone in the space of 20 minutes.
Key points: A survey found one in five young men do not understand using technology to track their partners is abuse
A survey found one in five young men do not understand using technology to track their partners is abuse The research also found 16 per cent of young men do not understand harassing text messages are a form of violence
The research also found 16 per cent of young men do not understand harassing text messages are a form of violence Romy is talking about her views on relationships to highlight the issue
"I literally thought, 'I cannot do this anymore'," she said.
"It was just so consuming."
The young woman said she had spent more than a year in a relationship with a man whose behaviours, she claimed, had escalated to the point where she believed she was "starting to lose parts of myself".
"It started kind of minor, wanting to know my password to things, wanting to read my messages over my shoulder," she said.
"I didn't see any point in arguing."
Over time, she felt increasingly controlled when, she said, he insisted on accompanying her to girls' nights out, made suggestions she wear more conservative outfits and wanted to see photos of what she was planning to wear when he would not be there.
When she went on a holiday overseas, she said he obtained a copy of her itinerary and wanted to speak on the phone whenever she had free time.
"I got woken up one day because he was calling the hotel wondering where I was," Romy said.
"It was like having a bodyguard 24-7 that I didn't want or need."
When Romy resisted, she claimed she was accused of being selfish or disrespectful. Eventually she started to believe it.
"I just stopped going to things or the more I stood up for myself, the more I sort of got put down," she said.
"It started to become a bit of an attack on who I was."
It is a myth young women enjoy being repeatedly pursued, ANROWS chief Heather Nancarrow says. ( ABC News: Alison Branley )
With reports of behaviours such as this, experts are concerned young people are failing to understand controlling and coercive behaviours are forms of domestic violence.
Findings: One in seven young people believed women often made false allegations of sexual assault
One in seven young people believed women often made false allegations of sexual assault Young people were more likely than older groups to fail to understand financial control or stalking were forms of violence against women
Young people were more likely than older groups to fail to understand financial control or stalking were forms of violence against women Some 43 per cent of young Australians thought it was natural for a man to want to appear in control of his partner in front of male friends
Some 43 per cent of young Australians thought it was natural for a man to want to appear in control of his partner in front of male friends More than one in five young men thought men should take control of relationships and be the head of the household
More than one in five young men thought men should take control of relationships and be the head of the household More young people supported gender equality in public life than in personal relationships
More young people supported gender equality in public life than in personal relationships The proportion of young people who recognised that it was mainly men who committed domestic violence had fallen 11 points since 2013
The latest national report on Community Attitudes Towards Violence against Women specifically looked at the attitudes of people aged 16 to 24.
The survey of attitudes of more than 1,700 young Australians found one in five young men did not understand using technology to track their partner's movements, whether it be hacking social media or installing spyware, was abusive behaviour.
Nearly one quarter of young men thought women found it flattering to be persistently pursued, even if they were not interested.
And 16 per cent of young men did not understand harassment by repeated emails or text messages was a type of violence against women.
Lead researcher associate professor Anastasia Powell from RMIT said the behaviours reflected a false belief that one person should have control over both people in the relationship.
"That kind of inequality in people's private relationships really sets the tone for controlling and harassing behaviours down the track," she said.
"In unequal relationships, it's not a situation where you can necessarily consent to sex, it is often associated with sexual violence and harassment.
"If there [are] concerns about violence and abuse in that relationship, a victim can't talk to their family and friends outside to get help."
If you send more than one text, 'you're really screwed'
For young men, it can be tricky to navigate the line between pursuing a woman and harassing her.
Matt, 19, and Acer, 19, say each relationship is unique and people should communicate with their partners. ( ABC News: Elena De Bruijne )
But as a general rule, young men told the ABC blokes should be wary of "double texting", which is sending more than one text message with no response.
"I think it's a thing called double texting. If you send more than one text, you're really screwed," Acer, 19, said.
"It's always difficult, but I guess you keep trying things and see what happens and then if it ends up working it works, if it doesn't, it doesn't," Matt, 19, said.
Brian, 21, said he would only send one text and if a girl did not respond, he would not keep going, but conceded it depended on "how bad you want it".
"Realistically, after the first or second, I think it is a little weird," he said.
Once in a relationship, the line could become more blurred and it was not uncommon to see a partner's private text messages on their phone throughout the course of the day.
"I have, but not in a bad way. I've been on the phone and seen something and been like 'what's this?' And it's nothing," Matt said.
"I think at first in the relationship it's a bit hard to navigate that and know what's right and what's wrong and what's too far.
"But once you're with someone for a while, you sort of understand how they feel and what their perspective is on things like trust and privacy."
Acer agreed, saying: "It will be different for every relationship."
They agreed checking a partner's phone was unhealthy.
"You've got to give them their space — a trusting space," Victor said.
They suggested peers who sent too many texts or checked their partner's phones were probably insecure and jealous.
They had one message for mates in that situation.
"Chill out," Victor said.
"Yeah, take it easy," Jerry said.
Students Brian, Victor and Jerry (pictured left to right) say men who text too much need to "chill out". ( ABC News: Elena De Bruijne )
Attitudes to gender lead to beliefs about power and control
Dr Powell said the figures from the survey were particularly relevant to young people because young women were more likely to experience sexual violence and harassment than any other age group.
"Most of the time that is from male peers of similar age so it really is a crucial time in development to break that cycle of abuse so we can be preventing it for future generations," she said.
Dr Powell said their figures showed it was not education, ethnicity or disadvantage that was the biggest contributor to young people's beliefs about control in relationships, but rather their attitudes to gender equality overall.
"Above any other demographic factor, the people [who] did not support gender equality were also the people [who] had attitudes that were problematic towards violence towards women," she said.
"We've got to remember young people are a mirror to us of the society that we have given them."
The survey was commissioned by Australia's National Research Organisation for Women's Safety (ANROWS) and VicHealth.
ANROWS chief Heather Nancarrow said the statistics showed many improvements in attitudes across the board over the past decade, but there were still too many Australians who held troubling attitudes.
Why is this important? Young women aged 18-24 are the most likely to be victims of violence and experience sexual violence, at twice the national average
Young women aged 18-24 are the most likely to be victims of violence and experience sexual violence, at twice the national average One in four Australian women over 18 have experienced intimate partner violence since age 15
One in four Australian women over 18 have experienced intimate partner violence since age 15 Nearly two in five women aged 18 to 24 experience sexual harassment each year
Young people were particularly set apart from older cohorts when it came to attitudes towards men's roles in relationships and control, understanding of violence against women, and lower support for gender equality.
"There's a misbelief that young women enjoy being repeatedly pursued — that's a myth," she said.
"What that is actually is sexual harassment at a minimum."
Dr Powell said changing community attitudes was a long-term project that involved more than just more education programs.
"[Young people] are also being influenced by what they see in their homes, what they see in their broad community, what they see on TV and in their computer games," she said.
"There is still clearly a lot of work to be done."
Do you know more about this story? Email [email protected]
'That fine line between it's cute, to it's not OK'
For Romy, when the courage to end the relationship finally came, she claimed her partner threatened self-harm and, during a dispute, took her phone, wallet and her car keys.
"I literally couldn't leave. It was pretty intense," she said.
Romy has gone back to study, rediscovered her passion for running and is spending time on herself.
"I've really loved just finding different passions again and doing different things on my own," she said.
"When you lose your individuality, that's a really scary thing."
Romy is speaking publicly because she wants other young people to start thinking about what she believes are coercive and controlling behaviours.
"It starts so small. It's the little things you kind of give into every now and then," she said.
"You think, 'I can't be bothered with the fight'. That gives them the little inch and they just keep taking."
She believed her partner at the time was unable to see his behaviour was a problem, but she acknowledged for some couples it could be difficult terrain to navigate.
"There's that fine line between he loves you and it's cute and he just wants to make sure you're safe, and no it's not OK.
"People don't understand some behaviours are not OK."
Editor's note: This article has been amended to clarify the story shared by Romy is her own account of events. A former partner of Romy's, who does not wish to be identified, denies the allegations. He says he doesn't want to make any further comment, in the best interests of both parties. | {
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Decides to make an advice animals meme Uses the wrong meme, deletes the post, becomes paranoid parrot
270 shares | {
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That bats use echolocation to navigate and to find food is well known. But some blind people use the technique, too, clicking their tongues and snapping fingers to help identify objects.
Now, a study reports that human echolocators can experience illusions, just as sighted individuals do.
Gavin Buckingham, a psychology lecturer at Heriot-Watt University in Scotland, and his colleagues at the University of Western Ontario asked 10 study subjects to pick up strings attached to three boxes of identical weight but different sizes.
Overwhelmingly, the sighted individuals succumbed to what is known as the “size-weight illusion.” The bigger boxes felt lighter to them. | {
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Uber India has a new service in its kitty for its users in Mumbai. In a recent announcement, the ride hailing firm has now launched UberBOAT, a service offering boat rides to customers in the deep waters surrounding Mumbai.
UberBOAT will initiate its operations beginning February 1, allowing customers to book a boat ride through the Uber app. For this, the firm will employ speed boats with a passenger capacity of six people.
Reuters
Also read: This All-Electric Submarine Lets You Explore The Sea Like A Boss ForRs 10.6 Crore. Interested?
As of now, Uber has finalised two routes for the service, Gateway of India to Mandwa Jetty, and Gateway of India to Elephanta, both widely renowned tourist destinations. Customers will have to shell out anywhere between Rs 5,700 to 9,500 per boat for the service. The latter would have an increased capacity of 10 plus passengers in one go.
Uber also aims to cut down on the travel time between the points through the speed boats. It claims that while conventional boats carry passengers on this route in around an hour, the speed boats employed by Uber will take only around 20 minutes.
Uber App (Reuters)
Also read: Gaganyaan: ISRO Opens 1st Human Space Flight Centre in Bengaluru For Historic Manned Mission
Sea transport around Mumbai has been a viable option for many connected destinations since long. As per a report by TOI, Mumbai Port Trust says that there has been a demand for such a transport solution over waters from Navi Mumbai to south Mumbai. For now, Uber has not made clear of any future routes for its UberBOAT service though. | {
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BURLINGTON
A monument which recognizes the sacrifice of Canadian sailors during the Korean War was unveiled on Monday.
Veterans of the conflict were joined by a delegation of South Korean visitors and government dignitaries on Burlington’s waterfront for a ceremony for the unveiling. The monument is believed to be the first of its kind in Canada.
Officials Andy Barber and Ron Kirk — navy veterans of the Korean War — spearheaded the effort to have the monument created. The day was a culmination of a four-year journey, Barber said.
“It’s an emotional feeling having completed this,” he said.
Barber said, to his knowledge, there is no place in Canada that honours the eight destroyers that took part in the operation from the beginning of the conflict in 1950. Over 3,600 sailors served in the region war and peace time missions.
Barber said up until now, there was also no monument for the nine men who lost their lives during fighting. Many of those men were lost at sea or buried in Korea so their families never had a place at home to mourn in Canada.
“More importantly, we have a place were people can visit ... and the families and friends can come back and visit,” he said.
The monument now sits beside another in Spencer Smith Park, which honours Canadian naval ships and sailors who took part in the Second World War.
The idea came to together after Barber and Kirk ventured to South Korea in 2010 at the behest of that country’s government. They were honoured for their service and hoped to return the favour for South Korean veterans.
They raised money to have a contingent over in 2013 and also create a lasting memorial for the naval efforts in the conflict. In all, $80,000 was raised.
Veteran’s Affairs Minister Julian Fantino said the monument was one of the first projects he signed off on as he began the portfolio. He lauded the work of the veterans and community groups who saw the idea through to fruition.
[email protected] | {
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POMEROY, Wash. – Illia Dunes is closed until further notice due to health and safety concerns after recent heavy visitation and trash accumulation, Corps officials announced today.
During the past weekend, more than 3,000 people visited the dunes, a popular recreation site located at Snake River Mile 102 on the south shoreline about three miles downstream of Lower Granite Lock and Dam. Enormous amounts of trash were scattered on the beach, broken bottles and beer cans left in the water, refuse strewn about the parking lots and litter discarded along the roadway, creating potential health and safety hazards for future visitors.
“Our first objective is to clean up the area and to clear the swimming area of dangerous broken glass and debris,” said Darren Opp, park manager.
Corps officials do not know at this time when the area will reopen. Natural Resources Management staff are developing a plan and coordinating resources to accomplish the cleanup.
In light of this incident, officials will need to determine how to manage the area in the future to help prevent such occurrences.
“The area is currently being managed for recreation and wildlife purposes. It is one of the few sand beaches on the Snake River where recreation is accommodated,” said Opp.
The Corps’ recreation funding has been reduced over the last couple of years and tighter budgets are anticipated for the future, Opp noted. Illia Dunes visitors have been asked to take their trash with them when they leave, and the Corps provides free bags for that purpose.
“We simply do not have the resources to clean up after thousands of party-goers,” he said. “It’s a real disappointment. This necessary closure is extremely unfortunate for visitors who appreciate these natural recreation areas and pick up after themselves.” | {
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Für Flüchtling gebürgt
Gericht schränkt Haftung ein
08.12.2017, 23:34 Uhr | dpa
Das Oberverwaltungsgericht NRW hat die Haftung von Flüchtlingsbürgen eingeschränkt – aber in einem weitaus geringeren Maße als von den Klägern erhofft.
Wer im Rahmen humanitärer Aufnahmeprogramme für einen syrischen Flüchtling eine Verpflichtungserklärung abgegeben hat, muss zwar auch künftig für dessen Lebenshaltungskosten aufkommen - und zwar auch dann, wenn derjenige eine Asylberechtigung hat oder als Flüchtling anerkannt wurde. Die Jobcenter können den Bürgen aber keine Kosten für Kranken- und Pflegeversicherung in Rechnung stellen.
Einer der beiden klagenden Flüchtlingsbürgen, William Eichouh, zeigte sich am Freitag unmittelbar nach dem Urteil in Münster enttäuscht: "Es ist eine Erleichterung, aber es ist immer noch zuviel Geld für mich." Der deutsche Staatsangehörige syrischer Herkunft hatte 2014 eine Verpflichtungserklärung für seinen Bruder und dessen Ehefrau abgegeben. Das Jobcenter verlangt von ihm nun rund 5200 Euro für geleistete Sozialleistungen zurück - noch mehr als 3000 Euro muss er nun nach dem Urteil zahlen.
Im Rahmen humanitärer Landesaufnahmeprogramme konnten syrische Flüchtlinge seit 2013 nach Deutschland kommen, wenn jemand hier sich verpflichtete, für ihre Lebenshaltungskosten aufzukommen. Strittig war, wie lange diese Verpflichtungserklärung die Bürgen binden sollte.
Der Vorsitzende Richter ließ es nicht gelten, dass Eichouh argumentierte, der damalige Innenminister habe die Aussage getätigt, die Verpflichtungserklärung dauere nur so lange, bis derjenige als Flüchtling anerkannt wird. "Sie haben ihre Verpflichtungserklärung vor der Ausländerbehörde früher abgegeben", sagte er. In dem zweiten Fall sollte ein türkischer Staatsangehöriger ursprünglich 3400 Euro zurückzahlen - auch er muss große Teile dieses Betrages zurückzahlen. Die Revision zum Bundesverwaltungsgericht ist in beiden Fällen nicht zugelassen. | {
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Moons of the Solar System vary in size and features. There are several moons in the Solar System which are larger than both the planets Mercury and Pluto and some moons feature volcanoes, atmospheres and even oceans. Lets explore.
Moons of the Solar System with Earth for Scale
Lets take a journey and learn about the Moons in our Solar System.
Are you ready? Lets Go!
Lets pretend we have a really big spaceship and we’re going to travel around our solar system like tourists and check out the wonderful moons. Learn some amazing facts. Enjoy!
Lets start from the Inner Planets
Planet Mercury has no moons.
Mercury is the closest planet to our sun. It has been visited by a few spacecraft like Mariner 10 and Messenger Spacecraft. Bepicolombo will be the next mission to visit.
Are Vulcanoids moons? No. Vulcanoids are small, rocky asteroids that have been thought to orbit the Sun in stable orbits inside Mercury’s orbit. Vulcanoids are named after Vulcan, a hypothetical planet once proposed to explain unusual motions in orbit of Mercury. Messenger spacecraft searched for them, but did not find any.
Planet Venus has no moons.
What! Venus has no moon. Are you surprised? Venus and Mercury are only planets that have no moons orbiting them.
Planet Earth has one moon. Earth’s moon name is the has one moon. Earth’s moon name is the Moon
The Moon is Earth’s only permanent natural satellite. Distance from Earth to Moon is about 384,400 km (238,900 miles).
Compare Sizes: Earth Moon Picture…Earth is much larger
It has been explored by robotic spacecraft. First time the moon was visited by humans was in 1969 during the Apollo 11 mission. The last person to walk on the moon was Eugene Cernan during the Apollo 17 mission in 1972.
Planet Mars has two moons and they are called Deimos and Phobos.
Phobos and Deimos were both discovered in 1877 by Asaph Hall. Phobos in Greek means fear. Deimos in Greek means terror. Phobos orbits closer to Mars. Deimos is the smaller than Phobos.
In the future the first humans missions may visit the moons. The first step maybe to set up a Mars Space Station in orbit around the planet. Lockheed Martin announced its vision in 2016 to launch a Mars Base Camp by 2028. From there humans could visit and explore the moons of Mars.
Deimos is the preferred destination for a human mission because easier to travel to, further than Phobos from Mars and better for tele-operating Rovers and other vehicles on Mars, it is sunlit more often and has better communications access to Earth.
We are now Entering the Asteroid Belt
What is the Asteroid Belt? Asteroid Belt is the area located between orbits of Mars and Jupiter. Asteroid Belt consists space rocks, asteroids and minor planets.
There are various theories in how the Asteroid Belt was formed. Some scientists think the asteroid belt was made up of material that was never able to form into a planet. Other scientists think the material are remnants of a planet that blew up or was hit by a comet millions of years ago.
Dwarf Planet Ceres has no moons.
Dawn Spacecraft is currently in its orbit.
We’re now heading to the Outer Planets
Hold on your seats! Were’ going to travel to Planets Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and then to Dwarf Planet Pluto and beyond into the Kuiper Belt.
Are you having a good time? Everybody says yeah!!!
For your next trip consider getting some Space Food, its nice to snack while your on your journey.
7,6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, Zero Blast off!
Gas Giants
The large gas giants have extensive systems of moons, including half a dozen comparable in size to Earth’s moon: the four Galilean moons, Saturn’s Titan and Neptune’s Triton.
Saturn has an additional six mid-sized moons and Uranus has five.
Largest Moons in the Solar System…Note the sizes of Planet Mercury, our Moon and Pluto.
Planet Jupiter has 63 moons.
The most popular Jupiter Moons are Callisto, Europa, Ganymede, Io.
Galilean Moons
The Galilean Moons are the four largest moons of Planet Jupiter: Ganymede, Callisto, Io and Europa. They were discovered by Galileo Galilei around January 1610. They were the first group of objects found to orbit another planet.
Jupiter’s largest moon, Ganymede, is larger than Planet Mercury while the other three are larger than Dwarf Planet Pluto.
Planet Saturn has 62 moons.
Moons of Saturn range in size from smaller than a football stadium to larger than the Planet Mercury. They vary in composition, colour and texture. Their distance within the Saturn system varies from as close as 133,600 kms (83,015 miles) to the planet to as far as almost 13 million kms (8 million miles).
Planet Saturn, its famous Rings and Moons
Famous moons include:
Pan is a walnut-shaped moon. It is the second-innermost moon of Saturn. It orbits within the Encke Gap in Saturn’s A Ring.
Mimas moon features Herschel Crater which makes it look like the Death Star from Star Wars movie.
Titan Moon
It is the second-largest moon in the Solar System, after Jupiter’s moon Ganymede and is larger than Planet Mercury, the smallest planet.
Planet Uranus has 27 moons.
Uranus has five major moons: Ariel, Miranda, Oberon, Titania and Umbriel. Titania is the largest moon of Uranus. Its diameter is 1578 km. The first two moons: Titania and Oberon were discovered in 1787.
All the Moons of Planet Uranus are named after characters from the works of William Shakespeare and Alexander Pope.
Planet Neptune has 13 moons.
Neptune is the 8th and last planet in our Solar System.
Triton Moon
Triton is the largest moon of planet Neptune. It was discovered on 10 October, 1846 by English astronomer William Lassell. It is the only large moon in the Solar System with a retrograde orbit (an orbit in the opposite direction to its planet’s rotation).
Dwarf Planet Pluto has 5 moons.
The five Moons of Pluto are: Charon, Styx, Nix, Kerberos and Hydra.
Interesting Picture….Charon Moons and the Small Pluto Moons
Charon is the largest of the five moons. Charon is mutually tidally locked with Pluto. Charon moon / Pluto are considered a double dwarf planet.
Kuiper Belt
What is the Kuiper Belt? Kuiper Belt is a region of icy bodies which includes Dwarf Planet Pluto and comets.
Where is the Kuiper Belt? It is located 30 AU (Astronomical Units) from the Sun and continues to about 50 AU away from the Sun.
Orcus has 1 moon and its called Vanth.
Dwarf Planet Eris has 2 moons. Eris is bigger than Pluto.
Dwarf Planets
Among the dwarf planets, Ceres has no moons. Pluto has the relatively large moon Charon and three smaller moons. Haumea has two moons and Eris has one.
Did you know?
* 173 moons are orbiting six of the eight planets and seven orbiting three of the five dwarf planets.
Facts:
The closest moon to our Sun is the Earth’s Moon.
The largest moon in our Solar System is Ganymede. The second largest moon is Planet Saturn’s Titan. Third largest moon is Callisto.
Moons of the Solar System Links:
Any comments on the Moons of the Solar System, click on Contact Info. | {
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More than a dozen people were injured when a Newark airport employee shuttle bus crashed into a concrete divider on a ramp to Terminal B early Friday, jamming traffic at the airport and surrounding highways.
The injuries are not considered life-threatening, Port Authority police said.
The bus was headed to level 2 of Terminal B for departures when it crashed on Express Road, an internal airport road that loops around the terminals, officials said.
The ramp to the Terminal B ramp 2 was blocked for more than an hour, but reopened by 7 a.m. During that time, passengers could only access Terminal B via ramp 1 (arrivals) and level 3. Passengers are advised to allow extra time if headed to the airport as roads, including the New Jersey Turnpike, are congested following the crash.
Flights are not being impacted, according to Port Authority police.
Port Authority police and emergency service workers are still on the scene as of 6:45 a.m.
#BREAKING: There was a MVA involving two buses approaching Terminal B at #NewarkLibertyInternationalAirport. There are non life threatening injuries reported. @CBSNewYork @AlexDenisTV pic.twitter.com/Nh4DvgpKD7 — Yan Kaner (@Ykaner89) May 3, 2019
Jeff Goldman may be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @JeffSGoldman.
Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips
Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.com’s newsletters. | {
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Many are injured, some with infected wounds that are weeks old. As a result, many people have been maimed for life. Even those who have made it to Vavuniya have no freedom of movement, no access to information, and no options to look for lost family members.
MSF and MSF podcasts: Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is urgently calling on both parties in the conflict in the Vanni area in northern Sri Lanka to ensure the safety of civilians and to allow access to humanitarian assistance. In neighbouring Vavuniya, located outside the conflict zone, MSF medical teams are working with hospital staff around the clock. Ninety percent of the injuries seen are a direct result of the fighting. People are being brought to hospitals with gun-shot and shrapnel wounds. In the past two weeks, MSF has performed over 300 operations on patients who were directly wounded in the conflict and it appears this number is just the tip of the iceberg.
An estimated 200,000 Sri Lankans living under desperate conditions are still trapped in the conflict zone in Sri Lanka's north. Patients tell MSF how people are being shelled for days on end, with the dead and wounded surrounding them. There is a severe lack of medical care and not enough food and drinking water.
The stories shared with MSF by those who have managed to escape make painfully clear the desperate situation inside the Vanni. People have been trapped in active conflict for weeks, hiding in bunkers they have dug themselves.
A few weeks ago, for the first time in months, a significant number of civilians began emerging from the Vanni. There are now a reported 35,000 people who have managed to reach Vavuniya. They are tired, hungry, and frightened, and have no information about their family members who did not manage to escape the conflict zone.
Many are injured, some with infected wounds that are weeks old. As a result, many people have been maimed for life. Even those who have made it to Vavuniya have no freedom of movement, no access to information, and no options to look for lost family members.
Only a minority of the people trapped inside the Vanni have succeeded in crossing the front line to safer territory. Most remain caught between the warring parties.
An additional 2,000 sick and wounded people have been transferred from the Vanni to Trincomalee by boat by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). Despite the authorities' efforts, the medical management of wounded people who were evacuated is becoming a major challenge. While hospitals in Trincomalee and surrounding areas were initially able to cope with the influx of wounded, some are now reaching full capacity and are in need of additional space, as well as medicine and medical materials. MSF visited several hospitals following the arrival of the first medical evacuations and is in contact with local health authorities in order to identify support that can be provided to the hospitals.
As MSF has been denied access to the population trapped inside the Vanni, the organization is relying on the personal accounts of patients to highlight what is happening there.
One 53-year-old woman told MSF staff how her family spent days in a bunker without food and water. Out of desperation, and despite the shelling, they left their bunker to get some food when three out of her 15 family members were killed on the spot. Her daughter was seriously wounded by shrapnel and is now in Vavuniya Hospital. Some of her relatives had to stay behind in the Vanni. She does not know whether they are still alive. This is only one example and many any people tell a similar story.
MSF teams are still unable to enter the Vanni to evaluate the needs of the affected population and provide urgently needed medical care. Together with other international organizations, MSF has been denied access since September 2008.
Only selected MSF documents are posted on Reliefweb. For a complete selection of MSF news, please visit the MSF International website | {
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EXCLUSIVE: On the heels of the highly-rated People v. O.J. Simpson first installment of American Crime Story dominating the long-form Emmy categories with 10 wins, including best limited series, Ryan Murphy’s anthology series has been renewed for a third season by FX, I have learned.
Primetime-Panic Your Complete Guide to Pilots and Straight-to-Series orders See All
ABC
Everyone is keeping mum on details but I understand that the title of the new 10-episode installment will be Versace/Cunanan and will examine the shocking July 1997 assassination of legendary designer Gianni Versace on the steps of his Miami Beach mansion by sociopath and serial killer Andrew Cunanan, who eight days later killed himself in a house boat as the Miami Dade police force moved in to capture him. Versace was his fifth and final victim.
Versace/Cunanan:American Crime Story, from Fox 21, will be based on the book “Vulgar Favors” by Vanity Fair writer Maureen Orth, with Tom Rob Smith (London Spy) set to write the first two and multiple subsequent episodes.
Versace/Cunanan will film virtually simultaneously with the second American Crime Story installment, Katrina, in early 2017. I hear that was not planned but happened when FX and Fox 21 executives read Smith’s first script and were so impressed, a decision was made to accelerate production on Season 3. Katrina, about the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, will still air first, followed by Versace/Cunanan.
Murphy, who received an Emmy nomination for directing the opening episode of People v. O.J. Simpson and is expected to helm the Katrina opener, will also direct the first episode of Versace/Cunanan, which I hear will film in Los Angeles and Miami next spring.
Also back for Versace/Cunanan are casting directors Nicole Daniels and Courtney Bright, who won an Emmy for The People v. O.J. Simpson. I hear the producers already are meeting with actors to play the title roles, and an A-list actress in negotiations to play Versace’s sister Donatella Versace, who is featured prominently in the story.
.
American Crime Story’s core producing team — Ryan Murphy, Nina Jacobson, Brad Simpson and Brad Falchuk — all Emmy winners for People v. O.J. Simpson as best limited series — will executive produce Versace/Cunanan alongside Smith.
American Crime Story continues to take a different angle on the true crime theme in each season while tackling famous cases — from a murder trial (People v. O.J.) to a human tragedy (Katrina) to a murder mystery (Versace/Cunanan). Cunanan’s motives to kill the famous designer were never established, with his suicide leaving the questions forever unanswered. | {
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Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey on Wednesday defended the company’s decision this week to put Infowars’ Alex Jones in a seven-day “timeout” after Jones urged his viewers to ready their “battle rifles” against the media.
Dorsey said he resisted banning Jones, the embattled conspiracy theorist and radio host, despite calls to do so, some of which came from inside Twitter.
“We can’t build a service that is subjective just to the whims of what we personally believe,” Dorsey told NBC News’ Lester Holt in an exclusive interview.
Dorsey said he believes the suspension can be effective and is consistent with the company’s policies.
“I feel any suspension, whether it be a permanent or a temporary one, makes someone think about their actions and their behaviors,” Dorsey said.
When asked by Holt if he believes Jones will change his behavior, Dorsey said he did not know.
“Whether it works within this case to change some of those behaviors and change some of those actions, I don't know,” Dorsey said. “But this is consistent with how we enforce.”
Watch the interview Wednesday evening on NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt.
Jones was banned or restricted from using the services of at least 10 tech companies this month, including Facebook and YouTube. Twitter had been the most high-profile holdout, until it announced on Tuesday that Jones was suspended from posting for seven days.
Dorsey later clarified on Twitter that he was "speaking broadly about our range of enforcement actions" with regards to the company's use of timeouts.
"I don’t assume everyone will change their actions. Enforcement gets tougher with further reported violations," Dorsey tweeted.
Dorsey’s interview comes after months of scrutiny on both him and Twitter for what critics say has been a sluggish response to systemic problems on the platform, including harassment, bots and hate speech. In the interview, Dorsey offered insight into the company’s decision-making process, but also showed that it is still struggling to figure out how to manage the platform it created.
In response to a question about Jones, Dorsey said that “the most important thing for us is that we are consistent in applying our enforcement.”
But in a follow-up question on weighing the importance of Twitter’s rules versus its moral obligation, Dorsey said the company has “to put the safety of individuals first in every single thing that we do, and we need to enforce our rules and also evolve our rules around that.”
Dorsey said trying to strike a balance between consistency and moral obligation had led the company to consider a policy around dehumanizing speech — one that could potentially ensnare Jones, who was banned from Facebook for what the social network called dehumanizing speech directed at Muslims, immigrants and transgender people.
Dorsey also said that he personally felt that other companies had been inconsistent with how they dealt with Jones.
"I think some of the actions have been, in my own personal view, a little bit inconsistent," Dorsey said.
Jones, who has peddled a litany of conspiracy theories over the years including the idea that the Sandy Hook school shooting massacre was a hoax, will be free to continue tweeting and broadcasting from the Twitter-owned video-streaming service Periscope next week, where he often livestreams.
Dorsey said he feels “terrible” at the pain Jones has caused the Sandy Hook families and acknowledged that the company had been slow to respond.
“I think we have felt behind and we have felt that we have moved too slow in a lot of our actions,” he said.
Jones may be Twitter’s latest scandal, but the company continues to deal with an older problem — how to clean up the platform after it was weaponized by Russian bots that pushed misinformation and divisive content in the run-up to the 2016 U.S. election.
“Election integrity is our first priority this year,” Dorsey said.
A big part of that effort has been combatting bots, which are automated accounts used to manipulate the discourse on Twitter. The company is using technology to fight back, and it is showing progress. Last month, Twitter said its technology was capable of identifying more than 9.9 million potential spam accounts per week and shutting them down.
Dorsey said the system is still being improved and noted that the company is considering other solutions as well.
“We need to make sure that we are considering not just policy changes, but also product changes to help alleviate some of these concerns,” he said.
As Twitter tries to combat the weaponization of its platform, the company is also feeling the heat from the country’s political divide, especially when its most prominent user is the president of the United States.
Dorsey has appeared particularly sensitive to claims that Twitter suppresses conservative voices. Twitter came under fire last month after President Donald Trump and some Republican lawmakers claimed that Twitter was burying certain conservative accounts, a process that has been referred to as "shadow banning."
In a radio interview with the conservative personality Sean Hannity last week, Dorsey spoke directly to a Republican audience and said Twitter does not ban accounts based on political ideology.
When asked by Holt if Dorsey felt the rhetoric from conservatives was more extreme than from liberals, Dorsey demurred and instead said it was important to focus on actions rather than words.
“We need to look at behaviors, when people are trying to shut down the voices of others,” Dorsey said. “People are trying to harass others. And that's independent of a viewpoint.”
Dorsey said that while the company has been working toward improving the health of the conversation on Twitter, he’s cognizant of what the company has done — or not done — in the past and that it has had a negative effect on some people.
“Three years ago, we prioritized health and safety as our No. 1 priority in the company,” he said “And we're coming from 10 years of not doing that. So there is a lot of debt that we have to pay down. There is a lot of infrastructure that we have to change. There's a lot of policy that we have to look critically at.” | {
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Tunisia's Islamist Ennahdha party has rejected a new government proposal that excludes other parties, and is open to contest another election.
The biggest party in Parliament in a statement on Monday threatened to upend a second attempt to form a coalition government since elections in October, which fragmented the political establishment.
"We reject the government coalition being confined to some parties," a senior official of Ennahdha, Abd Karim Harouni, said.
More:
Harouni said all parties needed to be in the government to make it strong enough "to deal with major challenges and carry out necessary reforms".
The Parliament rejected on January 10 a government proposed by Ennahdha's candidate and Prime Minister-designate Habib Jemli after months of negotiations between political parties to fill positions.
The decision handed President Kais Saied an opportunity to nominate his choice for premier, the former finance and tourism minister Elyes Fakhfakh.
Last week, Fakhfakh said he would not seek to replicate recent unity coalitions, but would instead build a cabinet only from those, including Ennahdha, that were "aligned with the values of the revolution".
The country's second-largest party, Heart of Tunisia, whose leader was defeated by Saied in the presidential election, but which is also an opponent of Ennahdha, was one of those Fakhfakh ruled out of joining the government.
Tussle for influence
Ennahdha's rejection of the proposal means Fakhfakh could struggle to assemble majority support in Parliament, risking a new parliamentary election.
Analysts said the decision points to a tussle for influence between Ennahdha and Saied over the shape of the next government.
Ennahdha emerged as the most powerful party after winning the most seats in the country's October parliamentary election. But the self-described Muslim Democratic party's 52 of a total 217 seats available for grabs meant it still needed to win the backing of other parties.
Saied won the second-round runoff vote of a separate presidential election in a landslide, but as an independent, he lacks a parliamentary base of his own.
Tunisia's prime minister and government are primarily answerable to the Parliament, but the president also has a veto over new legislation they introduce. | {
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The 2017 General Mills Monster Cereals!
I FOUND THEM. Had to drive to the freakin’ Bronx in nonstop traffic on a Friday night, BUT I FOUND THEM.
Behold, the 2017 General Mills Monster Cereals!
After last year’s misfire with that whole “election” theme, I’d call this a return to form.
Some folks wanted General Mills to aim high with a new character or at least the return of Fruity Yummy Mummy, but given the iffy reception to last year’s theme, I think going back to basics was the smartest move.
Though the cereals have apparently shipped everywhere, I’ve only heard of one store — the store I found these at — actually putting them on shelves already. Heck, as of this writing, General Mills still hasn’t formally introduced them!
All three boxes have updated art, and I’m *fairly* sure that each box comes with a larger-than-usual assortment of marshmallow shapes. (…which would explain why General Mills made such a fuss about those “monster marshmallows” on the artwork.)
Here’s the breakdown:
Count Chocula!
Marshmallow shapes: Brown bats, brown Count Chocula heads, dark brown lightning bolts and awesome brown-and-white swirled ghosts.
Thoughts: The best of the trio. Since Franken and Boo share their marshmallow shapes, Count Chocula’s quartet really pops. It’s not the most colorful assortment, but it feels the most distinct.
Most if not all of those marshmallows have a rich history in Count Chocula lore, too. I remember old TV commercials that were specifically dedicated to those lightning bolts and swirled ghosts. Each bowl kinda doubles as Count Chocula’s greatest hits CD.
Strangely, the marshmallows pictured on the box do not exist within it. I had many bats in mine, but none were swirly. Maybe my box is just an aberration?
Franken Berry!
Marshmallow shapes: Purple bats, blue Boo Berry heads, pink Franken Berry heads, white ghosts.
Thoughts: Odor is Franken Berry’s top attribute. This cereal reeks like strawberries. It hits you like the best-ever truck. The process of deeply sniffing a newly-opened box seems more reflexive than deliberate.
I like how only the bat marshmallows are firmly defined, as I’m then allowed to make up my own translations for the other ones. (The blue marshmallows are sapphires, and the white ones represent the great state of Kentucky.)
Boo Berry!
Marshmallow shapes: Purple bats, blue Boo Berry heads, pink Franken Berry heads, white ghosts.
Thoughts: Some may be miffed about Boo and Frank sharing their marshmallow shapes, but I think that’s splitting hairs when you’re still getting four different ones.
(In truth, we all tend to go overboard with our Monster Cereal scrutinies.)
Boo Berry’s rarity made him my childhood favorite, but now that he’s on equal footing with the other two, I’ll concede that he comes in third in taste. Still, flavor is a moot point, since neither of the other cereals are fronted by an adorable blue ghost that I want to trap and keep.
All three cereals have the same art on the back, and it’s really good art.
Here, various mascot characters from the extended General Mills family dress up as their favorite cereal monster. Note how they even worked in a Franken-version of the Pillsbury Doughboy. I love that! I need him!
I know it’s too early to be writing about these, but no rational person could expect me to just go about my business when I knew that the Monster Cereals were a short (okay, long) drive away. You bleed the same blood.
Overall, I’m pleased with this year’s collection. The boxes look great, the marshmallows are numerous, and now I’ll get to tack three Franken Doughboys onto my bulletin board. All is well, or even swell.
Big thanks to cantbear2livewithoutit for the tip on where to locate these, and to itstrashculture for leading me to that tip.
Oh, and before anyone asks: I have no idea if General Mills will be bringing back the retro-style boxes this year. As mentioned above, they’ve not yet even announced these. When I find out, I’ll update this review.
Happy Halloween in a hundred degree August! | {
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I recently went back and tried to recapture my youth, it did not bode well. Most the stuff I watched when I was little was so unwatchable even with drugs. I would not recommend you delve down this spire of terror, if any of these were awesome to you when you were a child. Let them live there do not try to watch them now, trust me they are shit. Here is a list of:
The Top Ten CARTOONS I loved as a kid that I hate as an adult:
10) Sliver Hawks: I am not sure if I loved this as a kid but I definitely watched it. I always forget how stupid I was as a kid. This show is a Hodge podge of space birds and metal, how did we not realize that sucked?
9) TigerSharks: Why not keep kicking it with another shitty ThunderCats clone. The creative team really stretched themselves to deviate from the Space angle, by adding the ocean, and a pool that turned morons into SEAMORONS! Seriously look at these names, Walro.....Dolph, cause he is a dolphin? Fuck this show.
8) SuperTed: Ok so first I don't know why I watched this show when I was a kid but I remember loving it. It was Superman in convenient Bear Form! Upon watching this as an adult I found it was the worst ever. It is a story about a bear who was so shitty he was thrown out at the factory, but then a "Spotted Man" (really he just looks like a dildo with herpes bumps) sprinkled him with "Cosmic Dust" (this show could not be more about bad touching if it tried.) The Bear's only real super power is his ability to put anyone with a pulse asleep. SuperTED makes me Super Tired.
7) The Adventures of Don Coyote and Sancho panda: This cartoon was a big time hit with 7 year old me, 33 year old me kinda wants to invent a time machine to beat 7 yr old me up. This show is terrible, it feels like someone set out to make Inspector Gadget racist. And it worked.
6) The Ghostbusters: I think when I was a kid I didn't realise this was not the "Real" Ghostbusters. Then again when I googled searched the image Slimmer came up so who really one? Seriously this show is ghost garbage*.
5) James Bond Jr. : The problem with being a kid is you think everything should be a kid, Like Richie Rich, or Jame's Bond. Problem is kids suck. Seriously how dare child me watch this water down bullshit. So let me get this straight this dude is a spy cause his father is a spy? You know what bullshit that is? Plus I am sure James Bond has a spy condom, or at the very least a gun for any woman bold enough to try to carry his seed. This is the Honey Boo Boo of 1991.
4) Denver The Last Dinosaur: I think I can claim being a boy and there was a FUCKING DINOSAUR! Seriously though, in this Show a Dinosaur wakes up to become a Pizza hut Mascot? And front man of some band, plus he skateboards. Unfortunately for for everyone watching the show was just a bunch of kids dropping 90's street slang, RAD!.
3) Bananaman: He is a kid who eats a banana and turns into Bananaman, see what they did there? I sure didn't when I was a stupid fucking boy. I loved this show, cause I was very dumb.
2) COPS: They were fighting crime in a future time. This is one of those raped your childhood moments. I remember watching this show whenever I could. It was one of if not my favorite. It is upon watching as an adult, the worst. COPS in the future will be easy to id since they only come in 5 flavors: ROBOCOP, COP CLASSIC, COWBOY COP, LADY COP, and UNDERCOVER BROTHER COP, I really wish I had all the time I vested in this show back, I would probably just waste it on Mighty Max.
1) HE-MAN: This stands alone as the single biggest mistake of my life, and I have done needle drugs in Mexico, ok well I would have if it meant never having to watch this show again. This show is nothing but a bunch of HE-Dudes, trying to capture a villain who never does any crime. Seriously it is like they were profiling Skull heads. Sure Skeletor had big ideas but no follow through apparently thinking evil is a crime in Eternia. But what do you expect. Eternia is nothing but a special needs home for space garbage, think about it, only the Royal Family can talk in complete sentences, everyone else simply gets to scream their name and "help" I found no joy in this at all. Also I should not that if I decided to include SheRA on this list I would have put her tied for first but you know better off not mentioning her cause she is worst than a rainbow loving dude in a loin cloth that only wants his magic sword and to straddle a tiger, it is like CONAN fucked Siegfried and Roy, and it is awful.
As of this moment this is the hardest blog post for me to stomach. I am gonna go puke cartoon blood.
~CA
| {
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Co-workers don't use reddit can now use jokes from reddit to trick them into thinking i'm hilarious
3,164 shares | {
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Overview:
In Braid the player can rewind time at will - the scene plays backward at an accelerated pace, like you might see on a VCR. Rewinding is heavily used, and higher-level gameplay concepts are built on top of it, so it was important for rewinding to be robust, exactly reproducing the game scene at each given time. Furthermore, the game design required the player to be able to rewind a large amount of gameplay (30 to 60 minutes) and the memory of this gameplay had to fit into a small space (40 megabytes on consoles). This session explains in detail how these things were accomplished and offers an understanding of what the different possibilities were, why the current method was chosen, and knowledge of many practical implementation concerns and how they were solved. | {
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Brazilian activists say that police forged evidence to incriminate two protesters arrested in São Paulo at the end of an anti-World Cup protest in late June — and they say they can prove it.
According to a police report obtained by Human Rights Watch, officers claimed to have found a "homemade explosive device” in Fabio Hideki Harano’s backpack and a “bottle of yogurt that smelled heavily of gas” on Rafael Marques Lusvarghi on June 23. They were accused of possessing illegal weapons, resisting arrest, conspiring to commit crimes, inciting crime and disobeying police authority.
In a press statement the day after the arrests, Fernando Grella, the chief of public security for the state of São Paulo, said that the pair were “the first cases of ‘Black Blocs’ caught red-handed encouraging criminal acts,” labeling Harano and Lusvarghi as members of an anarchist group that is known for vandalizing property during protests.
Yet police have not produced evidence of the alleged explosives, and activists are using photos and videos to refute police claims. The two men have denied the charges.
The eyewitness accounts of the day, along with the videos and photos published online, seem to challenge the official narrative.
Hideki Harano, a student and public servant, was on his way home when he was arrested inside a subway station by plainclothes agents from DEIC, the police force investigating organized crime. He was searched in front of several people, and he shouted desperately for whoever had cameras to film the arrest to show that he was not carrying anything illegal. A video by Karla Oliveira shows the moment of Hideki Harano's arrest and search:
Another video by The Activist Lawyers Collective, a group formed by lawyers who are in the streets defending demonstrators, shows police officers making a second search on Hideki Harano outside the subway station. The footage shows that nothing seems to have been found:
Lusvarghi, the other man arrested, had actually been arrested once before during the anti-World Cup protests in June. A video from a blog called Testemunha do Caos ("Witness to Chaos") shows four officers taking him down. In a detailed post about the protester, one of the site's bloggers reported his own eyewitness account:
At the end of the protest, people were dispersing, some walking down the street, others heading towards the tube. Behind a news stand next to Consolação station, a few police officers from the State Department of Criminal Investigations (DEIC) – Armed Group for Repression of Robberies and Burglaries (GARRA) forces ambushed and arrested Lusvarghi. A firearm was shot at least twice. The protester was thrown on the ground, while the riot police lined up to, in my understanding, “clean the street of people.” That said, the riot police also fired shots there, but they did not hit anyone. I was surprised that Lusvarghi had been charged with possession of explosives. He was not carrying any backpack, and was wearing a skirt with no pockets, so where was the bomb, stuck up in his ass?
The Activist Lawyers Collective has curated many photos of Lusvarghi throughout the demonstration to show that he had no bags or other items that could hold explosives, saying that the police were fabricating evidence:
However, in the same evening, at DEIC – the department responsible for investigating demonstrations – an explosive “appears” among both men's belongings. The charge is more than stupid, perhaps even criminal, i.e. a possible flagrant forgery by the civil police of the state of São Paulo.
The collective also offers a long report about the June 23 protest in English.
The group has described the arrests of Fabio and Rafael as very timely for the police. DEIC, the police department responsible for investigating “Black Bloc” protesters — who committed acts of vandalism during anti-government protests last year — has received criticism for not being able to produce sufficient evidence to support a criminal prosecutions against anyone. The collective accuses police of seeking out scapegoats to save face.
And while the mainstream media in Brazil have given attention only to the police version of the facts, demonstrations continue in São Paulo.
This story by Paula Góes was originally published on our partner Global Voices Online, a community of bloggers from around the world. | {
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Okay, here's chapters 1-3 all compiled together. Also, I did a compressed version which is much smaller so you might want to download that instead. There's not much difference. Other than that, I hope you enjoyed Demon Knight. See ya! | {
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WILLIAMSBURG, Va. -- A Norfolk man said he was denied access into Busch Gardens Howl-O-Scream because he wanted to wear a traditional Scottish kilt into the theme park. Hex Nottingham called what happened to him Friday night an example of discrimination and said park security guards insulted his Scottish and Irish heritage.
"I love coming to this park, and I usually wear one of my kilts when I do so to proudly celebrate a heritage that Busch Gardens is largely based upon. I always get compliments here and there from the staff and fellow patrons and have never had a problem until this day," Nottingham posted on his Facebook page. "When walking up to the security check, I always ask if they need to check my sporran. That is the pouch the hangs on the front of a kilt. Sometimes they do, sometimes they do not. As I reached the officers on this day, two of them told me that I would not be allowed into the park 'with that on' and proceeded to refer to my plaid as a 'costume.'"
Nottingham said he and his family tried, in vain, to explain he was not wearing a costume, rather an article of clothing that represented his heritage, one, he said, he often wears to the grocery store.
"We asked what would happen if someone from a different cultural or spiritual background showed up wearing traditional and even sacred articles of clothing; a Muslim in a hijab or burka, a Sikh in a turban, a Hindu in a sari, etc. We were again told [they were not] going to 'stand here and argue with us,'" he said. "Once my fiance and I took the tram back to the Ireland parking lot, we were so shaken up by the atrocious insult we had just sustained that we didn't even want to come back to the park. I've been a customer for decades and a regular pass holder, and this has left a terrible stain on the honour of my culture as well as my ethnic pride. The people responsible should be ashamed and the administration should resolve this swiftly and competently."
Busch Gardens spokesman Kevin Crossett said the park adheres to a strict no costume policy.
"For the safety of our guests and performers, we do not allow costumes in the park any time of the year, but especially not during Howl-O-Scream," Crossett said. "The park does not wish to alienate anyone who wears traditional clothing representing their culture or heritage. However, if the clothing could confuse guests into thinking the wearer is part of the official Howl-O-Scream experience then we will not allow it in the park." | {
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Man, FNAF 2 Looks Awesome
Title Description Can't wait for the DLC Chuck E. Cheese skins. Save Cancel
Created by TheDiaBeatles™
Online File Size Posted Size 0.198 MB 2 Oct, 2014 @ 6:26pm 640 x 360 585 Unique Visitors 2 Current Favorites | {
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This video explains why the NetBeans rich-client desktop framework has been chosen by so many organizations around the world. It saves years of development time in building any significant desktop application, by providing a modular framework that simplifies both developing and updating desktop applications. You will gain hands on experience relevant for real world scenarios based on experiences from experts in the field.
Producer: Jazoon Conference | {
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Judging by the photos that surfaced online from time to time this summer, Derek Jeter is probably not looking to become a Minor League coach. The future Hall of Famer looked perfectly content golfing with former teammates in the Dominican and marrying model Hannah Davis in Napa.
But imagine, for a moment, if Tampa's most famous resident got the itch to return to baseball and decided to pop over to Steinbrenner Field and lend a hand. After the starstruck factor wore off, wouldn't the young members of the Single-A Tampa Yankees benefit immensely from having someone of Jeter's caliber around?
Unbeknownst to many, the T-Yanks already employ someone with a similar pedigree.
Defensive coach Antonio Pacheco Massó was Cuba's all-time hits leader for more than a decade, amassing 2,356 hits in 1,853 games from 1983 to 2001. A career .334 hitter, Pacheco helped Santiago de Cuba win three straight National Series championships from 1999 to 2001. He also collected 1,304 RBI, 1,258 runs, 366 doubles, 284 home runs and 63 triples.
A longtime captain of Cuba's national team, Pacheco shined bright on the world stage. The second baseman batted .402 in international competition, including .362 in three Olympics, earning the nickname "The Captain of Captains" from his peers.
"If you talk about the history of Cuban baseball, you must mention Antonio Pacheco," said Yankees batting practice pitcher Danilo Valiente, who coached in his native Cuba for 15 years before coming to the United States in 2006 and beginning his ascent up the Yankees' coaching ranks. "He is one of the three most complete all-around players in Cuban baseball history. He was always one of the most respected players, not only as a baseball player, but as a human being outside of the field. He's a great human being."
A Rising Star
Sitting in a quiet corner of the cafeteria at Himes Field, the Yankees' Minor League training complex, Pacheco mimics the motion and sound of a carpenter hammering nails.
Tuk. Tuk. Tuk.
An interlocking "NY" adorns Pacheco's snug-fitting shirt, revealing muscular arms that, even now that he's in his early 50s, look like they could make quick work of an inside fastball. There is a gleam in his eye as he shares his life story, from playing with a rubber ball in the streets of Palma Soriano with his nine siblings through his legendary career as a player and manager in Cuba.
At the root of all his success, he said, was discipline and hard work. And so, the way a carpenter hammers hundreds of nails every day until he achieves perfect form and it becomes second nature -- Tuk. Tuk. Tuk. -- that's how Pacheco approached hitting.
"My concept was swing, swing," he said in Spanish, his words later translated into English. "I wasn't thinking I'm going to get tired; I was thinking the more swings I take, the more comfortable and confident I will feel."
He took his first steps toward a professional career when he enrolled at a sports initiation school, where former National Series pitcher Mario Ferrer honed Pacheco's natural ability to hit to the opposite field.
Pacheco was just 16 when he debuted for Santiago de Cuba during the 1980-81 season. The following year, he tied for the league lead in triples. He joined Cuba's national team in 1983, and in 1984, at age 20, Pacheco batted .429 in the Amateur World Series, helping Cuba take gold while Barry Bonds and Team USA settled for bronze.
It was around this time that Pacheco, a star shortstop, was asked by his Santiago manager to consider moving to second base to make room for an up-and-coming shortstop named Evenecer Godinez.
"I thought about my team," Pacheco said. "And I decided to take the chance."
Shaping the Yankees' Future
The buzz surrounding Jorge Mateo was growing. The young infielder, just 20 at the start of this season, was regarded as one of the top prospects in the Yankees organization -- a surefire future Big League shortstop according to some.
But soon after he began his fifth professional season, team brass decided they wanted to see how he would fare at second base. For Mateo, 2016 would require him to raise his game if he wanted to succeed.
Pacheco took Mateo -- and all of the Tampa Yankees infielders -- under his wing. He works them hard, teaching them the finer aspects of things such as receiving throws from the catcher and tagging base runners. He feeds them a steady diet of drills to improve their hand-eye coordination: short-hop drills, one-hand drills where they're just feet apart, almost like a two-man juggling routine.
Tuk. Tuk. Tuk.
"This game is about repetition, and it's like anything; the more you do something, the more comfortable you get and the closer you get to mastering it -- although you're never going to master this game," said Tampa Yankees manager Patrick Osborn. "So, he is deeply rooted in quality repetition."
The T-Yanks enjoyed a great season, record-wise, but Single-A ball is all about development, and Pacheco's influence unquestionably contributed to success in that department.
"It's an amazing opportunity that we have because he's a guy that teaches us something new every day," Mateo said through interpreter Marlon Abreu. "And the way he teaches us is very honest. It's very legit and honest, and that's something we really appreciate. We have a lot of respect for him for that, and it's easier for us to learn from him because when he is giving us new information, we focus on what he's saying because we know he's a genuine person who's really helping us."
Osborn said that Pacheco, having grown more comfortable in his third year in America, has started to open up a bit and smile a little more often. More importantly, the way Pacheco connects with the players is something that cannot be underestimated.
"He has a huge heart," Osborn said, noting Pacheco's humility and politeness. "He cares about these kids, he only wants the best for them, he wants to make them better, and he knows what he's doing. This is a very, very intelligent baseball guy with years and years of experience at high levels, so he has impacted these kids in a way that's extremely valuable for our organization.
"This is a guy that our players should try to emulate."
A Legend and a Friend
<cuba's b="">
The 1988-89 season ended with Santiago de Cuba defeating Havana's powerful Industriales for Pacheco's first National Series title. He continued to star at second base and thrive in international competition. In 1991, he was named captain of Cuba's national team, and at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona -- the first time baseball was a fully sanctioned medal sport -- the 28-year-old hit .350 with three homers, 11 runs and 12 RBI in nine games, helping Cuba win gold and earning a nickname that stuck for life. </cuba's>
"My teammates called me 'The Captain of Captains' because they didn't only see my athletic abilities, but also my living example for the team through my actions," Pacheco said. "I was an example of not only words: Any colleague, any situation, any problem, Pacheco would be there to help. That's what a captain is -- a man that leads through his actions, not his words. An athlete that is hurt, but still goes out to play for his team and wins the respect of his colleagues; those are the captains."
Pacheco's actions spoke volumes in the 1990s as Cuban players who experienced so much success in international competition started going to great lengths to test their mettle in the Major Leagues.
Orlando "El Duque" Hernandez was a star pitcher for the Industriales during that era, as well as a key contributor on the national team. At his 2015 Latino Baseball Hall of Fame induction, he called winning gold in Barcelona the most special moment of his career. Yet for all his success, El Duque was known for being humble and jovial, "a normal person who did not see himself as superior to anyone," Pacheco said.
So when Hernandez was banned from baseball in Cuba as punishment for his half-brother, Livan, defecting, the pitcher was heartbroken. Many treated him as an outcast, fearful that they, too, would be punished for showing Hernandez any kind of support.
But The Captain of Captains would not turn his back on a friend.
"He was special," said Hernandez, who fled Cuba in 1997 and helped the Yankees capture three straight world championships from 1998 to 2000. "One day, when I was working in the Hospital Pediatrico in Havana, he came up to me and said, 'Hi, how are you?' The rest of the people didn't come. They were a little scared, and I understand why. But he had a good answer to everybody. It's a good memory."
Pacheco prefers not to discuss defections and politics, but he recalls why he felt it was the right thing to do.
"I'm going to speak from the heart and with sincerity; I supported him with all my heart because I saw how he was living, and I saw how they removed him completely from the game," said Pacheco. "A teammate, who ran and struggled by your side, winning an Olympic medal and taking championship titles -- to see him in that way, I felt pity and thought, 'Oh, this could happen to me, too.' Therefore, I supported him with all of my heart, and I always supported him and did not allow anyone to speak badly of El Duque. It was only modest support that I could provide, but I always respected his decision 100 percent."
As players fled, the Major Leagues crossed Pacheco's mind. But like many, the thought of possibly never seeing his children again was too much to bear. He continued to focus on his career in Cuba, reaching incredible heights. Another gold in Atlanta in 1996. Three straight National Series championships, capped off by a pinch-hit grand slam in the eighth inning of a 4-1 win in the 2001 clincher. The Captain of Captains became a legend.
Tuk. Tuk. Tuk.
When Cuban officials started allowing certain veteran players -- ones they deemed potential future managers -- to play professionally in Japan, Pacheco jumped at the opportunity. He played three years in Japan, where he admired the Japanese ballplayers' pursuit of excellence.
"From my experience, I saw that the Japanese didn't have the same natural physical talents that we have, but I saw their work ethic and discipline," he said. "They worked tirelessly toward perfection -- they 'work, work, work' -- and it was a chance for me to see how players who don't have optimal physical conditions can match up with a big player and get on his level with a strong will and mental training."
Upon his return to Cuba, he hoped to begin a coaching career at the lower levels, but the baseball federation would have none of it. The Captain of Captains was handed the reins to his old Santiago de Cuba team, managing the Avispas -- Wasps -- to three titles in four years between 2005 and 2008.
He also managed the Cuban national team, but the backlash he received after a silver medal finish at the Beijing Olympics in 2008 soured him on the job. Between the lack of resources he was given to work with and realizing that his immense efforts were no longer being appreciated, Pacheco started to think that it was time for a change.
"I figured out that I needed to leave because what I had accomplished as an athlete, I was losing as a coach," Pacheco said. "I did not ask to be there; it was not my choice to be manager [of the national team]. But I figured I needed to leave for my health and for my overall well-being."
At Home in Pinstripes
Of course, The Captain of Captains would never roll up to Steinbrenner Field wearing medals around his neck and handing out baseball cards with his stats on the back. After fulfilling a contract with Cuba's sports federation to coach youth baseball in Canada, he arrived in Florida in July 2014 quietly and humbly, simply looking for an opportunity.
Pacheco had spent the previous year coaching kids at a school in Huntington, Ontario, outside of Toronto. There, he reconnected with a Cuban woman named Noemi Zaldivar Salgado. They were married, and when Noemi's application to work as a nurse at Tampa General Hospital was accepted, they were permitted to move to the Sunshine State.
Tampa's Cuban community quickly caught wind of the fact that Pacheco was in town, and an exhibition game at Rome and Sligh Park was organized to welcome their hero and raise a few dollars to help him get his American life started.
Their warm embrace -- and a climate much more familiar than that of Canada -- had Pacheco feeling right at home. Now he just needed a job. He was willing to take anything, even at the youth level, as long as he could remain involved with the game he loves.
Fortunately for Pacheco, he had an old friend in Florida who has some pull with the Yankees.
"Somebody asked me about him, and I said, 'I think that he's a good player, and a good coach, too,'" said El Duque, who has served as a guest instructor during Spring Training. "After that, I didn't help him. He helped himself. He has a lot of history, a lot of experience, a lot of knowledge.
"He's one of the best guys I've known."
Valiente, the Yankees' batting practice pitcher, agrees. He remembers being a third base coach for the Cuban national team and seeing firsthand Pacheco's remarkable ability to move runners over, to deliver in the clutch, to anticipate where balls were going to be hit. And, of course, the respect he garnered from teammates and opponents alike.
Valiente, who stays in touch with his compatriot during the season and works with him when they're together in Tampa, also bonded with Jeter during the last portion of the legendary shortstop's career. The New York Times wrote in April 2014 how Jeter's insistence that Valiente be announced alongside the rest of the team during baseline introductions on the captain's final Opening Day made Valiente weep. Does Valiente see any similarities between the two leaders?
"The same qualities," he said. "It's as if they're the same person."
If Jeter does decide he wants to coach someday, the Yankees would surely make room for him. But while he's off in his honeymoon phase, enjoying retired life, Antonio Pacheco is quietly molding the next Yankees icon, showing young players what it takes to be a leader on and off the field.
Tuk. Tuk. Tuk.
*Nathan Maciborski is the deputy editor of Yankees Magazine. This article appears in the September issue of Yankees Magazine. Get this article and more delivered to your doorstep by purchasing a subscription at yankees.com/publications.* | {
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WPL Productions is based on the east coast. He is a long-time fan of the site and enjoys the old-school style of videos, plenty of downblouse, tease, and slips. He is off to a very good start with his first two models, Jil and Reese, and it will be fun to watch his video style develop over time.
WPL Productions videos are 60 minutes in length unless otherwise noted. | {
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DeviantArt teamed up with Universal Home Entertainment and DreamWorks to put out a call for deviations of dynamic duos from the Hidden World and beyond. You did not disappoint. So many fun and creative duos were discovered.
We sent 25 incredible Semi-Finalist duos from the How to Train Your Dragon universe to series director Dean DeBlois, and we’re excited to share the winners that he hand-selected with you!
A huge thank you to everybody who submitted, and please join us in congratulating the winners. | {
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Four of sports' biggest stars used the opening moments of Wednesday night's ESPYS broadcast as a call to promote social change.
Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul, Dwyane Wade and LeBron James took the stage together at the Microsoft Theatre in Los Angeles and urged their fellow athletes to be active socially.
"Generations ago, legends like Jesse Owens, Jackie Robinson, Muhammad Ali, John Carlos and Tommie Smith, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Jim Brown, Billie Jean King, Arthur Ashe and countless others, they set a model for what athletes should stand for," said Paul, the Los Angeles Clippers' star point guard. "So we choose to follow in their footsteps."
The message comes after high-profile shootings in Dallas, Orlando and Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
"The system is broken, the problems are not new, the violence is not new, and the racial divide definitely is not new, but the urgency for change is definitely at an all-time high," said Anthony, the New York Knicks star who has been outspoken in the wake of the high-profile shooting deaths last week of two African-American men and five Dallas police officers.
Added Wade, who recently agreed to a deal with his hometown Bulls in Chicago, where violence has surged in recent years: "The racial profiling has to stop. The shoot-to-kill mentality has to stop. Not seeing the value of black and brown bodies has to stop. But also the retaliation has to stop. The endless gun violence in places like Chicago, Dallas, not to mention Orlando, it has to stop. Enough. Enough is enough."
James, who went on to win five ESPYS, including best male athlete and best NBA player, closed the speech by calling out to all athletes.
"Tonight we're honoring Muhammad Ali, the GOAT," he said. "But to do his legacy any justice, let's use this moment as a call to action to all professional athletes to educate ourselves, explore these issues, speak up, use our influence and renounce all violence and, most importantly, go back to our communities, invest our time, our resources, help rebuild them, help strengthen them, help change them. We all have to do better."
ABC will air a Town Hall meeting with President Obama on Thursday at 8 p.m. ET from Washington, D.C. "The President and The People: A National Conversation" will be shown commercial-free on ESPN and ABC, and streamed online at Watch ESPN and Watch ABC. | {
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I finally got my rematched gift, and it was great! I loved the junk food (my boyfriend and I devoured the Hello Panda Snacks on the spot). I'm excited to try the rest.
My cat (Gypsy) seemed to really enjoy the stuffed tiger and giraffe. However, she always photographs with a "not impressed" expression.
Quick run-down of the rest: Medieval-themed sticker activity pad - Something to do on the drive out to the renaissance fair, or while my boyfriend plays Skyrim! Silly Putty! An adorable giraffe puzzle eraser - Who knew such things existed?! The Psychology of Joss Whedon - I needed a new book, and I love Whedon!
But my favorite parts of the gift were the drawings on the box! Well done, acciovertaserum! | {
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A few months ago, I wrote an article explaining that the solution to keeping a budget is as simple (and complex) as maintaining awareness, and I asked you to do two things:
1. For 30 days, every time you make a purchase, take three seconds to notice what you spend your money on.
2. Send me your stories about your discoveries.
The point was not to change your behavior, or to beat yourself up with what I like to call “the budget stick.” The point was simply to notice.
You sent me a lot of great emails, with some awesome stories about your experiment. Maybe you noticed you spend more money on groceries than you’re comfortable with (or less). Or maybe you discovered that all those little purchases you make on Amazon add up to quite a lot. Either way, for many of you, noticing was just the tip of the iceberg.
Reading through your emails, though, it was pretty clear that a lot of you had the same question: “O.K., what’s next?” | {
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ASSOCIATED PRESS ADDS NAME AND DETAILS OF THE WOMAN AT RIGHT: In this photo provided by Georgian Public Broadcaster and photographed by Ketevan Kardava, Nidhi Chaphekar, a 40-year-old Jet Airways flight attendant from Mumbai, right, and another unidentified woman after being wounded in Brussels Airport in Brussels, Belgium, after explosions were heard Tuesday, March 22, 2016. A developing situation left at least one person and possibly more dead in explosions that ripped through the departure hall at Brussels airport Tuesday, police said. All flights were canceled, arriving planes were being diverted and Belgium's terror alert level was raised to maximum, officials said. (Ketevan Kardava/ Georgian Public Broadcaster via AP)
“It was not nice to see Madam’s picture in the morning papers with her clothes burned and her undergarments showing. The least they could have done is cover her.”
That “world” she is referring to also includes Chaphekar’s friends, family and neighbours. "We often supply groceries to them, but had not seen Nidhi madam till today," said Vaishnavi, a salesgirl at OneStop to The Telegraph. “Hardly anyone here knew till this morning that the face of the Brussels blast victims is a resident of our society,” said Lalit Babu, the chief security guard at their building complex .
And Ketevan Kardava, special correspondent of the Georgian Public Broadcaster network happened to be right there with her camera. “As a journalist it was my duty to take these photos and show the world what was going on,” she tells The Guardian .
Now it was Nidhi Chaphekar’s turn because she happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time.
Now it was Nidhi Chaphekar’s turn because she happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. I had taken that for granted in a way.
A young boy lying face down and lifeless on that beach brought home the desperation of the Syrian refugee crisis like nothing else. Decades before him, in 1972 , the little girl running in naked agony from a napalm strike, her arms outstretched, her clothes ripped off, became the symbol of the Vietnam War.
Until my friend called it “exploitative” I had seen it but not really looked at it. I was used to the idea that every great tragedy now needs its defining image.
It had become as The Guardian calls it “the photograph that has come to define the horrors of the Brussels attack.” When it was taken no one knew who she was. She was a scared, shocked woman with blood trickling down her face, her foot injured, her clothes torn from the blast, sitting at Zaventem airport.
Jet Airways stewardess Nidhi Chaphekar’s picture was everywhere from the New York Times to the Guardian to Indian newspapers to a Twitter hashtag #PrayFor Nidhi.
“Outrageous and exploitative,” tweeted a friend, himself a photographer, this morning as he looked at the picture that has become the face of the Brussels blast.
"Not Nice"
The security guard’s simple comment gives me pause. What he says expresses a very ordinary human trait that is all too often missing in these circumstances – fundamental decency.
Kardava is doing what is her job, to document a tragedy, possibly at risk to her own life. The media is doing what they think is their job – finding an image that drives home that tragedy. The only person who has no choice in this is the person in the photo splashed around the world.
At a time like this there is no question of a model release form. When the media choose that particular image they are also choosing very consciously to strip Nidhi Chaphekar of her own dignity, at a moment when she is at her most vulnerable.
We have wrestled with the ethics of documenting a moment like this for a long time. Nick Ut, the Los Angeles based photojournalist who took that Pulitzer-winning image of the naked Kim Phuc fleeing the napalm strike, put the screaming youngster in his van and took her to a hospital before filing his photographs in the Saigon bureau.
We have wrestled with the ethics of documenting a moment like this for a long time.
She still calls him Uncle Ut in gratitude. That photograph might have helped changed her future as well. Now settled in Canada, she has been able to go to Miami to see a dermatologist who specializes in laser treatments for burn patients.
When Dorothea Lange took the famous picture of the destitute migrant mother, the woman in the photograph, Florence Thompson, complained while Lange became famous, she remained poor.
Yet when she suffered a stroke, it was thanks to that image, that people around the US raised funds not for Thompson as much as for the woman who had become what the Los Angeles Times called the symbol of the Great Depression.
Those are all “happy” (if one can even use that word in this context) outcomes of tragic stories, but we should not fool ourselves into thinking that was the intent. These stories were not about Kim Phuc or Florence Thompson just as this story is not about Nidhi Chaphekar.
She is only being used as an illustration. She is, for most of the media running her image, an unknown terrified, blood-stained woman and her frazzled state is precisely the message the media is trying to convey. She is only as important as her dishabille.
More than the person taking the image the fact that so many media outlets chose that particular image for their front pages shows that we do not really think about exploitation at this level.
Almost everything is fair game when it comes to telling a story or rather getting more eyeballs for a story. We may balk at an image that is too explicitly gruesome but are blind to the many other ways we can exploit the plight of people trapped in a terrible tragedy. In an age where thanks to smartphones and social media we can all be publishers almost instantly, that blindness will only keep growing.
Almost everything is fair game when it comes to telling a story or rather getting more eyeballs for a story.
This, in the end, is a story both about the power of an image as well as ultimately its limitation. As Richard Woodward writes in ArtNews “Photography is superbly equipped to describe the results of events but is inarticulate or misleading when it comes to explaining their causes.”
When Ut was covering the Vietnam war it was truly far away for readers in the US. Nothing is that far anymore. An image can become ubiquitous with a speed that was was never possible before.
Yet we wear that responsibility lightly, clicking and sharing promiscuously. The sheer proliferation of the image lets us all off the hook. We do not have to grapple with the ethics of exploitation because everyone else is sharing it anyway.
Back in 1977, when viral was still about disease and a scary word and not a desirable state, Susan Sontag had warned in her book On Photography “Once one has seen such images, one has started down the road of seeing more – and more. Images transfix. Images anesthetise.” That numbing can be the dead end of this unthinking exploitation.
At one point Aylan Kurdi’s aunt asked the world to stop using that picture of the drowned toddler. She wanted the world to remember him smiling. By then it was too late. Kurdi had become frozen,facedown and dead.
By then that image had become a meme, a cartoon, even an Ai Wei Wei art project. Kurdi was dead but Chaphekar is alive and will have to live with the consequences of the decisions that helped that image of her go viral. By then, the media will have moved on to another face for another story.
But that image of her will live on and on, defining her to strangers and neighbours and the grocery delivery person, whether she likes it or not. | {
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Article content
Lost hikers or stranded fishermen could find themselves being rescued by helicopters once designed to transport U.S. presidents.
The Department of National Defence had been insistent that the presidential helicopters, purchased in 2011 for spare parts for Canada’s current search-and-rescue choppers, would never be used as actual aircraft.
We apologize, but this video has failed to load.
tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or RCAF looks at former presidential helicopters for search and rescue Back to video
But in an about-face, the military and DND now acknowledge they are looking at doing just that.
Defence sources say senior officers inside the Royal Canadian Air Force have successfully argued that since the $3-billion helicopters, known as the VH-71, were airworthy, it didn’t make sense to strip them down for parts. They are pushing for the aircraft to be added to the RCAF flight line.
When Barack Obama came to the presidency, he balked at the high cost of the VH-71 helicopter program, which had been started under former president George W. Bush. Around $3 billion had already been spent and the program was expected to more than double in price. | {
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Di Montezemolo has been president of Ferrari since 1991
Ferrari president Luca Di Montezemolo has been criticised by the chief executive officer of parent company Fiat, Sergio Marchionne.
Di Montezemolo said at the Italian Grand Prix that reports he was to step down later this year were premature.
quote The important thing for Ferrari is not just financial results but also winning - and we have been struggling for six years
The 67-year-old said he had a contract for three years and that he would be the one to say when he is leaving.
But Marchionne said: "We are good friends but his statements, these are things I wouldn't have said myself."
Marchionne praised Di Montezemolo's achievements as president since 1991 in turning Ferrari around to its current successful financial performance.
But he said the F1 team's current lack of performance was unacceptable.
Ferrari have not won a drivers' or constructors' title since 2008, despite having Fernando Alonso, widely regarded as the best driver, since 2010.
This year, Ferrari are in the midst of their least competitive season for 20 years and Marchionne seemed to strongly hint that he felt Di Montezemolo's time at the helm was drawing to an end.
Alonso's first mechanical failure since 2009 was the latest blow to Ferrari's hopes at their home race
"I consider myself essential, of course," said Marchionne, "But I also know very well that I am at the service of this company. So to create positions, illusions that one can operate outside the rules, is talking rubbish.
"It's the same for him as it is for me; we serve the company. When the company has a change of plan, or if there is no longer a convergence of ideas, things change."
Ferrari's disappointing 2014 Venue Race result Venue Race result Australian (16 Mar) Alonso 4, Raikkonen 7 Malaysian (30 Mar) Alonso 6, Raikkonen 12 Bahrain(6 Apr) Alonso 9, Raikkonen 10 Chinese(20 Apr) Alonso 3, Raikkonen 11 Spanish (11 May) Alonso 6, Raikkonen 7 Monaco (25 May) Alonso 4, Raikkonen 12 Canadian(8 Jun) Alonso 6, Raikkonen 10 Austrian(22 Jun) Alonso 5, Raikkonen 10 British (6 Jul) Alonso 6, Raikkonen DNF German (20 Jul) Alonso 5, Raikkonen 11 Hungarian(27 Jul) Alonso 2, Raikkonen 6 Belgian(24 Aug) Alonso 7, Raikkonen 4 Italian (7 Sep) Alonso DNF, Raikkonen 9
The team had their worst race of the season in Monza on Sunday, with Kimi Raikkonen finishing ninth and Fernando Alonso retiring with an engine problem after spending the first half of the race in seventh place.
Alonso said after the race that there was no immediate prospect of an upturn in form.
Marchionne said: "The heart of Ferrari is winning in F1. I don't want to see our drivers in 7th and 12th place.
"To see the Reds in this state, having the best drivers, exceptional facilities, engineers who are really good, to see all that and then to consider that we have not won since 2008…
"The important thing for Ferrari is not just the financial results, but also it is winning and we have been struggling for six years." | {
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Is Juan Agudelo's overseas move back on? He dropped a hint on Twitter on Friday evening that it might be ... before promptly taking it down.
Read the aborted tweet: "Bout to get on my grind real soon. #newteam #Europe"
The ambiguous missive is the first we’ve heard from the New England Revolution star and US national team prospect since a potential loan deal to the English Premier League’s Stoke City was torpedoed in November due to an inability to secure a work permit.
However you want to read #newteam, Agudelo’s tweet still makes it unclear whether the work permit issue has been cleared up and he will make the move to Stoke or if he’s hooked up with a side in another country.
The 21-year-old striker, who led New England back to the MLS Cup Playoffs with seven goals following a midseason trade from Chivas USA, has made clear his intentions of playing outside of MLS after his contract expired in December. He scored two goals for Chivas before the May trade.
New England would still hold the right of first refusal should he return to the league.
There would certainly be plenty of motivation for Stoke to continue to pursue Agudelo, considering they’ve had their eyes on the youngster for quite some time. He signed a pre-contract with Stoke this summer, a transaction that is permitted in the soccer world when a player reaches the final six months of his pre-existing contract.
And there were reports earlier this month that Agudelo was still training with Stoke while the work-permit issues were resolved.
Whatever is going on, it was sensitive enough that Agudelo took the tweet down within an hour or so. Watch this space for more info. | {
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Just checking my Google One app and noticed a new Benefit for Google Play credit. Clicking link it added $7 to my Google Play account. Probably targeted.
Valid for one Google Play credit. Limit 1 redemption per Google One plan. Open to participants whoreceive a promotional code from Google One. Not reloadable; no cash value. Offer ends Jun 29, 2020 and must be added to a Google Payments account by Jun 29, 2020. Once added, credit must be used on Google Play by Sep 29, 2020. Certain subscriptions excluded. Valid in Australia only. Must be an Australian resident, have Internet access on a compatible device and have or activate a Google Payments account, subject to Google Payments Terms. | {
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On Monday, CNN’s “At This Hour” Kate Bolduan co-host told New York Times reporters Michael Barbaro and Megan Twohey that the fact that their story on presumptive GOP president nominee Donald Trump is being disputed by one of the women quoted in the piece, Rowanne Lane, is “as a journalist,” “concerning.”
Kate Bolduan said, “Guys, she — I mean, she very clearly uses the words, it was misleading, you took her words out of context, you didn’t fully quote her, is what she suggests. She said she called something flattering right after one of these anecdotes. Does that — that — as a journalist, that’s concerning. What do you guys think happened?”
(h/t Washington Free Beacon)
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett | {
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El próximo 1 de julio se cumplen tres años de la entrada en vigor de la Ley Mordaza (Ley Orgánica de Protección de la Seguridad Ciudadana). En este tiempo, en el Estado español se ha vivido un preocupante incremento de las vulneraciones de derechos fundamentales y de libertades.
La plataforma No Somos Delito lleva tres años denunciando la arbitrariedad y falta de garantías de esta norma legal y aseguran que, en estos momentos, “nos encontramos ante una oportunidad única para demandar que se redacte una nueva ley garantista con los derechos humanos“.
“Con el cambio de gobierno es posible que se retome la tramitación de la reforma de la Ley Mordaza en el Congreso que lleva ya más de un año paralizada, un momento clave para unirnos y exigir a los grupos parlamentarios que queremos una nueva legislación que proteja nuestros derechos fundamentales para que no se sigan violando los derechos humanos, ni cercenando nuestras libertades”, argumentan desde esta plataforma.
Para ello, el próximo miércoles 4 de julio llevarán a cabo una Jornada Parlamentaria en el Congreso de los Diputados para debatir sobre las reformas de la Ley de Seguridad Ciudadana. “Será nuestra oportunidad para demandar de manera clara y contundente que la sociedad civil quiere participar de manera activa y no sólo consultiva en la construcción de cualquier legislación y, en este caso, de una nueva ley de seguridad ciudadana”.
En este acto, al que han sido invitados todos los grupos parlamentarios, se abrirán diversos espacios de debate y coloquio donde recoger las propuestas de colectivos, organizaciones, movimientos y personas de la sociedad civil para la redacción de una legislación que garantice el libre ejercicio de derechos y libertades individuales y colectivas.
No Somos Delito aprovechará la ocasión para presentar una propuesta creada y consensuada por más de 40 organizaciones y colectivos de todo el Estado, a la que se han adherido más de 150 entidades sociales y cerca de 700 personas, en la cual se recogen 10 puntos que consideran fundamentales para garantizar la protección de los derechos fundamentales como la libertad de expresión, reunión, presunción de inocencia, el derecho a la intimidad, el derecho de asilo, etc.
Demasiadas vulneraciones a las libertades y derechos
“Hemos llegado a un escenario que cada día añade nuevos nombres, realidades y situaciones que muestran cómo se viola la libertad de expresión, se persiguen las ideas, se criminaliza la pobreza, las organizaciones sociales, los creadores y artistas: raperos, sindicalistas, activistas, migrantes, manifestantes… cualquiera puede ser objeto de esa represión política y social que convierte a nuestro presunto Estado democrático, nacido de la Constitución del 78, en una máquina de castigar. Incluso pensar puede ser delito”.
Con esta contundencia se manifiestan desde Derechos Civiles 15M Zaragoza, recordando que esta ley ha supuesto una involución en las libertades de todas las personas, volviendo a generar en la legislación estatal el delito ideológico. Como hace más de 40 años.
Son demasiados los casos de abusos de poder, de pérdida de garantías judiciales y de vulneración de derechos fundamentales ocurridos en estos tres últimos años como consecuencia de la Ley Mordaza. Entre los últimos hechos recogidos, nos encontramos con casos de multas de 1200€ por acudir a la cacerolada convocada la noche del 8 de marzo de 2018 en la Puerta del Sol con motivo de la huelga feminista. La policía interpuso una multa a una de las participantes argumentando que la concentración en la que participaba no estaba comunicada. La Ley de Seguridad Ciudadana (LO 4/2015) no contempla ninguna infracción por asistir a una concentración no comunicada, sino por convocarla, asi que MSA fue sancionada por no atender a una orden ilegítima en base al art. 36.6 de desobediencia a agentes de la autoridad.
Hay otros casos de abusos claros como el del fotoperiodista AL, quien fue multado con 602€ por subir a su cuenta de twitter las imágenes de una detención policial que se producía mientras cubría una movilización de protesta el 3 de marzo de 2016. AL fue sancionado en base al artículo 36.23 que hace referencia al uso no autorizado de imágenes de las Fuerzas y Cuerpos de Seguridad del Estado vulnerando el derecho fundamental de libertad de información.
Victoria, una vecina de Zaragoza, intentó mediar en una discusión entre conductor y otras personas usuarias del bus. En realidad, ella sólo quería llegar lo antes posible al Centro Municipal de Servicios Sociales donde recibía atención desde hace varios años. Sin embargo, parece que los agentes de la autoridad allí desplazados decidieron que ese día le tocaba a ella sufrir la práctica de esa nefasta ley. Victoria siempre ha negado los hechos que relata la policía, que entre otras cosas asegura que incitó a las personas presentes a volverse contra los agentes. Aparte de haber abonado la multa de 602€, Victoria se enfrenta a un juicio en Zaragoza este 2 de julio, a las 10.00 horas, en el Edificio Vidal Canellas, donde se manifestarán Derechos Civiles 15M.
Son cientos los casos como estos, sin embargo, desde las organizaciones contrarias a esta ley se denuncia especialmente las devoluciones en caliente que se producen en la frontera sur, como uno de los hechos más graves que contempla esta ley en su disposición final primera que propone la posibilidad de expulsión de personas extranjeras, tratando de legalizar lo ilegítimo. “Las devoluciones en caliente o expulsiones sumarias han sido condenadas recientemente por el Tribunal Europeo de Derechos Humanos (TEDH) y otras organizaciones internacionales por no cumplir tratados internacionales de derecho de asilo y refugio. Denunciamos también la criminalización y discriminación que sufren las personas migrantes a través de las identificaciones ‘racistas’ que han sido denunciadas en numerosas ocasiones”, recuerdan desde No Somos Delito.
Reformar: ¿Cómo? ¿Cuándo? ¿Con quién?
En la jornada en el Congreso de los Diputados que plantea No Somos Delito tratarán de mostrar sus discrepancias a los textos actualmente en tramitación para la reforma de la Ley Mordaza presentados por el PSOE y PNV. Textos que han sido analizados en profundidad por un grupo de juristas y personas de organizaciones y plataformas sociales que trabajan en la defensa de los derechos humanos, entre las que se encuentra la plataforma.
“No compartimos el concepto de seguridad ciudadana del que parten tanto la actual ley como las reformas planteadas, la cuales entienden la seguridad ciudadana como una cuestión de orden público. No pensamos que la ciudadanía sea un problema de orden público y nos oponemos a que el ejercicio de nuestros derechos fundamentales se regule por vía administrativa debido a la falta de garantías jurídicas. Es el momento de que la sociedad civil sea escuchada y tome parte de las mesas de trabajo para crear un texto garantista que defienda los derechos humanos”, aseguran.
Para No Somos Delito el PSOE alude en su exposición de motivos a la amplia contestación social como el principal motivo de necesidad para reformar la ley vigente, sin embargo su propuesta de derogación combina lo peor de la Ley Mordaza y de la Ley Corcuera, más conocida esta última como Ley de Patada en la Puerta (LO 1/1992).
Para la plataforma el texto presentado por el grupo socialista sigue abusando del uso de conceptos jurídicos indeterminados y genéricos, que dificultan la definición del ámbito de aplicación de esta ley, lo que nos dejaría de nuevo ante una situación de indefensión frente a la norma, una de las principales críticas sociales a la ley vigente.
Por su parte, el PNV anuncia en su exposición de motivos una ampliación del derecho de huelga y los derechos y libertades de las personas extranjeras en el Estado español –derogación de las devoluciones en caliente incluida–, sin embargo dichos conceptos no aparecen desarrollados en su articulado.
“Es una ocasión clave para unirnos y exigir a los grupos parlamentarios que redacten una nueva legislación que proteja nuestros derechos fundamentales para que no se sigan violando los derechos humanos, ni cercenando nuestras libertades” advierten desde No Somos Delito y llaman a participar en la jornada parlamentaria, inscribiéndose a la misma, porque entienden que es el momento de “derrocar todas las leyes represivas que ahogan los derechos fundamentales de la población, que precarizan sus vidas, que nos impiden el bienestar real y obligatorio de un Estado democrático de derecho”. | {
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two copies of the zine (one for you, one to leave in the library or hand to a stranger or gift to someone) + a digital copy of the zine.
Less | {
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Amazon.co.jpで、全商品に5月23日から、1％のAmazonポイントが付与される。Amazon直販商品、出品者からの商品すべてが対象という。
Amazon.co.jpの出品者向けポータル「セラーセントラル」で2月20日に発表されたもの。出品商品のポイント費用は出品者の負担になるとあり、出品者の間で衝撃が走っている。
出品商品のポイント費用は出品者の負担になるという
5月23日以降はAmazonの直販商品だけでなく出品者の商品にもポイントが付くが、その費用は出品者の負担になるとAmazonは説明。ポイント付与分を考慮した価格設定にするよう求めている。出品者の間では「従わざるを得ないが、販売価格を1％上げるわけにもいかない。価格を据え置いたら利益が減ってしまう」と心配する声が広がっている。また、「独占禁止法に抵触するのでは」との指摘もある。
Amazon.co.jpはリリース当初、ポイントプログラムは存在しなかったが、2007年、日本独自の制度としてポイントプログラムを開始。ポイント付与の機会を徐々に拡大してきた。ポイント付与強化は、「楽天市場」「Yahoo!ショッピング」など、ポイントプログラムでメリットを押し出している他の通販サイトに対抗する狙いがあるとみられる。
Amazonは、全商品1％ポイント付与の理由について、「購入者はより多くのAmazonポイントを獲得できるようになるとともに、頻度の高いお買い物によって節約が可能になる」と説明している。 | {
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This is the last straw These crows need to stop pecking me
130 shares | {
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In this week’s issue of New Scientist I edited a profile of a doctor who is the real-life version of TV’s House MD. William Gahl recently set up the Undiagnosed Diseases Program to hunt for the answer to mysterious diseases that have defied all other medical experts (read the interview).
This got me thinking about ailments that have perplexed the medical profession. Here is a selection of the most unusual.
Water allergy
This may sound impossible – considering that our bodies are around 60% water – but some rare individuals are allergic to water.
They can still drink the stuff, of course. It’s washing that causes the problem. A few minutes in the bath or shower causes their skin to erupt in itchy red weals.
This rare condition (known, medically as aquagenic urticaria), was first described in 1964.
Its cause is still a mystery: it could be due to a toxic response when water touches the skin, or to an extreme sensitivity to ions in the water.
Chimeric people
Imagine going for genetic tests along with your children, only to find that you can’t possibly be their biological mother – despite the fact that you gave birth to them.
This isn’t science fiction. It has actually happened to a few people around the world (see The stranger within).
In the case, it turned out that the mother was a chimera (a mix of two individuals). She was the composite of two non-identical twins that had fused in her mother’s womb.
No-one knows how common chimeras are, but with the rise of fertility treatments and genetic testing, more chimeras are likely to be created and discovered.
Foreign accent syndrome
If you wake up talking with a strong Jamaican accent, despite the fact that you’ve never even heard a Jamaican accent before, then the chances are you’re suffering from foreign accent syndrome.
The best known case of this syndrome dates from 1941, when a Norwegian woman was ostracised after she was injured during an air raid and began talking with a strong German accent.
This syndrome was once regarded as a psychological disorder, but it’s now thought to be a neurological one, which comes about when a stroke or injury damages the part of the brain associated with speech.
The real mystery is how people talk with an accent they’ve never been exposed to – though recently scientists have come up with a possible explanation. The “foreign-ness” of a sufferer’s accent might simply be due to the listener struggling to interpret the change in the sufferer’s speech patterns.
Morgellons disease
The symptoms: fibres growing out of itchy lesions, accompanied by a biting, crawling sensation, as if the sufferer is being attacked by a parasite.
Thousands of people around the world report these unpleasant symptoms and claim that they’re suffering from Morgellons disease – a physical ailment whose cause is, as yet, unknown.
But present these symptoms to most doctors, and they’ll tell you you’re suffering from a well-known psychological disorder called delusional parasitosis – an unshakeable belief that sensations of crawling on or under the skin are caused by parasites, despite incontrovertible evidence to the contrary.
Who is right? The jury is still out, but some medics are beginning to take a serious look at Morgellons. One suggestion is that the fibres could be the result of an infection by the bacterium Agrobacterium, most commonly found to cause tumours in plants.
The madness of King George
The British King, George III, suffered major bouts of mental derangement, for which he had to be restrained in a straitjacket or tied to a chair.
Scientists thought they knew the cause of these ravings: a genetic defect called porphyria. But in 2005 researchers examining a sample of King George’s hair made a surprise discovery: high concentrations of arsenic.
The researchers believe that the medicine given to the King was contaminated with arsenic – making his predisposition to porphyria far worse.
Read about other historical medical mysteries
Putrid finger
A 1996 issue of the medical journal The Lancet carried a distressing case study. A 29-year-old man had pricked his finger on a chicken bone 5 years previously, leaving him with an infection which made him smell terrible.
“The most disabling consequence of the infection was a putrid smell emanating from the affected arm, which could be detected across a large room, and when confined to a smaller examination room became almost intolerable,” the paper states.
The cause of the infection couldn’t be identified, and it didn’t respond to antibiotics, so the paper’s authors issued a plea: “We ask assistance from colleagues who may have encountered a similar case or for suggestions to relieve this patient’s odour even if the organism cannot be eradicated.”
So what happened to this poor man? Does he still smell putrid after all these years? I contacted the dermatologist who treated him to find out.
Peter Holt of the University Hospital of Wales reported that the patient’s infection cleared up spontaneously, and he no longer smells putrid. But the cause remains a mystery.
Tree man
With hands and feet resembling branches, Dede, a man from West Java, Indonesia, appears to be half tree, half man.
But what is the cause of this deformation? Thankfully for Dede, this mystery may recently have been solved.
The culprit appears to be a rare immune deficiency, which allows the human papilloma virus – better known as the cause of warts – to rampage out of control. | {
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Andrei Alexandrescu is the author of Modern C++ Design and The D Programming Language. He can be contacted at erdani.org/.
Let's see why the D programming language is worth a serious look.
Of course, I'm not deluding myself that it's an easy task to convince you. We programmers are a strange bunch in the way we form and keep language preferences. The knee-jerk reaction of a programmer when eyeing a The XYZ Programming Language book on a bookstore shelf is something like, "All right. I'll give myself 30 seconds to find something I don't like about XYZ." Acquiring expertise in a programming language is a long and arduous process, and satisfaction is delayed and uncertain. Trying to find quick reasons to avoid such an endeavor is a survival instinct: the stakes are high and the investment is risky, so having the ability to make a rapid negative decision early in the process can be a huge relief.
That being said, learning and using a programming language can be fun. By and large, coding in a language is fun if the language does a satisfactory job at fulfilling the principles that the coder using it holds in high esteem. Any misalignment causes the programmer to regard the language as, for example, sloppy and insecure or self-righteous and tedious. A language can't possibly fulfill everyone's needs and taste at the same time as many of them are contradictory, so it must carefully commit to a few fundamental coordinates that put it on the landscape of programming languages.
So what's the deal with D? You might have heard of it already -- the language with a name like a pun taken a bit too far; annoyingly mentioned now and then on newsgroups dedicated to other languages before the off-topic police reprimands the guilty; praised by an enthusiastic friend all too often; or simply as the result of an idle online search a la "I bet some loser on this big large Internet defined a language called D, let's see... oh, look!"
In this article I provide a broad overview, which means by necessity I use concepts and features without introducing them rigorously as long as they are reasonably intuitive.
Let's take a brief look at some of D's fundamental features. Be warned that many features or limitations come with qualifications that make their boundaries fuzzy. So if you read something that doesn't quite please you, don't let that bother you too much: the next sentence may contain a redeeming addendum. For example, say you read "D has garbage collection" and you get a familiar frozen chill up the spine that stops in the cerebrum with the imperious command "touch the rabbit foot and stay away." If you are patient, you'll find out that D has constructors and destructors with which you can implement deterministic lifetime of objects.
But Before Getting Into It...
Before getting into the thick of things, there are a few things you should know. First and foremost, if you kind of considered looking into D for whatever reason, this time is not "as good as any," it's in fact much better than others if you're looking for the edge given by early adoption. D has been evolving at a breakneck pace but in relative silence, and a lot of awesome things have been and are being done about it that are starting to become known just about now -- some literally in this very article. At this writing, my book The D Programming Language is 40% complete and available for pre-order at Amazon. Safari's Rough Cuts subscription-based service makes advance chapters available here.
There are two major versions of the language -- D1 and D2. This article focuses on D2 exclusively. D1 is stable (will undergo no other changes but bug fixes), and D2 is a major revision of the language that sacrificed some backwards compatibility for the sake of doing things consistently right, and for adding a few crucial features related to manycores and generic programming. In the process, the language's complexity has increased, which is in fact a good indicator because no language in actual use has ever gotten smaller. Even languages that started with the stated intent to be "small and beautiful" inevitably grew with use. (Yes, even Lisp. Spare me.) Although programmers dream of the idea of small, simple languages, when they wake up they seem to only want more modeling power. D's state of transition is putting yours truly in the unenviable position of dealing with a moving target. I opted for writing an article that ages nicely at the expense of being occasionally frustrating in that it describes features that are in the works or are incompletely implemented.
The official D compiler is available for free off digitalmars.com on major desktop platforms (Windows, Mac, and Linux). Other implementations are underway, notably including an a .NET port and one using the LLVM infrastructure as backend. There are also two essential D libraries, the official -- Phobos, and a community-driven library called Tango. Tango, designed for D1, is being ported to D2, and Phobos (which was frustratingly small and quirky in its D1 iteration) is undergoing major changes and additions to take full advantage of D2's capabilities. (There is, unsurprisingly, an amount of politics and bickering about which library is better, but competition seems to spur both into being as good as they can be.)
Last but definitely not least, two windowing libraries complete the language's offering quite spectacularly. The mature library DWT is a direct port of Java's SWT. A newer development is that the immensely popular Qt Software windowing library has recently released a D binding (in alpha as of this writing). This is no small news as Qt is a great (the best if you listen to the right people) library for developing portable GUI applications. The two libraries fully take D into "the GUIth dimension." | {
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The “longest debate in the Alberta legislature’s history” is finally over. It took 46 hours. But at long last, a bill revamping the province’s education system has finally passed…
The bad news is that the bill no longer includes protections for children who participate in Gay-Straight Alliance clubs. In fact, if they join one, staffers at the schools could theoretically notify parents about it — according to the more progressive opposition party — overriding any privacy concerns for the students themselves. (The conservatives who run the government say that’s not true and that a separate privacy bill protects students from that situation.)
The actions Bill 8 takes will make it more difficult for young people who are queer, who are gay, to see their role in society, to believe that they have just as many rights, just as much right in this country, in this province, to be anything they want,” NDP MLA [New Democratic Party member of the legislative assembly] Joe Ceci said during debate. GSAs are student-driven support clubs designed to help LGBTQ kids feel accepted. Advocates say they are critical to helping LGBTQ youth avoid being shunned or bullied but suggest some won’t join if there is even a remote chance of their parents being told.
Many students belong to these GSA groups precisely because they don’t have any support at home. For teachers to tattle on them puts those kids in danger. Their physical and emotional safety could be compromised. (Kids have been disowned by their parents and left to the streets for not being straight or cisgender.) It also ruins the relationship between students and teachers, who may be seen as adversaries rather than partners.
It also raises the question of why a teacher would want to out a student. It implies that there is something inherently dangerous about being LGBTQ — which there isn’t. Any educator who thinks it’s a good idea to inform parents about such a thing clearly has an agenda of putting children in harm’s way. They need to reconsider their career choices.
In any case, the conservatives insist this debate is moot. While those protections have been stripped from the education bill, they exist in another place, they say.
The conservative party also tossed out other amendments suggested by liberals. For example, there was an amendment to force principals to approve (or reject) a GSA group within two weeks of a request — in order to prevent some principals from delaying a decision until after the student graduates. That amendment was tossed out.
Other amendments that didn’t make it into the bill included assurances that LGBTQ teachers and staffers couldn’t be fired because of their sexual orientation and requiring private schools to have the same GSA policies as public schools.
(Image via Shutterstock)
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In a YouTube clip, PewDiePie jokes that he decided to start the Twitch show "before anything." The timing may just be coincidental in that case. Whether or not that's true, he clearly has a good reason to avoid putting all his streaming eggs in one basket. His dependence on YouTube has worked out well for years, but it'd only take one policy decision or rule violation to cut off his main source of income. Twitch also helps spread his brand -- you might be more likely to associate him with what he streams rather than where he streams.
No matter what, it's safe to say that YouTube won't be pleased. While it did back away from PewDiePie's YouTube Red original series, it's likely not relishing the thought of one of its most popular personalities hopping aboard a rival service. It not only represents a potential loss of revenue, but suggests that YouTube isn't doing enough to court livestreamers. And to some extent, that's true: while YouTube's live feeds are technically sound, they don't have Twitch-style perks like subscriber-only emotes. Even with the presence of apps like YouTube Gaming, there's still a feature gap for broadcasters. | {
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A diferencia de otros medios, en CTXT mantenemos todos nuestros artículos en abierto. Nuestra apuesta es recuperar el espíritu de la prensa independiente: ser un servicio público. Si puedes permitirte pagar 4 euros al mes, apoya a CTXT. ¡Suscríbete!
Necesitamos tu ayuda para realizar las obras en la Redacción que nos permitan seguir creciendo. Puedes hacer una donación libre aquí
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–Esto es la bomba.
Al otro lado del teléfono, la voz del abogado Mariano Benítez de Lugo sonríe. Lleva desde principios de 2015 peleando en los tribunales por los vecinos que vieron cómo Ana Botella vendía sus viviendas a un fondo buitre. Sus viviendas eran de propiedad municipal. Del municipio, de lo público, a un buitre, media un trecho. Un trecho de picos, garras, carroñero.
–¿Satisfecho?
–La importancia de esta sentencia es que no mira ya solo un caso concreto, sino que establece una teoría general sobre los inquilinos de 1.860 viviendas de la Empresa Municipal de Vivienda y Suelo. Aplica el Decreto 100/1986 (AQUÍ) que dice que tienen derecho a 15 años de contrato de arrendamiento y, cuando termine, a comprar la casa. Esto es una bomba, un hito judicial.
Vender una empresa o un espacio públicos a manos privadas no es lo mismo que vender una vivienda pública. En las viviendas, aunque a la alcaldesa Botella le pareciera dato menor, habitan familias. Botella vendió, en este lote, 1.860 viviendas. O sea, dejó a 1.860 familias en manos de los buitres. Los buitres, en este caso, se llaman Fidere.
Botella vendió, en este lote, 1.860 viviendas. O sea, dejó a 1.860 familias en manos de los buitres. Los buitres, en este caso, se llaman Fidere
–¿Qué dice Fidere?
–Fidere ahora recurrirá… Yo confío en que confirmen la sentencia.
Botella, además, mintió. Dijo a los vecinos que no iba a cambiar nada, que solamente cambiaban de casero.
La diferencia entre lo público y lo privado radica en que lo público busca el bien común, y lo privado el beneficio. Lo privado, en el caso que nos ocupa, se rige por la Ley de Arrendamientos Urbanos (LAU). Así pues, los vecinos que habitaban viviendas sociales se encontraron, de la noche a la mañana, con que Fidere les subía el alquiler y empezaba a enviarles órdenes de desahucio o burofaxes donde se les informaba de que su contrato había expirado.
–¿Cuál es el principal avance?
–La síntesis de la sentencia dice que no cabe considerar que ha expirado el término de contrato, como pretendía Fidere para desahuciar a esta familia, porque tienen derecho a estar 15 años y luego a la compra. Una bomba total.
–¿Cómo lo ha conseguido?
–En esto no caben guerras convencionales, hay que ir con armas de destrucción masiva. Entonces hemos expuesto ante el juez un puñado de argumentos, entre los cuales estaba este: que es una vivienda protegida y por tanto no se puede aplicar la LAU, que es la que permite que los contratos tengan una duración máxima de 3 años.
–¿Nos estamos acercando a Ana Botella?
–Es un paso más para evidenciar que la operación de venta aquella fue infame. Y bueno…
Al abogado Benítez de Lugo, la palabra “infame” le llena la boca. Queda un camino por recorrer, el que va desde aquella venta hasta los nombres y apellidos de quienes se beneficiaron, además de los buitres conocidos, de aquella infamia. Y aún otro camino más, que pasa por el actual consistorio madrileño.
–Yo, de paso, he aprovechado para preguntar qué hace el Ayuntamiento de Madrid –deja caer el letrado–. Porque, con el informe de la Cámara de Cuentas y el informe del técnico que contrataron ad hoc para saber qué debían hacer, lo que tenían que hacer era precisamente revertir la operación. La decisión se la he comunicado a la alcaldesa y a la primera teniente de alcalde. Y les he dicho: por cierto, aquello que prometisteis sobre la reversión, ¿qué pasos estáis dando?
–¿Y qué pasos están dando?
–Ninguno. | {
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Introduction We would all like to write nice and clean code, with cute little algorithms and crystal-clear structure, without giving much thought to the often ugly topic of error handling. But unfortunately in programming, perhaps more than in any other kind of engineering, the devil is in the details. The handling of errors and of irregular inputs and data usually requires more code than the straight-line algorithm for solving the problem itself. This is a regrettable but unavoidable artifact of our craft. But wait, there's more. As difficult as error handling is, coupled with resource allocation and the need for robust deallocation it is nothing short of a huge headache. Fortunately, in newer high-level languages this is less of a problem because of automatic garbage collection. Also, C++ provides tolerably robust solutions in the form of RAII. But as the title states, here I'm concerned with C, which doesn't have exceptions and destructors, so the issue is much more difficult. In this article I will argue that the much hated goto statement is a valuable tool for simplifying error-handling code in C.
A simple case Here's a quote from the Wikipedia article on RAII: C requires significant administrative code since it doesn't support exceptions, try-finally blocks, or RAII at all. A typical approach is to separate releasing of resources at the end of the function and jump there with gotos in the case of error. This way the cleanup code need not be duplicated. The code sample the article shows is this: int c_example () { int ret = 0 ; // return value 0 is success FILE *f = fopen( "logfile.txt" , "w+" ); if (!f) return - 1 ; if (fputs( "hello logfile!" , f) == EOF) { ret = - 2 ; goto out; } // continue using the file resource // ... // Releasing resources (in reverse order) out: if (fclose(f) == EOF) ret = - 3 ; return ret; } Sure, by inverting the logical comparison, this can be rewritten without a goto as follows: int c_example () { int ret = 0 ; // return value 0 is success FILE *f = fopen( "logfile.txt" , "w+" ); if (!f) return - 1 ; if (fputs( "hello logfile!" , f) != EOF) { // continue using the file resource } else { ret = - 2 ; } if (fclose(f) == EOF) ret = - 3 ; return ret; } Although we've gotten rid of the goto , IMHO this code isn't much cleaner. Note that we've just moved the mainline code into a condition. Will we do it for any error condition the function encounters?
A thornier case Now consider this snippet: int foo ( int bar) { int return_value = 0 ; allocate_resources_1(); if (!do_something(bar)) goto error_1; allocate_resources_2(); if (!init_stuff(bar)) goto error_2; allocate_resources_3(); if (!prepare_stuff(bar)) goto error_3; return_value = do_the_thing(bar); error_3: cleanup_3(); error_2: cleanup_2(); error_1: cleanup_1(); return return_value; } How would you get rid of the goto here, without duplicating the cleanup code or complicating it considerably? Following the logic of our previous goto hunt, we could use nested conditions: int foo ( int bar) { int return_value = 0 ; allocate_resources_1(); if (do_something(bar)) { allocate_resources_2(); if (init_stuff(bar)) { allocate_resources_3(); if (prepare_stuff(bar)) { return_value = do_the_thing(bar); } cleanup_3(); } cleanup_2(); } cleanup_1(); return return_value; } But look where our mainline code is now - deep inside the nested conditions. And keep in mind this is still a simplified example - each of the allocations, checks and code chunks could be significantly larger. Is that really any help for the readability? No, goto is better here. It results in a more readable code, because the operations the function performs are structured in a logical order - errors get thrown somewhere else, while the mainline code goes on where it belongs. In the nested conditionals version, it's outright hard to find where the main code is, buried inside the error checks. By the way, there's an even more complex case with various resources presented here. And using goto for the purpose of error handling is a common idiom in the source code of the Linux kernel, so that lump of code contains lots of examples as well.
Additional valid uses Besides the point made above, goto is also sometimes (though much less frequently) useful for breaking out of deeply nested loops. If your algorithm requires a nested for loop (say, 4 levels deep), and in the innermost loop you sometimes encounter a special case that should cause you to break out all the loop levels, do use a goto . The alternative of creating exit flags at each level and checking them in each iteration requires much more code, is uglier, harder to maintain and is much less efficient (nested loops tend to appear in tight algorithmic code that needs speed). | {
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No one ever said life was fair.
That's a fact you no longer have to explain to quarterback Chason Virgil of West Mesquite High School in Mesquite, Texas.
Virgil, who committed to play football at Mississippi State on May 15 of this year, received a call yesterday that changed his life.
"They (Mississippi State) called my coach today and (are) wanting me to grayshirt," Virgil said.
"Grayshirt" in the college football recruiting vernacular means colleges are asking you to delay your enrollment an extra semester, from the fall semester to the spring semester.
But for Virgil, who graduates from high school early and was expected to enroll at Mississippi State in January of 2015, it means they now want him to wait an entire year, until January of 2016.
Virgil said he had cleared his early enrollment with Mississippi State staff, so the news came as a shock.
"I have to start over now," he said. "I haven't talked to any other schools in awhile so I just have to see what happens."
Virgil's high school coach took to Twitter yesterday to voice his displeasure, and specifically to the actions of Mississippi State head coach Dan Mullen.
Miss St. pulls scholarship from our QB Chason Virgil w/16 days til graduation. Classless move by "coach" Dan Mullen — Jeff Neill (@neill_jeff) November 21, 2014
Chason Virgil -35 tds/6int passing -8td rushing. One of the best young people I've ever coached -only flaw was trusting "coach" Mullen. — Jeff Neill (@neill_jeff) November 21, 2014
Neill obviously added the quotation marks around the word coach because he feels like what Mullen did was either unethical, immoral or both.
Unfortunately, Mississippi State and Mullen, per NCAA rules, can not comment on recruits to give their side of the story.
It's important to note that this isn't the first time something like this has happened, far from it.
Other colleges and their coaches have backed out of scholarship offers at the last minute, forcing players to make last-minute, life-altering decisions about their careers.
This is part of the problem with the NCAA. It's an organization designed to protect the interests of its members, not the students who will matriculate at its schools.
Whether it's the lack of compensation for use of their image or something even more basic as being able to trust the word of a "coach", the student-athletes remain at the whims of these institutions.
As we look forward, we have to wonder what will happen to the parties involved here. Surely Virgil will find a soft-landing spot. He's a talented quarterback and universities need them.
As for Mullen, perhaps the negative publicity from this questionable maneuver - which has now become national news in less than 24 hours - may put a damper on his future career.
Many analysts are expecting Mullen to jump from Mississippi State to either Michigan or Florida following the season. After all, Mullen has the Bulldogs in rare company, ranked No. 4 in the most recent college football playoff poll after spending almost a month ranked as the No. 1 team in the country before losing to Alabama last week, and the other schools are said to be willing to pay more than the Bulldogs.
Life is not fair. Chason Virgil knows that now.
Maybe Dan Mullen will realize it if he doesn't get one of the jobs he allegedly covets or if Mississippi State fans don't like their good name being associated with such actions.
Or maybe the NCAA will realize it after there's been another successful lawsuit because of their "rules", which allow colleges to skirt by without comment. | {
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[F] Sometimes I Wonder... [Horny rambles] [Using scripts as fap material] [Whimpers] [Squeaks] [Loud, growly orgasm]
If someone would look at my scripts and say, "Yep, I'm gonna get off to this tonight". Hey, it's a nice thought. | {
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The Patriots staked their claim to the top seed in the AFC with a comfortable 42-20 win in Indianapolis on Sunday night. The star of the game was anonymous running back Jonas Gray, who spent most of his college career buried on the Notre Dame depth chart and was on the New England practice squad for the first six weeks of the season. Gray’s 199-yard, four-touchdown performance was stunning. What wasn’t so surprising was how Bill Belichick came up with another slant on his usual schemes, shifting the balance of power in his team’s direction yet again. X’s and O’s can’t win games, but they helped create an edge for the Patriots on Sunday.
With both the Patriots and Colts coming off a Week 10 bye, it was fair to suggest we might see a few wrinkles in each team’s playbook. Belichick didn’t settle for wrinkles; he added a new appendage.
Just as he did in January’s 43-22 playoff win over these same Colts, Belichick relied heavily on his running game to keep Andrew Luck off the field and prevent Indianapolis from wearing down New England’s thin defensive lineup. That, though, was with Logan Mankins at guard and former offensive line coach Dante Scarnecchia on the sideline. New England’s line has improved mightily since installing rookie Bryan Stork at center and Ryan Wendell at right guard after that disastrous loss to the Chiefs in Week 4, but they’re still hardly a dominant run-blocking unit.
The solution? Add an extra offensive lineman. As ESPN Boston’s Mike Reiss counted during the game, the Patriots lined up Cameron Fleming as a sixth offensive lineman on a whopping 37 snaps Sunday night. That’s virtually unprecedented. Plenty of teams will line up with an extra offensive lineman in short-yardage situations, but virtually nobody uses it as a basic offensive strategy. The Bears have used swing tackle Eben Britton as an extra blocker at times, and the Ravens would use six-lineman sets pretty frequently during Joe Flacco’s rookie season in 2008, but I don’t recall any game when a team used a sixth lineman this frequently. The Patriots didn’t go with a sixth lineman even once during that playoff win.
Indianapolis never consistently adjusted to the extra lineman. While the Colts themselves successfully used sets with six offensive lineman and/or an unbalanced line against the Eagles in Week 2, the NFL’s official gamebooks suggest that the Indy defense had seen no more than eight snaps against six-lineman sets this season, the majority coming near the goal line.
And while I’m sure Indy’s coaches were giving a lesson on what to look for, their defensive linemen — notably Josh Chapman — were getting blown off the line of scrimmage. Indy was without Arthur Jones, the 337-pound 5-technique end they added from the Ravens this offseason who might have been able to help in this exact spot. Star inside linebacker Jerrell Freeman missed a number of tackles, including a potential stop of Gray in the backfield that would have ended a drive. The Patriots ran the ball 41 times and lost yards only on a third-and-2 in the fourth quarter with the game well in hand. On that play Gray lost 2 yards, but the Patriots picked up the first down anyway on a face-mask penalty. That’s unreal.
Gray did his part. Cris Collinsworth noted during the game that Belichick and the offensive line would appreciate Gray hitting exactly the hole they expected on each and every play, and while it’s impossible to truly know which hole he was supposed to hit without the playbook, this looked and felt like a running game in harmony. Gray isn’t going to be a world-beater who makes six guys miss, but he was efficient, slicing through the holes the offensive line left for him and getting the maximum from the work his linemen had wrought. It was no accident that the Patriots left Shane Vereen — a more explosive but less disciplined runner — in a receiving role for most of the game.
The out-of-nowhere arrival of Gray speaks to another classic Belichick tenet: his faith in buying low on running backs. In that playoff game in January, the Patriots got a 166-yard, four-touchdown performance out of LeGarrette Blount, whom they had acquired from the Buccaneers for peanuts during the previous year’s draft. After letting Blount go to the Steelers in free agency and losing Stevan Ridley to a torn ACL and MCL, New England happily plugged in Gray and found results. It’s the same organization that bought low on Antowain Smith, Sammy Morris, and Danny Woodhead while turning BenJarvus Green-Ellis from an undrafted free agent into a starter. In fact, most of the Patriots’ serious investments at the position — the contract extension for Corey Dillon, their first-round pick on Laurence Maroney — haven’t quite worked out.
While Belichick didn’t massively shift his defensive scheme, he did establish some matchups to fit the varying strengths and weaknesses of his secondary. It’s always easy to oversimplify defensive schemes, and even easier to do so without seeing the All-22 (which isn’t released until midweek), but it appears that the Patriots had a relatively concrete plan for how they wanted to handle Indy’s receivers.
Instead of attempting to lock up star Colts wideout T.Y. Hilton with Darrelle Revis, New England’s best cornerback, Belichick assigned arguably his worst regular corner in Kyle Arrington to Hilton and gave Arrington plenty of safety help. Hilton had three catches on seven targets for just 24 yards. Belichick trusted the rest of his cornerbacks to match up one-on-one across the board. Revis mostly followed Reggie Wayne around the formation. Brandon Browner went for Coby Fleener, and when the Colts went to three-wideout sets, Logan Ryan was the one on Hakeem Nicks. Fleener caught all seven passes thrown to him for a career-high 144 yards, and Wayne took advantage of an early blown coverage to pick up 46 yards, but overall the strategy did enough to slow Luck down. There are a handful of moments every game when Luck looks downfield past the camera’s view before throwing and it feels like there’s somebody running free on the other side of those passes; there weren’t really any throws like that last night.
The Colts might have been able to force the Patriots into more advantageous defensive looks by running the football effectively, but that just didn’t happen. Ahmad Bradshaw and Trent Richardson combined to carry the ball 14 times for just 4 yards, with Richardson chipping in a particularly Richardson-esque seven-carry, zero-yard night. Even worse, the Colts may keep struggling to run the football. Bradshaw, who has been dealing with foot problems for years, limped to the locker room with his cleat off during the second half. Tight end Dwayne Allen, the team’s best blocking end and arguably its second-best player on offense after Luck, was carted off in the first half with an ankle injury and did not return. If either of those guys are out for an extended period of time, Indy’s running game will suffer.
Indy may rue this loss all the way to January. Had they won on Sunday, the Colts would have been in position for a first-round bye, thanks to Denver’s loss to St. Louis. Instead, the Patriots now hold a one-game lead over the Broncos, a two-game lead over the Colts, and a 1.5-game lead over the Bengals with head-to-head victories over each of those three divisional leaders, guaranteeing Belichick & Co. the win in any tiebreaker scenario. The path to the Super Bowl in the AFC travels through Foxborough.
For all the fun of hyping a Luck-Brady matchup, this game really wasn’t about them at all. Neither would tell you they played their best game, with Brady throwing two awful interceptions in the first half. Luck falls to 0-3 versus Brady, just as his predecessor did during the six-game Indianapolis losing streak that opened the Brady-Manning rivalry.
During Friday’s podcast, I asked Robert Mays who Luck’s natural rival has been and would be over the course of his career. The obvious guess is Jacksonville’s Blake Bortles, but he is a question mark at this point. Given that Luck has beaten Manning, I think the obvious candidate is Brady, but Brady is also going to be gone from the scene much sooner than Luck. Maybe it’s the guy who probably isn’t going anywhere anytime soon that Luck has to worry about. Brady’s not the nemesis after all. It’s Belichick.
Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images
This Is a Low
What, you want me to explain the Rams? I wish I could. The Rams have beaten the Seahawks and taken down the 49ers in San Francisco this season. They’ve also lost to the Vikings by 28 points and looked so hopeless last week that they turned to Shaun Hill to try to spark their offense. And three weeks removed from allowing 34 points to the Chiefs, a St. Louis defensive resurgence limited Peyton Manning to his lowest-scoring day as a Broncos quarterback in a 22-7 St. Louis victory.
Nobody else has held Manning to just seven points during his time with the Broncos. Even the Seahawks managed to give up a two-point conversion during last season’s 43-8 shellacking in the Super Bowl. The Broncos had scored 17 points or more in each of Manning’s first 41 regular-season games as the Denver quarterback while averaging a whopping 33.5 points. This year’s offense hadn’t been quite as notable as last season’s historically dominant offense, but it had been good enough for 31.8 points per game before Sunday.
St. Louis held that offense to one touchdown, a long Emmanuel Sanders catch-and-run on what appeared to be a blown coverage. To put it in perspective, the Rams allowed 24.8 fewer points than Denver’s average score in its other games this season. That’s the third-largest difference of the season:
Defense Offense Points Allowed Other PF Difference Lions Packers 7 35.9 28.9 Colts Bengals 0 24.9 24.9 Rams Broncos 7 31.8 24.8 Dolphins Chargers 0 24.2 24.2 Eagles Giants 0 22.8 22.8
How, exactly, did the 24th-ranked defense by DVOA heading into the week stop the Broncos offense?
Well, the simplest explanation is that the Rams put Manning in a spot where he couldn’t hurt them: the sideline. The Rams weren’t exactly great on offense, with one meaty 63-yard touchdown pass to Kenny Britt surrounded by five field goals’ worth of bread, but they did enough to hold the ball for almost 36 minutes. The defense played its part by shutting down the Broncos on third and fourth down. Denver had converted 44.4 percent of its third and fourth downs heading into Week 11, the eighth-best rate in the league. On Sunday, the team went just 4-for-15 (.267) on those plays, including an oh-fer in the second half.
I went back and watched those plays again, and there’s not one obvious solution that kept St. Louis afloat. The Rams were able to get pressure on Manning, but it was a little more subtle than your typical attack. They sacked Manning only twice and knocked him down four times on 56 dropbacks, but they had more functional pressure in terms of hurrying him and preventing him from getting comfortable in the pocket.
They also shifted the way Denver designed its plays and how Manning went through his progressions before the game even started. It’s a concept I think about a lot in terms of silly narratives. You know the idea about “establishing the run,” right? For whatever there is to be said about running the ball early (not a lot), if you’re actually a really good rushing offense, you’ve established the run before the game even started. During his MVP season in 2012, do you think Adrian Peterson needed to prove in the first quarter that he was going to run the opposing team over? Of course not. They already knew before the game started. Likewise, the Broncos were already aware the Rams could beat Manning up if they went with long drops, and as a result they tried to build their offense around quick throws.
It’s interesting to talk about the Rams as having such a dominant pass rush because, well, they didn’t for most of the season. While they were rightly hyped as having a fearsome front four heading into the season, they lost Chris Long to short-term IR in Week 1 and scuffled to a historic extent; they had just one sack through their first five games, an NFL record. Since then, things have been better. They’ve produced 18 sacks on 222 dropbacks in their last five games, an 8.1 percent sack rate that’s far closer to their 8.9 percent rate from 2013. They might also get Long back as early as next week, which should make them only more devastating up front.
They’re also developing talent behind that front four. Second-year contributors Alec Ogletree and T.J. McDonald have each taken steps forward this season, notably during this three-game stretch in which the Rams have allowed an average of just 11.3 points to the 49ers, Cardinals, and Broncos. After breaking up three passes, intercepting one, and forcing a fumble against the Cardinals a week ago, Ogletree knocked away two more passes and came away with another pick on Sunday. McDonald, meanwhile, looks like one of those lawn mower safeties who makes plays all over the field; he broke up three attempts on Sunday. The Rams knocked away 12 of Manning’s 54 passes.
As with the Colts, the Broncos couldn’t run the ball and suffered injuries that hindered their ability to move the chains. C.J. Anderson carried the ball just nine times for 29 yards, while Montee Ball went down after reaggravating his groin injury. He wasn’t the only Broncos skill-position player to get hurt, as Julius Thomas missed virtually the entire game with an ankle injury, while Emmanuel Sanders suffered a concussion on a brutal shoulder-to-shoulder hit that was incorrectly ruled to be unnecessary roughness. By the end of the game, Manning was throwing to Demaryius Thomas, Jacob Tamme, Anderson, and the ghost of Wes Welker. That’s not a good group of skill-position targets.
A performance this good might tempt you to wonder whether the Rams could break off a sudden winning streak and emerge as a late entrant into the NFC wild-card picture, and at 4-6 in a wide-open conference, they’re not officially out by any means. It’s also not a guarantee this wins bodes anything for their future. Remember that the Rams blew out the Colts in Indy last year, 38-8, before beating a 6-4 Bears team by 21. At 5-6, a Rams fan might have dreamed they could win out, but they promptly lost their next two games and finished 7-9.
More likely, the Rams have the potential to be a spoiler. They have three games left against the league’s dregs (Raiders, Washington, Giants) and three against playoff-caliber opponents (Chargers, Cardinals, Seahawks). They can be good enough to beat each of those three talented teams on their day, and they can be bad enough to lose to each of the three mediocrities when they’re off. Which Rams team is going to show up over the next six weeks? Your guess is as good as mine. | {
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“The emails released on sites like WikiLeaks are consistent with methods and motivations of Russian directed efforts,” James Clapper said. | AP Photo Clapper calls Russia hacking a 'new aggressive spin on the political cycle'
Director of National Intelligence James Clapper on Thursday called Russia’s alleged hacking and interference with the U.S. election a “new aggressive spin on the political cycle.”
Clapper and Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson issued a statement earlier this month, accusing the Russian government of deploying hackers to meddle in this election season, which has seen breaches of the Democratic National Committee and the personal email of Hillary Clinton's campaign chairman John Podesta.
“The emails released on sites like WikiLeaks are consistent with methods and motivations of Russian-directed efforts,” Clapper said before a security summit on Thursday. “We wouldn’t have made [the statement] unless we were very confident."
He added that, “Going after U.S. political organizations is a new aggressive spin on the political cycle. Regardless, the election will happen on Nov 8.”
Clapper also expressed confidence in the integrity of the election process, despite the hacks that have targeted Democrats. “It would be very difficult for someone or anyone to actually interfere with ballot counts or election results with a cyber-intrusion because they are not connected to the internet," he said.
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The Gangster, the Cop, the Devil 2019
6.9 6717
Akinjeon is a movie starring Dong-seok Ma, Bae-soo Jeon, and Kim Sungkyu. A crime boss teams up with a cop to track down a serial killer. | {
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Duitsland is in het afgelopen jaar meerdere malen opgeschrikt door incidenten met een extreemrechts motief. Deze week nog vonden negen mensen de dood toen een man het vuur opende in twee shishalounges. Vijf vragen over de dreiging in het land.
Welke incidenten hebben er dan plaatsgevonden?
Vorig jaar juni werd politicus Walter Lübcke, die zich had uitgesproken over asielzoekers, vermoord door een persoon die banden zou hebben met Combat 18. Deze neonazistische groep is inmiddels verboden omdat ze wordt gezien als organisatie die het niet schuwt om geweld in te zetten. De cijfers 1 en 8 verwijzen naar de eerste en achtste letters van het alfabet: a en h, de initialen van Adolf Hitler.
In de Duitse plaats Halle schoot een man met extreemrechtse en antisemitische motieven in oktober twee mensen dood. Dit wordt gezien als een mislukte aanslag, omdat een synagoge het eigenlijke doelwit was.
En vorige week nog werden twaalf verdachten die een terreurcel zouden vormen opgepakt. De terroristische groepering zou politici, asielzoekers en moslims als doelwit hebben. Duitse moslimorganisaties zouden deze week nog uit angst aan de bel hebben getrokken naar aanleiding van deze arrestaties.
Na woensdag kan de aanslag bij de twee shishalounges, waarbij negen mensen met een migratieachtergrond werden omgebracht door een dader met extreemrechtse motieven, aan deze zorgwekkende lijst worden toegevoegd.
94 Ooggetuige aanslag Hanau: 'We bleven met z'n tweeën over'
Krijgt extreemrechts dan meer voet aan de grond in Duitsland?
Volgens onder meer de Duitse minister van Binnenlandse Zaken Horst Seehofer lijkt dat wel het geval. Hij zegt al sinds de moord op Lübcke dat de dreiging van het rechts-extremisme groot is. Vrijdag stelde hij zelfs dat het de "grootste veiligheidsdreiging voor Duitsland is".
Daarnaast werd in een vorig jaar gepubliceerd rapport geconcludeerd dat 12.700 Duitse rechts-extremisten bereid zijn om geweld te gebruiken én dat de groep tot een recordaantal van 24.100 aanhangers is gestegen.
Hoe komt dat?
Migratie is een beladen maatschappelijk en politiek thema. Dat geldt vooral in het voormalige Oost-Duitsland, dat op het gebied van economie, werkgelegenheid en maatschappelijke ontwikkelingen nog achter het voormalige West-Duitsland aanhinkt.
Seehofer wijst erop dat extremisten sociale media gebruiken om propaganda de wereld in te helpen en een "klimaat van angst" te creëren.
“Rechts-extremisme is de grootste veiligheidsdreiging.” Horst Seehofer, Duitse minister van Binnenlandse Zaken
Welke rol heeft de AfD-partij?
De opkomst van de rechts-populistische partij Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) in beide regio's baart de traditionele politieke partijen ook grote zorgen. Hanco Jürgens van het Duitsland Instituut in Amsterdam zei eerder tegen NU.nl dat de partij zich opwerpt als de vertegenwoordiger voor de Oost-Duitsers.
"Tijdens de DDR-tijd waren er al anti-Berlijnsentimenten. Het beeld bestaat dat de landelijke hoofdstad er vooral voor zichzelf is. Veel Oost-Duitsers voelen zich niet vertegenwoordigd en zien zichzelf bijvoorbeeld niet terug op televisie - er zijn maar een paar bekende Oost-Duitse presentatoren. Merkel (Angela, de Duitse bondskanselier, red.) is als Oost-Duitse 'een van hen', maar wordt toch als een soort West-Duitser gezien, omdat ze natuurlijk heel goed de taal van de westelijke bondgenoten spreekt."
Veel critici zeggen echter dat de partij een voedingsbodem voor racisme creëert. Zo sprak partijleider Alexander Gauland eerder over "een islamitische invasie".
Wat omvat de tegenbeweging van Duitsland?
Politici, onder wie ook Angela Merkel, hebben zich uitgesproken over de extreemrechtse incidenten. Zoals gezegd is Combat 18 sinds vorig jaar verboden en moeten socialemediaplatforms sinds een paar jaar al strafbaar en extremistisch gedachtegoed verwijderen.
Naar aanleiding van de aanslag in Hanau wordt ook de beveiliging bij onder meer moskeeën aangescherpt. Het is niet bekend hoe dit ingevuld gaat worden.
Na de aanslag in Christchurch, toen tientallen moskeegangers werden doodgeschoten, werden ook in Nederland zichtbare en onzichtbare veiligheidsmaatregelen genomen bij moskeeën. Dit was niet naar aanleiding van concrete dreiging, maar vanwege de angstgevoelens. | {
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Picking a Pad To Fit Your Playstyle
Aaron Dell in his Brian’s Subzero 3’s, skinned to look like Gnetik III’s
When buying new gear, it is important to find gear that fits your specific style of play. Leg pads in particular are one of the most important (and expensive!) purchases. Goalies today have an incredibly diverse choice of leg pads, though in their most basic terms, pads can be sorted into two categories: stiff pads, and soft pads.
What we will cover:
The difference between stiff and soft pads
Advantages and disadvantages of each design
How pads impact your style of play
Common examples of pads in each category
It needs to be said before we get into the distinctions between the two categories that all pads today are butterfly pads. Soft pad or stiff pad, both will perform properly in the butterfly. Both will slide very well. Both will exhibit proper rotation. What we are discussing here are some of the finer details and nuances that will help to fit a pad to your specific style.
The Traditional Soft Pad
Tuukka Rask wearing Vaughn V7 XF pads
Traditionally identified by knee rolls and multiple breaks in the V-roll, the soft pad tends to move with the goalie a little bit more, and flexes to accommodate their movement. This kind of pad tends to kill rebounds when struck. A soft pad absorbs much of the force of impact, leaving the puck nearby to be covered up. In addition, their boot tends to be softer, allowing for a deeper flex if wanted, and some have a tapered toe. Make no mistake though, those beautiful knee rolls are almost entirely for aesthetic purposes.
The soft pads on the market today are not like the pads of the past. They are no longer stuffed full of shredded foam or deer hair—rather, they have a solid core with multiple breaks in it at flex points near in the boot, below the knee, and sometimes above the knee. In front of this core layer are layers of impact dampening foam that help to deaden the rebounds. This pad can work well for the goalie who perhaps is not yet comfortable with the butterfly style, or plays more of a hybrid style. Alternatively, goalies who are very athletic or flexible will enjoy this kind of pad, as it allows them to utilize their full range of movement. Finally, this pad will be for any goalie who places an emphasis on keeping their rebounds in tight.
While a soft pad can move with a goalie very well, they may not have the same coverage as a stiffer pad in the same size. This is partially due to torsion in the pad that can happen easier due to the inner construction. Additionally, soft rebounds can be a gift to the shooter in the slot if not properly handled.
Sergei Bobrovsky in his CCM Eflex III pads, due to release in April
Pads that would fall into this category:
Bauer Reactor line Traditional knee rolls and leather strapping Not the lightest pads on the market
Brian’s Gnetik Series Some of the lightest soft pads on the market right now at 4.6 lbs per pad for Gnetik III’s Smart-Strap elastic strapping system No knee rolls, slightly stiffer face of pad than other soft pads
Brian’s Heritage line (February 2017) Traditional leather strapping, knee rolls, and soft construction Quite light for a soft pad–coming in at 5 lbs per leg
CCM Eflex II Line Some of the most popular pads on the market Traditional knee rolls, leather strapping Some of the heavier pads on the market
CCM Eflex III Line (April 2017) Thinned out profile compared to Eflex II New material for better sliding Much lighter than previous line—5.2 lbs per pad
Vaughn VPG XF Lineup A staple of traditional pad design Flattened knee rolls for more predictable rebounds Carbon reinforced construction prevents shrinking over time
Warrior Ritual GT (upcoming!) Warrior’s take on the traditional pad design, still uses their revolutionary strapping Traditional knee rolls Tapered boot break designed to seal to the ice when in butterfly
The Stiff Pad
Devan Dubnyk has been wearing the Bauer Supreme 1S pad for the past few seasons Image credit Blueseatblogs
The stiff pad is what many people picture when they think of a butterfly goalie. With their flat faces and steeper boot angles, stiff pads take up as much of the net as possible. These pads will send rebounds far into the corners, and will generally stand taller and straighter. If soft pads move with you, stiff pads allow you to move, while sitting on top, to provide more coverage. These pads are by no means unwieldy though. Stiff pads such as the Warrior G3’s tend to be some of the lightest on the market.
Their construction is usually of a solid core, with flex points at the boot, and occasionally, right below the knee. In front of that will lay high density foam, which helps to deal with the rebounds. Goalies who will find this pad suits them are ones who are comfortable in the butterfly, and who want to have as much coverage as possible. If you have a very narrow butterfly, stiff pads can be gotten with an aggressive pre-curve to help close the 5-hole, though this is an option that more flexible goalies may find interferes with their movement. Of course, if you would like your rebounds to bounce deep into the corners, this style of pad will be for you.
Mishandled rebounds from a stiff pad are also not a happy occasion. If, instead of shooting into the corner, your rebound careens directly onto a player’s stick, you will have less time to get over to make that save.
Cam Talbot in his CCM Premier Pads: image credit The Oilers Rig
Pads that would fall into this category:
Bauer Supreme 1S Line One of the lightest pads on the market, this pad utilizes fully screen-printed graphics, and a one-piece skin as opposed to leather or jenpro Custom Rotation System elastic strapping saves weight and eliminates buckles Durability of new materials is uncertain at this point
Brian’s Subzero Line Pioneers of elastic strapping for goal pads, Brian’s have used their Smart-Strap system for several generations of this pad Capable of impressive custom options, Brian’s is one of the last Companies to build their pro-level pads in Canada Entry level Netzero line are excellent pads for a starter price Weigh in at only 4.6 lbs per pad
CCM Premier Line One of the most popular pads on the market, the Premier is a classic for butterfly goalies One of the heavier pads on the market Still uses leather strapping
Vaughn Ventus Series Also has pro options made in Canada New strapping system and pad design decreases weight to under 4.6 lbs per pad
Warrior Ritual G3 Line The lightest pads on the market right now at 4.2 lbs per pad, the Warriors are on the cutting edge of design and innovation Senior line has some of the highest quality pads for that price point All elastic strapping—from toe tie to knee block
With all that in mind, it is important to understand that not everything is perfectly cut and dry. While the Warrior Ritual G3’s are a stiff pad for rebounds, they have a fair amount of flex throughout. The Brian’s subzero 3’s are a very stiff pad, except for the boot, which is one of the softest on the market.
What you should have gained from this article is a greater understanding of the general structure of pads, and how they will impact how your play. If you are not sure what kind of pad suits your style, it is highly recommended to try as many pads on in store as possible. You will get the best idea of fit and feel in person, though you can still choose to buy online after you have a good understanding.
Want to Browse Online?
There are A LOT of options when it comes to goalie gear. If you’re like most goalies you want to browse gear and compare prices before you head to the store to try it on. Check out some of the sites below to dream about your next set-up
If you just want to hang out, talk about technique, or buy used gear you can try
For deals on goalie gear visit our site sponsor below | {
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The hustle for campaign cash can get a little confusing but to schedule a high dollar fundraiser at the home of an Adolf Hitler art collector on the eve of the the holiest day of the year in Judaism, Yom Kippur, seems sloppy even for the most amateur of campaigns. But that is the predicament Republican presidential candidate Marco Rubio finds himself in ahead of a scheduled fundraiser at the home of wealthy Republican benefactor and art enthusiast, Harlan Crow.
Crow and his wife are scheduled to host a $2,000-per-couple event for Rubio today at their 8-acre estate in the wealthy Republican enclave of Highland Park, an uber-conservative Dallas suburb. Unfortunately for Rubio and the Harlans, the "special guest," chair of the House Select Committee on Benghazi, South Carolina Rep. Trey Gowdy, seems to have backed out of the gig at the last minute:
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See, aside from being a big time Republican donor, Harlan is an avid art collector whose library houses two original paintings by Adolph Hitler and "busts of dictators, including Russian communist leader Vladimir Lenin, Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescu and Yugoslav dictator Josip Broz Tito." Here is how the Dallas Morning News Wayne Slater described Harlan's collection when 2012 Republican nominee Mitt Romney caused a stir with his visit to the Harlan residence for cash:
His personal library would rival a small college, complete with first editions on American history, several original Gilbert Stewart paintings decorating the walls and, under long glass displays, letters of famous people from Thomas Jefferson to the Wright brothers. Then there’s the room mementos of the principals of World War II – on one wall, a painting by Winston Churchill, on another wall a landscape by Dwight Eisenhower and, on a third wall, two original paintings of a European city scene by Adolph Hitler. On an antique table is a signed copy of Churchill’s book on fly fishing. Outside, should Romney get an opportunity to wander the grounds, is a garden of tyrants. Crow has collected busts and statues of famous dictators of the past, which he displays with a certain elan on the lawn. There’s a head of Stalin, a rare statue of Fidel Castro, a towering Lenin and various other bad guys expropriated from their countries of origin.
But Rubio's timing on his cash hunt with Harlan may be why his brush with the Hitler paintings seem to be setting off more of a backlash than Romney's did. Rubio's event occurs ahead of the observance of the Jewish Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur. Democratic National Committee Chairwoman, Debbie Wasserman Schultz has called on the Florida senator to cancel the fundraiser, citing the Yum Kippur holiday and calling the fundraiser "a gross act of disrespect": | {
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L'avantage avec cette majorité socialiste, c'est que l'opposition n'a aucune stratégie à mettre en place pour lui faire perdre la face… Elle se saborde très bien toute seule ! Nouvel épisode ce jeudi 17 novembre, alors que le gouvernement a présenté sa fameuse réforme du prélèvement à la source (PAS) de l'impôt sur le revenu, qu'il souhaite mettre en place à partir de 2018.
Un chamboulement des habitudes des Français que le ministre de l'Economie est très fier d'avoir pu intégrer à son projet de loi de finances (PLF) pour 2017, en discussion ces jours-ci à l'Assemblée nationale. "C'est une belle et grande réforme qui vous est proposée", "portée par les uns et les autres depuis plus de 50 ans" et "soutenue par l'opinion publique", déclare ainsi Michel Sapin à l'ouverture des débats.
Ce jeudi matin, fort d'une majorité sur les bancs du Palais Bourbon, le ministre n'a besoin que d'une chose pour y assurer le vote de son oeuvre : faire en sorte les troupes socialistes soient présentes pour contrer d'immanquables attaques lancées par la droite. Cette dernière présente effectivement une série d'amendements de suppression de la réforme. Un exercice de style, puisque l'opposition sait très bien qu'ils vont être rejetés un à un, ce qui est le cas. Jusque-là, tout se passe comme prévu…
Rassurés, les députés PS quittent l'hémicycle…
Une fois ce jeu parlementaire terminé, l'article 38 du PLF, qui introduit le prélèvement à la source, peut commencer à être discuté. Et là, patatras ! Puisque les amendements de suppression ont tous été rejetés, les députés de gauche se croient autorisés à retourner vaquer à leurs occupations, dans les bureaux ou à la buvette de l'Assemblée. Mais un détail leur a échappé : l'amendement 915, déposé par les députés Les Républicains (LR) Marie-Christine Dalloz et Marc Le Fur. Celui-ci n'est pas un amendement de suppression, il prévoit simplement de rendre obligatoire le prélèvement mensuel pour les contribuables qui s'acquittent de l'impôt sur le revenu. La majorité ne s'en méfie donc pas.
Grosse erreur ! Car en faisant adopter, en l'absence d'une majorité de gauche suffisante pour l'en empêcher, la mensualisation obligatoire, la droite vient de modifier entièrement le texte de l'article 38 ! La discussion de la suite devient alors automatiquement caduque, et voilà le prélèvement à la source… jeté avec l'eau du bain ! Les socialistes se sont fait avoir comme des bleus.
Le Sénat en embuscade
Panique sur le banc du gouvernement, qui demande une suspension de séance. Ce grain de sable dans sa machine peut en effet tourner à un fiasco spectaculaire… Car au Sénat, qui discutera du PLF après l'Assemblée, la droite est majoritaire et l'attend au tournant. Jusqu'à présent, comme l'avait révélé Marianne, elle avait prévu de rejeter purement et simplement tout le texte, en bloc, dès l'ouverture des discussions la semaine prochaine. Histoire de ne pas, en pleine période de primaire notamment, s'embêter à discuter un budget qui promet de toute façon d'être modifié après les élections de 2017… Mais là, l'aubaine est alléchante, et pourrait lui faire changer son fusil d'épaule : puisque leurs collègues de la droite à l'Assemblée ont réussi à dézinguer une disposition-phare du gouvernement, pourquoi ne pas leur emboîter le pas et adopter ce tout nouveau texte en forme de gifle pour le gouvernement ?
Heureusement pour nos sous-doués socialistes, le règlement de l'Assemblée nationale prévoit un dernier moyen de se sortir de ce mauvais pas : l'article 101. Celui-ci autorise "de droit" le gouvernement à demander une seconde délibération "de tout ou partie" de ses projets de loi, "avant le commencement des explications de vote". Normalement, ce devrait être chose faite dans la journée. Un dernier recours que la majorité a déjà dû utiliser récemment, lors d'un autre fâcheux épisode pour les socialistes : dans un hémicycle déjà très clairsemé, les députés avaient rejeté le 26 octobre, grâce à une bourde de trois élus du PS, un article du gouvernement prévoyant de transformer les grands utilisateurs de plateformes collaboratives (comme Airbnb ou Drivy) en travailleurs indépendants rattachés au RSI. Encore une fois, donc, la gauche aura eu chaud ce jeudi. Mais il faudrait une bonne fois pour toutes en tirer la leçon : si elle se refait avoir lors de la seconde délibération, elle n'aura pas de troisième chance… | {
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Physics, Topology, Logic and Computation: a Rosetta Stone
Posted by John Baez
It’s done!
John Baez and Mike Stay, Physics, topology, logic and computation: a Rosetta Stone.
Learn how category theory serves as a lingua franca that lets us translate between certain aspects of these four subjects… and perhaps, eventually, build a general science of systems and processes! In a nutshell, it goes like this:
object morphism Physics system process Topology manifold cobordism Logic proposition proof Computation data type program \array{ & object & morphism \\ Physics & system & process \\ Topology & manifold & cobordism \\ Logic & proposition & proof \\ Computation & data type & program }
It takes a while to explain the details.
Actually, I’ve come to feel that in academia no project is ever really done. At least, not until you lose interest or die — which, come to think of it, is just an extreme case of losing interest. There’s always room for revising, improving, extending, and otherwise revisiting old projects. This is particularly evident with the rise of electronic media like the arXiv. When you catch the umpteenth typo, do you put up yet another version of your paper or not? It just depends how much you care. There are certainly lots of typos still lurking in this paper, and probably much worse problems. But, we’ve tried to take all your comments into account — sometimes by judiciously not doing anything about them — and I feel they’ve vastly improved the paper. Thanks, all of you! We could never have done it without all you logicians and computer scientists.
Posted at March 11, 2008 5:47 AM UTC | {
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„Ich habe vor 30 Jahren angefangen zu schreiben. Zuhause gab es keine Pressefreiheit, ich musste mich verstecken und durfte die Sachen nicht veröffentlichen. Man durfte keine Kritik üben oder eine andere Meinung haben. In Deutschland schreibe ich meine Meinung auf, ich werde bald einen Blog machen. Man darf alles sagen. Das steht auch im Grundgesetz. Und hier wird gewählt. Wenn eine Kanzlerin oder ein Kanzler nicht wieder gewählt wird, kann sie nicht bleiben. Auch der Präsident darf nicht lebenslang im Amt bleiben. Ich schätze das Grundgesetz und finde es toll, dass wir das in Deutschland haben.“
Taha aus dem Irak | {
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In one rapidly changing East Austin neighborhood, dogs now outnumber children nearly 2 to 1, according to a new report from UT’s Institute for Urban Policy Research and Analysis.
Researchers released the findings today in an addendum to a March 2018 report, which explored the effects of gentrification on longtime residents of East Austin. The study focused on one particular block between East Seventh and East 11th streets. Eric Tang, associate professor of African and African Diaspora Studies Department at UT, says researchers kept hearing stories about the influx of dogs in the neighborhood, which seemed to coincide with the loss of children.
“This was the perception among longstanding residents,” Tang says. “We never measured that in our original survey, but we thought it was worth it to go back to the neighborhood after the first report was published to answer the question more definitively.”
Researchers returned to the neighborhood in April, asking residents of 171 single-family homes about their household pets, along with the number of children who lived in the residence. Apartments were excluded from the survey due to possible restrictions on pets. The findings released today confirm residents’ perceptions: Researchers counted 116 dogs in the neighborhood and just 66 children.
"What we find is that childlessness is kind of an index for higher incomes, economic and social homogeneity within the urban core, and ultimately, more economic segregation within the entire metropolitan area."
Tang says the team also looked into data from the Austin Independent School District, which showed only six students living in 1,930 new apartment units in the study area.
The loss of children coincides with other major demographic shifts happening in the neighborhood, which was once a central part of the city’s “Negro District.” The district, created by Austin’s 1928 Master Plan, relegated residents of color to the area east of I-35.
Between 2000 and 2010, the neighborhood’s black population fell by 60 percent, while its Latino population dropped by 33 percent. Meanwhile, the white population jumped by 442 percent. There are also major economic changes at play. From 2000 to 2016, the area’s median family income grew from $28,929 to $69,570.
“So it’s not as if people are choosing not to have children because they can’t afford it,” Tang says. “What we find is that childlessness is kind of an index for higher incomes, economic and social homogeneity within the urban core, and ultimately, more economic segregation within the entire metropolitan area.”
Olivia Sullings, a recent UT graduate who worked on the study, says the team went into this latest survey expecting to find an overabundance of dogs. But ultimately, the rates of dog ownership in the neighborhood were more or less in line with the national average. About half of all American households have dogs.
“We were really, really surprised to actually find" that there weren't an unusually high number of dogs, Sullings says. “It was the lack of children, and it just made it seem like there were so many dogs.” | {
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Apple and Samsung fined by Italian authorities over slow phones Published duration 24 October 2018
image copyright Getty Images image caption Apple faces a fine roughly twice as large as Samsung's
Apple and Samsung have been fined millions of euros each by Italian authorities over "planned obsolescence" in smartphones.
Apple was hit with a 10 million euro (£8.8m) fine while Samsung received a smaller bill of five million euros.
"Apple and Samsung implemented unfair commercial practices", the Italian competition authority said in a statement.
Software updates were said to have slowed the performance of older phones.
This "caused serious malfunctions and significantly reduced performance", which provoked users into upgrading their devices, the authority said.
The companies encouraged users to upgrade operating system software but did not make clear the increased demands that new software would make on smartphones, according to the authority.
Plan to appeal
Samsung said it was "disappointed" with the decision and said it would appeal.
"Samsung did not issue any software update that reduced the Galaxy Note 4's performance," a spokesman said.
"In contrast, Samsung has always released software updates enabling our customers to have the best experience possible."
The BBC has contacted Apple for comment.
Apple was fined more than Samsung because the tech giant also failed to tell customers important details about iPhone batteries - including how to prolong their lifespan.
Both firms must publish a declaration on their Italian websites telling consumers of the authority's decision.
Last year, Apple confirmed that it deliberately slowed down some older iPhone models because their battery performance diminished over time.
It argued the move would "prolong the life" of devices.
The following month, French prosecutors launched a probe over accusations of "planned obsolescence" in iPhones.
A judgement in that case is yet to be delivered. | {
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In a further indication that New Jersey’s Chris Christie still harbors presidential ambitions, the Garden State governor today vetoed legislation that would have banned all magazines over ten rounds and made verboten a large number of garden variety semi-auto .22 rifles. The Association of New Jersey Rifle and Pistol Clubs‘ celebratory press release after the jump . . .
Today Governor Christie vetoed A2006 / S993, legislation that would have banned firearms magazines larger than 10 rounds and would have banned an entire class of popular .22 caliber semi-automatic rifles. The veto marks the end of the road for this legislation for the 2014-2015 session.
“After months of intense battle over this misguided legislation that won’t stop another crime or prevent another tragedy, we are grateful that Governor Christie has heard the voice of the outdoor community and ended the discussion,” said ANJRPC Executive Director Scott Bach. “The Governor clearly recognizes the difference between legislation that punishes violent criminals vs. legislation that targets the rights of law-abiding citizens.”
PLEASE THANK GOVERNOR CHRISTIE TODAY!
Please thank Governor Christie today for his veto of A2006 / S993. You can call the Governor’s office at 609-292-6000, write him at P.O. Box 001, Trenton, N.J. 08625, or send an email using the online contact form (select “law and public safety” from the drop-down menu, then pick any sub-topic).
And thank YOU for weathering this months-long storm of attacks on gun owners along with us. It is because of YOUR actions, YOUR calls and letters, YOUR attendance at hearings, and YOUR refusal to give up no matter what the odds, that today’s outcome was possible.
Although today’s action marks the end of a long and very arduous battle, the fight is far from over. Lawmakers will be back after the November elections, and will continue their relentless attacks on legal gun ownership – and it will be up to gun owners to continue to defend freedom. | {
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As rumored, Verizon is raising the speeds of its fiber optic internet packages. The company is revamping its pricing tiers, getting rid of some of the lower levels and doubling the speed of the fastest package. As of sometime next month, the top speed on Verizon's FiOS network will be 300Mbps down and 65Mbps up, compared to the current "ultimate" package of 150 / 35. The 150Mbps tier will remain, as will the slowest package of 15 / 5, but Verizon is scaling up the plans in between, offering 75Mbps and 50Mbps downstream speeds instead of 35 and 25. The upstream speeds will remain the same as before, at 35Mbps and 25Mbps. That confirms almost everything we'd heard previously, although Verizon didn't give a specific launch date for the new tiers.
If you're in an area that offers it, Verizon provides some of the fastest residential service in the US, and this new top speed is pretty exciting. That said, it's likely to be significantly pricier than even the current $199.99 a month you'll pay for 150Mbps FiOS. Verizon says it will release prices next month, and we're not sure whether rates will be bumped only for the new tiers (which are just different enough from the old ones to justify an increase) or whether we'll also see a new minimum price for the 15 / 5 bundle, which is currently $54.99 a month or more, depending on location. Either way, we certainly wouldn't expect fiber to get any more affordable in the coming years. | {
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NEW YORK -- Tyson Ross, an All-Star pitcher for San Diego two years ago, was among 35 players who became free agents when their teams declined to offer them 2017 contracts Friday.
Washington outfielder Ben Revere and Philadelphia outfielder Cody Asche also were cut loose, along with Arizona catcher Welington Castillo and pitcher Rubby De La Rosa, Baltimore pitcher Vance Worley, and Los Angeles Dodgers reliever Louis Coleman.
Milwaukee first baseman Chris Carter and Pittsburgh pitcher Jeff Locke were non-tendered as well; their teams had already designated them for assignment earlier this week.
Teams cut players at the tender deadline to avoid committing to salary arbitration, in which about one-sixth of next season's salary is guaranteed.
Tyson Ross was limited to one major league appearance this year and had surgery in October for thoracic outlet syndrome. AP Photo/Chris Carlson
Ross, a 29-year-old right-hander, was 13-14 with a 2.81 ERA in 2014 and 10-12 with a 3.26 ERA the following season. He was limited to one major league appearance this year and had surgery in October for thoracic outlet syndrome. Recovery time was expected to be four to six months, and the Padres deemed him too pricey for arbitration after he earned $9,625,000 this year.
Asche, 26, was designated for assignment earlier Friday to clear a roster spot for left-hander David Rollins, claimed off waivers from Texas. Asche hit .240 with 31 homers and 125 RBIs for the Phillies during 371 games in the past four seasons and would have been eligible for arbitration for the first time.
Revere, 28, was acquired from Toronto in January for reliever Drew Storen but strained his right oblique in his first at-bat of the season, left after four innings and went on the disabled list. Revere returned May 6, hit just .217 with two homers and 24 RBIs in 103 games, and would have been on track for a raise from his $6.25 million salary.
Castillo batted .264 with 14 homers and 68 RBIs and would have gotten a big raise from his $3.7 million salary.
Thirteen players agreed to deals ahead of the deadline, including Colorado reliever Jake McGee ($5.9 million), Oakland first baseman Yonder Alonso ($4 million), Chicago White Sox second baseman Brett Lawrie ($3.5 million) and outfielder Avisail Garcia ($3 million), Minnesota infielder Eduardo Escobar ($2.6 million) and New York Mets catcher Rene Rivera ($1.75 million).
Milwaukee reached deals with second baseman Scooter Gennett ($2,525,000) and outfielder Kirk Nieuwenhuis ($900,000 in majors, $257,000 in minors).
Pittsburgh agreed to an $800,000, one-year contract with left-hander Wade LeBlanc that includes a $750,000 salary next year and a $1.25 million team option for 2018 with a $50,000 buyout.
San Francisco struck deals with right-hander Cory Gearrin ($1.05 million) and infielder Ehire Adrianza ($600,000 in majors and $300,000 in minors).
Atlanta agreed to contracts with catcher Anthony Recker ($800,000) and left-hander Paco Rodriguez ($637,500).
Among players who were already free agents, left-hander Brian Duensing agreed to a $2 million, one-year deal with the World Series champion Chicago Cubs. | {
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You may be thinking to yourself right now, “everybody is a DJ these days.” Well you may not be too far off there. We've recently heard that ex-porn star/actress Sasha Grey is now an EDM DJ.
Backstory:
Sasha Grey isn't on the level of say, Jenna Jameson, but she did originally make a name for herself by going into hardcore porn at a young age. Unlike most porn you (or I) have ever seen, she's actually a legitimately decent actress – she won numerous Adult Industry Performer Awards over her brief career. She also has been in other films and TV shows (including Entourage). In 2011, Grey shifted focus to her band Telecine. She also dabbles in DJing.
You can stream Sasha Grey's recent mix below or download it here: It's with DJ A-Cup which I could make a hilarious bad joke here but I won't. We expect Grey will get a lot of hate and harsh words, but ya know – it's a beautiful day outside and as long as the music is good we welcome everyone who tries to make it. | {
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Google develops human-like text-to-speech artificial intelligence system
Google claimed that "Tacotron 2" can detect from context the difference between the noun "desert" and verb "desert" and alter its pronunciation accordingly.
Atom News
In a major step towards its "AI first" dream, Google has developed a text-to-speech artificial intelligence (AI) system that will confuse you with its human-like articulation.
The tech giant's text-to-speech system called "Tacotron 2" delivers an AI-generated computer speech that almost matches with the voice of humans, technology news website Inc.com reported.
At Google I/O 2017 developers conference, company's Indian-origin CEO Sundar Pichai announced that the internet giant was shifting its focus from mobile-first to "AI first" and launched several products and features, including Google Lens, Smart Reply for Gmail and Google Assistant for iPhone.
According to a paper published in arXiv.org, the system first creates a spectrogram of the text, a visual representation of how the speech should sound.
That image is put through Google's existing WaveNet algorithm, which uses the image and brings AI closer than ever to indiscernibly mimicking human speech. The algorithm can easily learn different voices and even generates artificial breaths.
"Our model achieves a mean opinion score (MOS) of 4.53 comparable to a MOS of 4.58 for professionally recorded speech," the researchers were quoted as saying.
On the basis of its audio samples, Google claimed that "Tacotron 2" can detect from context the difference between the noun "desert" and the verb "desert," as well as the noun "present" and the verb "present," and alter its pronunciation accordingly.
It can place emphasis on capitalised words and apply the proper inflection when asking a question rather than making a statement, the company said in the paper.
Meanwhile, Google's engineers did not reveal much information but they left a big clue for developers to figure out how far they have come in developing this system.
According to the report, each of the '.wav' file samples has a filename containing either the term "gen" or "gt."
Based on the paper, it's highly probable that "gen" indicates speech generated by Tacotron 2 and "gt" is real human speech. ("GT" likely stands for "ground truth," a machine learning term that basically means "the real deal".) | {
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Ötnapos, all inclusive, kézműves sörrel és szaunaélménnyel ellátott úttal csábítják a magyar IT-szakerőket Tallinnba. Észtország kifogyóban van a tech munkaerőből, ezért toborzó kampányt indított.
Az ingyen repjegy, szállás és szórakozás mellett szakmai programok is várják a jelentkezőket, akiket elgondolkoztat a lehetőség, hogy a jövőben Észtországban vállaljanak munkát. A mindössze 1,3 milliós ország egyre növekvő informatikai és távközlési szektorral rendelkezik. Az előrejelzések szerint 2020-ra 37 ezer IT-szakember hiányzik majd a piacról, és a betöltetlen pozíciók egy részére Magyarországról keresnek jelölteket. Többek között olyan helyekre, mint a Taxify, a Twilio, a Microsoft, a Veriff vagy a Swedbank. A Career Hunt elnevezésű kampányt 16 másik országban is elindították, Európán belül és kívül is.
Nehéz embert találni
„A technológiai szektor számára különösen nagy kihívás megfelelő embereket találni manapság, ezért találtuk ki ezt a programot, amelynek keretében 12 partnercégünket lehet közelebbről megismerni. Észtországról nem annyira elterjedt, hogy mekkora potenciál rejlik itt az IT iparágban. Innen indult a Skype és Európában harmadikak vagyunk a lakossághoz viszonyított startupok számát tekintve” – mondta az Indexnek Kaisa-Triin Kosenkranius, a Work In Estonia Career Hunt projektmenedzsere.
A toborzó kampány során a kiválasztott jelöltek öt napos meghívást kapnak Észtországba, ahol megismerkedhetnek IT-óriásokkal, ellátogatnak a NATO internetes biztonsági központjába és a Robotexre, a világ legnagyobb robotikai fesztiváljára, de találkozhatnak IT-cégek vezetőivel és akár éles állásinterjúkon is részt vehetnek. A szervezők belátták, országot váltani még egy jobb állás miatt sem könnyű, ezért döntöttek az utaztatás mellett. Már több ezer jelentkezést kaptak, sokat Magyarországról.
Magasabb a fizetés?
Nem tudtuk elképzelni, ki költözne Észtországba, ezért kerestünk valakit, aki már megtette. Bugarszki Zsolt öt éve él Észtországban, 2013-ban költözött Tallinnba a családjával, feleségével és kislányával. Kutatófejlesztőként dolgozik a Tallinni Egyetemen, emellett egy észt startup, a Helpific társalapítója. Egy egyetemi csereprogrammal kezdődött minden, de miután megtapasztalta, hogy Észtország milyen gyorsan fejlődik, úgy döntött, hogy kint folytatja a karrierjét.
„Egyetemi munkát lehet otthon is találni, de sosem gondoltam volna korábban, hogy egyszer startupokkal is tudok foglalkozni. A közszféra fizetései is jóval magasabbak, az érkezésem pillanatában háromszorosára emelkedett a bérem az otthonihoz képest, azóta a különböző projektekkel és a startup-fejlesztéssel együtt ez ma már hatszoros pénz. A munkakultúra teljesen más, mint otthon. Akik szeretnek sokat dolgozni, azoknak bejön Észtország. Kihívást a zord időjárás és a depresszív északi stílus jelent, de a munkában elért sikerek eddig bőven kompenzáltak minket. Egy pár évig még biztosan maradunk, de hosszabb távon valószínűleg olyan országba költözünk, ahol a piac nagyobb és jobban lehet hasznosítani az itt megszerzett tudást” – mesélte az Indexnek Zsolt.
Magyarországról toboroznak
Mariana Mutso, Észtország legnagyobb IT-tanácsadó cégének, a Helmesnek a HR-ese. Az Indexnek elmondta, az IT-ipar virágzik Észtországban, a megbízók legtöbbször nemzetközi cégek, így a nyelvi problémák ritkán jelentenek akadályt, és jó látniuk, hogy a magyar jelentkezők általában kiválóan beszélnek angolul és magasan képzettek. Helmes többnyire Magyarországról, Oroszországból, Grúziából, Litvániából és Belorussziából importál munkaerőt, a közelség és a kulturális hasonlóságok miatt.
Az előzetes interjúztatást a Jobbatical nemzetközi állásközvetítő portál végzi. A cég vezérigazgatója, Karoli Hindriks szerint a technológiai szektorban a munkaerőhiány jelenti világszerte, így Észtországban is az egyik legnagyobb problémát. A most indított kampány megváltoztathatja az emberek toborzásról alkotott elképzeléseit. „Az egyszerű álláshirdetés már nem elég” – mutat rá a szakember. „A munkavállalók sokkal mobilabbak, mint korábban, és még nagyobb erőfeszítésre van szükség az elérésükhöz”.
Hindriks elmondta: a Korn Ferry fejvadász cég felmérése szerint 2030-ra több mint 85 millió képzett szakember fog hiányozni a világpiacról, ez nagyjából Németország lakosságának felel meg. Az IT egy tehetségeket igénylő iparág, és amelyik cég vagy ország felismeri, hogyan menjen elé ezeknek a folyamatoknak, jelentős előnyt szerez. „Az előrejelzések szerint a következő 10 évben 1 millió IT-szakember fog hiányozni csak az Egyesült Államokban, ráadásul a startupok képe is kezd megváltozni. 2013-ben még 41 százalékuk a Szilícium-völgyben székelt, ma mindössze 16 százalékuk, míg Kínában 35 százalék indul.” | {
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The Boston Daily Globe.
Vol. ? Boston, Mass., Monday, April 18, 1881. No. ?
MORMON MYSTERIES.
_____
Secrets of the Endowment House Revealed.
_____
One of the Victims Relates Her
Sad Experiences.
_____
Disgusting Ceremonies of a Salt Lake Marriage. Our telegraphic columns told the story recently of Miss Caroline Owens, the second wife of John Miles, the Mormon, by whom she was lured from England to Salt Lake and induced to become his wife on the pretence that he had no other. After the ceremony, nevertheless, she was introduced to one Emily Spencer as her husband's first wife, in consequence of which revelation she lived a life of misery and torture. In the Chicago Inter-Ocean she thus describes the scenes that were enacted in the Endowment House on the day of her marriage:
"The Mormon Endowment House is a plain adobe building, two stories high, built like a small dwelling-house, so as not to attract attention. There are blinds to all the windows, which are nearly always kept down. On a certain day I went to the Endowment House at 8 o'clock in the morning, taking with me my endowment clothes, consisting of garments, robe, cap, apron and moccasins. I believe people used to take their own oil, but that is now discontinued, as fees are charged. I went into a small room attached to the main building (designated in the plan by the name of the reception room, which was crowded with men and women having their bundles of clothing. The entrance door is on the east side; and in the southeast corner there is another, next to which the desk stood, where the clerk recorded the names. Around the north and west sides were benches for the people to sit. On going up to the desk I presented my recommend from the bishop in whose ward I was staying, and George Reynolds, who was then acting as clerk, asked me my name, those of my parents, when and where I was born, and when I was
Baptized Into the Mormon Church. That over, he told me to leave my hat, cloak and shoes in that room, and taking up my bundle, I went into the room marked 3 on the plan, where I sat waiting till it came my turn to be washed. One of the women, an officiating high priestess, told me to come behind the curtain, where I could hear a great deal of splashing, and subdued conversation. I had to step into a long bath, about half full of water, when another woman proceeded to wash me. I objected strongly to this part of the business, but she told me to show a more humble spirit. However, when she got down to my feet, she let me go, and I was turned over to the woman, who had spoken to me first, and whose nome was Bathesheba Smith, one of the widows of Apostle George A. Smith. She wore a large, shiny apron, and her sleeves tucked up above the elbows. She looked thoroughly like business. Another woman was standing beside her with a large wooden spoon and some green olive oil in a cow's horn. This woman poured the oil out of the spoon into Bathsheba's hand, who immediately put it on my head, ears, eyes, mouth, and every part of my body, and, as she greased me, she muttered a kind of prayer over each member of my body: My head, that I might have a knowledge of the truths of God; my eyes, that I might see the glories of the kingdom; my mouth, that I might at all times speak the truth; my arms, that they might be strong in the defence of the gospel; my bosom -- I do not want to tell this part of the story, but I do want people to know the truth, and how disgusting and indelicate this thing is.
Mormon People Deny Many of These Things, and civilized and decent people can scarcely realize that this institution is as infamous as it really is, but I solemnly assert that these things do exist. To continue: My bosom, that I might nourish the children whom I might raise by my husband (I was not then married, but expected to be), and that I might raise up a goodly seed, that they might be pillars of strength to the upbuilding and strengthening of God's kingdom on earth. And so she got down to my feet, when she hoped they might be swift in the paths of righteousness and truth. She then turned me over to the women who had washed me, and who wispered my new and celestial name in my ear. I believe I am to be called up on the morning of the resurrection by it. It was Sarah. I felt disappointed. I thought I should have received a more distinguished name. She told me that my name must never be spoken, but often thought of, to keep away evil spirits. I should be required to speak it once that day, but she would tell me in what part of the ceremony, and that I should never again have to speak it. She then told me to put on my garments. These are made in one piece. On the right breast is a square, on the left a compass, in the centre a small hole, which is called the 'stone.' We were told that, as long as we kept them on, no harm could befall us, and that, when we changed them, we were not to take them all off at once, but slip out a limb at a time, and immediately dive into the clean ones. The neck was never to be cut low, or the sleeves short, as that would be patterning after the fashions of the Gentiles. After this I put on my clothes, and in my stocking feet waited with those who were washed and anointed until she had finished the remaining two or three. This done, the little calico curtains were drawn aside, and t
The Men and Women Stood Revealed to Each Other. The men looked very uncomfortable, and not at all picturesque. They only had their garments and shirts on, and they really did seem as though they were ashamed of themselves, as well they might be. Joseph F. Smith then came to where we were all waiting, and told us that, if we wanted to back out, now was our time, because we should not be able afterward, and that we were bound to go right through. All those who wanted to go through were to hold up their hands, which, of course, everyone did, believing that all the good and holy things, that were to be seen and heard in the House of the Lord were yet to come. He then told us that, if ever any of us attempted to reveal what we saw and heard in the house, our memories would be blighted, and we should be everlastingly damned, for they were things too holy to be spoken of between each other, after we had once left the Endowment House. All were then told to be very quiet and listen. Joseph F. Smith then went away. In a few minutes we heard voices talking loudly, so that the people could hear them in the adjoining room. I afterward found out, in passing through, that it was the prayer-circle room. It was supposed to be a conversation between Elohim (head god) and Jehovah. The conversation was as follows:
"Elohim to Jehovah -- 'Well, Jehovah, I think we will create an earth; let Michael go down and collect all the elements together and found one."
"Answer -- 'Very well, O Lord God, it shall be done.'
"Then, calling to another, we could hear him say: 'Michael, go down and collect all the elements together and form an earth, and then report to us what you have done.'
"Answer -- 'Very well, O Lord God.' "The man they called Michael then left the prayer-circle room and came through the room they called the World, into the Garden of Eden, the door of which was shut that faced the places where we were standing, listening and waiting. He remained there a second or two, and everything was quiet. At the end of that time we heard him going back the same way, to where Elohim and Jehovah were waiting. When he got back, he said:
"'I have collected all the elements together and founded an earth. What wouldst thou have me do next?'
"Using the same formula every time, they sent him down to the world, they then told him to separate the land from the water, light from darkness, etc., and so they went regularly through the creation; but they always told him to come up and report what he had done. When the creation was supposed to be finished, Michael went back and told them it was very fair and beautiful to look upon. Elohim then said to Jehovah that he thought they better go down and have a look at it, which they did, and agreed with Michael that it was a beautiful place; that it seemed a pity it should be of no particular use, but thought it would be a good idea to create man to live in it and cultivate these things. They then came out of the garden of Eden (which was supposed to have been newly finished), and, shutting the door after them, came to where we were standing. We were then told to shut our eyes, and Jehovah said to Michael, 'Give me a handful of dust, and I will create man.' We were then told to open our eyes, and we saw a man, that he had taken from
The Crowd, Standing Beside Jehovah, and to whom Jehovah said: 'I will call thee Adam, for thou shalt be the father of all my kind.' Jehovah then said it was not good for man to be alone, so he would create a woman and helpmeet for him. We were again told to close our eyes, and Adam was requested to go to sleep, which he obligingly did. Jehovah was then supposed to take a rib from Adam's side and form Eve. We were then told to open our eyes and look upon the handiwork of the Lord. When we did, we saw a woman taken from among the crowd, who was standing by Adam's side. Jehovah said he would call the woman Eve, because she would be the mother of all mankind. The door of the Garden of Eden was then opened, and we all marched in with our little bundles, the men going first, as they always take the precedence, and we ranged ourselves round the room on benches. The four sides of this room are painted in imitation of trees, flowers, birds, wild beasts, etc. The ceiling was painted blue, dotted over with golden stars. In the centre of it was the sun, a little farther on the moon, and all around were the stars. In each corner is a Masonic emblem. In one corner is a compass, in another the square; the remaining two were the level and the plumb. On the east side of the room, near the door, was a painted apple tree, and in the northeast part of the room was a small wooden altar. After we had seated ourselves, Jehovah told Adam and Eve he thought they could eat of every tree in the garden except this apple tree, for on the day that they ate of that they should surely die. He then took his departure, and, immediately after, in came a lively gentleman, dressed in a plain, black morning suit, with a little apron on, a most fiendish expression on his face, and joyfully rubbing his hands. This gentleman was
Supposed to Be the Devil. "Certainly, his appearance made the supposition quite easy. (By the by, I afterward saw that same gentleman administering the sacrament in the tabernacle on Sundays.) He went up to Eve and remarked that it was a very beautiful place, and that the fruit was so nice. Would she like to taste one of those apples? She demurred a little and said she was told not to, and, therefore mustn't. But he pretended to pluck one of the painted apples and give it to her, and she pretended to eat it. He then told her to ask Adam to have some, and she did. Adam objected strongly to tasting, knowing the penalty, but Eve eventually overcame his scruples, saying: 'Oh, my dear, they are so nice, you haven't any idea, and that nice old gentleman here (pointing to the devil) says that he can recommend them, and you need not be afraid of what Jehovah says.' Adam consented, and after he said, 'Oh, what have I done, and how foolish I was to listen to you.' He then said that he could see himself, and that they had no clothes on, and they must sew some fig leaves together. Every one then made a dive for his apron out of the little bundles. This apron is a square half-yard of green silk, with nine fig leaves worked on it in brown sewing silk. A voice was then heard calling tor Adam, who pretended to hide, when in came Jehovah. He gave Adam a good scolding, but finally told him that he would give him certain instructions, whereby he would have a chance to regain the presence of his Father and God, after he was driven out into the world. These instructions consisted of grips, and the garments he wore would protect him from all evil. (Mormons say of these garments that the pattern was revealed
Direct from Heaven to Joseph Smith, and are the same as worn by Adam.) They then put on their caps and moccasins, the women's caps being made of Swiss muslin; it is one yard square, rounded at one corner so as to fit the head, and there are strings on it which tie under the chin. The moccasins are made of linen or calico. The men's caps are made exactly like those of pastry cooks, with a bow on the right side. I should here mention before I go further that Bathsheba Smith and one of the priests enacted the parts of Adam and Eve, and so stood sponsors for the rest of us, who were individually supposed to be Adams and Eves. They then proceeded to give us the first grip of the Aaronic or lesser priesthood, which consists in putting the thumb on the knuckle of the index finger, and clasping the hands round. We were then made to swear to obey the laws of the Mormon church and all they enjoin, in preference to those of the United States. The penalty for revealing this grip and oath is, You will have your throat cut from ear to ear, and your tongue torn from your mouth, and the sign of the penalty is drawing the hand, with the thumb pointing toward the throat, sharply across and bringing the arm to the level of the square, and with the hand upraised to heaven, swearing to abide the same. We were then driven out of this into the room called the world, where there were three men standing at a small altar on the east side of the room, who were supposed to represent Peter, James and John, Peter standing in the centre. He was supposed to have the keys of heaven. Men representing the different religious sects then came in and presented their views and said they wanted to try and save these fallen children. In doing this they could not refrain from exaggerating and
Coarsely Satirizing the Different Sects they represented. Previous to their coming in, however, Peter had presented us the gospel of Christ, at least he told us that Christ had come to die for the original sin, but we had come to work out our own salvation, and that in the last days a prophet should be raised up to save all those that would believe in his divine mission; consequently, these different representatives were told that their doctrines did not suit the people, and that there was something wanting in their faith, so they could go. Then the devil came in and tried to allure the people, and bustling up to the altar, Peter said to him: 'Hello, Mr. Devil, how do you do to-day? It's a very fine day, isn't it? What have you come after?'
"The devil replied that he didn't seem to take to any of these so-called Christian religions: Why didn't they quit bothering after anything of that kind, and live a life of pleasure, etc. However, he was told to go, and that quickly.
Peter then gave the second grip of the Aaronic or lesser priesthood, which consists of putting the thumb between the knuckles of the index and second fingers, and clasping the hand around. The penalty for revealing this is to be sawed asunder and our members cast into the sea. The sign of the penalty was drawing the hand sharply across the middle of the body. To receive this grip we had to put on our robes, which consisted of a long, straight piece of cloth reaching to our feet, doubled over and gathered very full in the shoulder and round the waist. There was also a long, narrow piece of cloth tied around the waist, called 'the sash.' It was placed on the right shoulder to receive the grip. The people wear their aprons over it. The men then
Took the Oath of Chastity, and the women the same. They don't consider polygamy at all unchaste, but said that it was a heaven-ordained law, and that a man, to be exalted in the world to come, must have more than one wife. The women then took the oath of obedience to their husbands, having to look up to them as their gods. It is not possible for a woman to go to Christ, except through her husband. Then a man came in and said that the gospel, which during these few minutes' intervals had laindormant for 1800 years, had been again restored to earth, and that an-angel had revealed it to a young boy named Joseph Smith, and that all the gifts, blessings and prophesies of old had been restored with it, and this last revelation was to be called the latter-day dispensation. The priests pretended joyfully to accept this, and said it was the very thing they were in search of, nothing else having had the power to satisfy them. They then proceeded to give us the first grip of the Melchizedek or higher priesthood, which is said to be the same that Christ held. The thumb is placed on the knuckle of the index finger, and the index finger is placed straight along the palm of the hand, while the lower part of the hand is clasped with the remaining fingers. The robe for this grip was changed from the right to the left shoulder. We were then made to swear to avenge the death ot Joseph Smith, the martyr, together with that of his brother, Hyrum, on this American nation, and that we would teach our children and children's children to do so. The penalty for this grip and oath was disembowelment. We were then marched into the northeast room, the men always going first, designated the prayer-circle room. We were here made to take
An Oath of Obedience to the Mormon Priesthood, and now the highest or grand grip of the Melchizedek Priesthood was given. We clasped each other round the hand with the point of the index finger resting on the wrist, and the little fingers firmly linked together. The place on the wrist where the index finger points is supposed to be the place where Christ was nailed to the cross, but tore out, and he had to be nailed again, and so you place your second finger beside the index on the wrist; it is called the sure sign of the nail, and if the grip is properly given it is very hard to pull apart. The robe was changed from the left to the right shoulder to receive this grip. The men then formed a circle round the altar, linking their arms straight across, and placed their hands on one another's shoulders. The high priest [knelt] at the altar, then took hold of one of the men's hands and prayed. He told us that the electric current of prayer passed through the circle, and that was the most efficacious kind of prayer. The women stood outside of the circle, with their veils covering their faces, the only time throughout the ceremony that they did so. The prayer over, they all trooped up the staircase on the north side of the house, into the room called the instruction room, where the people sat down on benches on the west side of the room. Facing them, about midway between floor and ceiling, was a wooden beam, that went across the room from north to south, and from which was suspended a dirty-looking piece of what was once white calico. This was called 'the vail,' and is supposed to be an imitation of the one in Solomon's Temple. On this vail are marks like those on the garments, together with
Extra Holes for Putting the Arms Through, and a hole at the top to speak through. But before going through the vail we received a general outline of the instructions we had received down stairs. This over, the priest took a man to the vail, to one of the openings, where he knocked with a small wooden mallet that hung on the wooden support. A voice on the other side of the vail, (it was supposed to be Peter's) asked who was there, when the priest, answering for the man, said: 'Adam, having been faithful; desires to enter.' The priest then led the man up to the west side of the vail, where he had to put his hands through and clasp the man or Peter (to whom he wispered his new name, and the only one he ever tells, for they must never tell their celestial names to their wives, although the wives must tell theirs to their husbands) through the holes in the vail. He was then allowed to go through to the other side, which was supposed to be heaven, and this is where a strong imagination might be of some use, for anything more unlike heaven I cannot conceive. The man having got through, went to the opening and told the gate-keeper to call for the woman he was about to marry, telling him her name. She then stepped up to the vail. They couldn't see each other, but put their hands through the openings, one of their hands on each other's shoulder, and the other around the waist. With the arms so fixed, the knees were placed within each other, the feet, of course, being the same; the woman's given name was then whispered through the vail, then her new celestial name; then the priestess, who stood by to instruct the woman, told them to repeat after her
A Most Disgusting Formula or Oath. I cannot remember it all thoroughly, but what I do consists of "the heart and the liver, the belly and the thighs, the marrow and the bones." The last and highest grip of the Melchizedak priesthood was then given through the vail. They then released their hold of each other, and the priestess, taking the woman to an opening, knocked at the same as they did at the men's entrance, and the gate-keeper having asked, 'Who is there?' and the priestess [having] replied, 'Eve, having been faithful in all things, desires to enter.' Eve was accordingly ushered into heaven.
After we got through we saw Joseph F. Smith sitting at a table recording the names of those who were candidates for marriage. He wrote the names in a book and then he wrote the two names on a slip of paper to be taken into the sealing room to the officiating priest, so that he might know whom he was marrying. After having given this slip of paper to the priest, we knelt at a little wooden altar. He then asks the man it he is willing to take the woman as his wife, and the woman it she is willing to take him for a husband. They both having answered yes, he tells the man that he must look to God, but the woman must look to her husband as her god, for, if he lives in his religion, the spirit of God will be in him, and she must therefore yield him unquestioning obedience, for he is as a God unto her, and then concludes by saying that he having authority from on high to bind and loose here upon earth, and whatsoever he binds here shall be bound in heaven, seals the man and woman for time and all eternity. He then tells the man and woman to kiss each other across the altar, the man kneeling on the north side and the woman on the south, and so it is finished. Sometimes they have witnesses, sometimes not; if they think any trouble may arise from a marriage, or that the woman is inclined to be a little perverse,
They Have No Witnesses, neither do they give marriage certificates, and if occasion requires it and it is to shield any of their polygamous brethren from being found out, they will positively swear that they did not perform any marriage at all, so that the women in this church have but a very poor outlook for being considered honorable wives. When the marriage ceremony was over, we came out of the 'sealing room,' and I crossed 'heaven' into the ladies' dressing-room, where, after having dressed and my husband paid the fees, we took our departure, together with that of the 'holy spirit.' It was 3:30 p.m. when we left, I having gone there at 8 o'clock in the morning. You can probably imagine how fatigued one feels after listening all the time to their incessant talking. Certainly at the end of the time one feels more like taking nourishment than listening to the prompting of the 'Holy Spirit.' I should perhaps have remarked before that the priests when going through the house, wear their ordinary clothing, and come straight into 'the house of the Lord' with their dirty top-boots on, as though they had just come off a farm, while we, poor sinners, were obliged to walk in our stocking-feet, lest the floor should be defiled. The little addition attached to the main building on the west side, and in which is the font, is used for baptizing people before they can be allowed to go through the house, and is quite a separate affair from the washing and anointing. People are generally baptized a day or two before they go through the house. I was baptized the night before. On this same evening I was told that [as] I was going through the house ot the Lord on the following day; I must pay the very strictest attention to everything I should see and hear, as it would be for my benefit hereafter."
As the lady recounted these things her great black eyes burned with the fire of subdued wrath and the fierceness of a wronged woman's scorn. She had evidently not told half of the shallow imposition of the mummery to which she had been subjected.
Notes: none
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A Nova Scotia family is speaking out after a man bragged on Facebook that he had a role in bullying their daughter to death.
The man claimed he pushed others to bully three girls online. All three eventually committed suicide.
One of the three was 17-year-old Courtney Brown of Parrsboro, who died one year ago.
Her father, Thomas Brown, said he's disgusted.
Sharon and Thomas Brown say the online comments have reopened the wounds from losing their daughter. (CBC)
"I don't know if he had something to do with it or not. But you know, just to post it on Facebook, admitting to something like that, the guy's got a problem," he said.
Brown first saw the comments in question on Thursday. The young man was writing to a woman.
"I'm the main harasser who told 15 people out of my group to go bully 3 people in Nova Scotia…" he wrote. He then named the three women who died.
The man claimed his Facebook group, Libya Torial, was responsible for the bullying.
"What is wrong with the world and disrespecting me Libya Torial, my group spreads all over Canada," he wrote.
Brown has sent the information to the RCMP.
Investigation in early stages
Pam Murchison, whose daughter Jenna Bowers was also targeted, said police questioned the man.
"They had him in, they spoke to him, they felt that it was poor judgment on his part, the young fellow's part."
Murchison said she is not satisfied with that conclusion.
The RCMP said it's still early in their investigation. But the head of Nova Scotia's cyberbullying task force is demanding action.
Wayne MacKay is urging the police to lay charges of criminal harassment or intimidation.
Thomas Brown says something needs to happen to make sure more families don't suffer similar tragedies.
"Get these guys off the internet. Shut them down," he said. | {
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Hunter L. Clark and Jeffrey B. Dawson
The Drivers of Household Debt in China
How Does China’s Household Debt Compare with Other Countries?
Rapid Build-Up of Debt Is Posing a Risk to China’s Growth Outlook
Risks to Financial Stability Are a Longer Term Watch Point
Disclaimer
The views expressed in this post are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the position of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York or the Federal Reserve System. Any errors or omissions are the responsibility of the authors.
How to cite this blog post:
Hunter L. Clark and Jeffrey B. Dawson, “Could Rising Household Debt Undercut China’s Economy?,” Federal Reserve Bank of New York Liberty Street Economics (blog), February 13, 2019, https://libertystreeteconomics.newyorkfed.org/2019/02/could-rising-household-debt-undercut-chinas-economy.html.
Although there has been a notable deceleration in the pace of credit growth recently, the run-up in debt in China has been eye-popping, accounting for more than 60 percent of all new credit created globally over the past ten years. Rising nonfinancial sector debt was driven initially by an increase in corporate borrowing, which surged in 2009 in response to the global financial crisis. The most recent leg of China’s credit boom has been due to an important shift toward household lending. To better understand the rise in household debt in China and its implications for financial stability and China’s economic performance, it is important to examine the expansion in household credit, how the rise in debt compares to international experience, and the associated risks.The growth of China’s household debt reflects a natural evolution in financial sector deepening and has grown in two waves. The first occurred during the late-1990s following major financial reforms and the privatization of China’s housing stock. The second wave began in the wake of the global financial crisis and has witnessed much more rapid growth, with debt increasing by nearly $5.7 trillion, or nearly 30 percent of China’s GDP. In fact, household lending overtook corporate borrowing in early 2018 to become the largest driver of aggregate loan growth in China. New household lending now accounts for roughly half of new loans.As illustrated in the upper panel of the chart below, the majority of household debts in China are residential mortgages, although other forms of consumer credit are also large and growing rapidly. The lower panel of the chart shows the shares of household loans by lending category.As of June 2018, outstanding mortgage loans accounted for close to 60 percent ($4 trillion) of total household debt. Mortgages comprise roughly 19 percent of bank loans in China (compared to 30 percent in Korea and 23 percent in Japan). Growth in mortgage lending has averaged 27 percent per year over the past three years, although the pace of growth has decelerated gradually over the last year as Chinese authorities have tightened macroprudential policy.China’s credit card debt is part of “consumption loans,” which comprises 14 percent of total household debt, and is now the fastest growing component. Additional consumer credit not captured in the official data include online peer-to-peer lending platforms, other forms of microlending and consumer finance, and informal lending. Peer-to-peer lending platforms, which have increased rapidly in recent years, have also been the focus of heightened regulatory scrutiny recently due to a series of failures by some platforms China’s household debt relative to its GDP and aggregate household disposable income is broadly comparable to international peers, but this follows a period of rapid growth from initially low levels. For example, according to statistics compiled by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), China’s household debt-to-GDP ratio now stands at around 50 percent. As illustrated in the left panel of the chart below, this is still fairly modest compared with most developed economies, but above most emerging market economies outside of Asia. Within Asia, China is rapidly catching up to Japan (57 percent), but is further behind Thailand, Malaysia, and Hong Kong (all close to 70 percent), and well below Korea (95 percent). However, China’s ratio increased by nearly 30 percentage points over the past decade, a much larger increase than witnessed in virtually all other countries, including Korea, which increased by about 23 percentage points.Debt ratios relative to households’ disposable income are arguably better measures of the aggregate burden on households, but are more difficult to compile on an internationally comparable basis. Nonetheless, a similar picture is evident. As shown in the right panel of the above chart, China’s ratio of household debt to total disposable income ranges from roughly 80 percent to 110 percent, depending on the measure of income. This range is broadly comparable to the ratio in the United States and the median for countries in the OECD (113 percent), but is well below Korea (170 percent).The next chart shows an estimate of China’s household debt service ratio (principal and interest) relative to disposable income (DSR), where we compute China’s DSR comparably to the method used by the BIS (specifically, we use the five-year nominal interest rate in China and assume an 18-year average remaining maturity on debt). Based on this metric, China’s DSR is comparable to the United States, and is catching up to some other countries where household debt is often viewed as a concern among policymakers and market participants.Overall, the risks related to household debt in China are generally viewed as manageable by most observers. However, it is important to caution against being overly sanguine, especially since aggregate measures of debt and income may mask important differences among households.In fact, some household survey data already paint a more worrisome picture. For example, a recent working paper using micro-level data from 2015 suggests that a quite large proportion of Chinese households with debt outstanding to formal financial institutions—that is, excluding informal borrowing—already carry high debt service burdens. One of the metrics used in that paper to define a high burden are households with DSRs exceeding 0.4, a commonly used cutoff for identifying highly indebted households. The authors’ data show that 25 percent of indebted households carried DSRs exceeding 0.4 in 2015.Though it is difficult to make direct comparisons due to data and methodological differences, these figures appear rather high in an international context. The fraction of indebted households in Spain with DSRs exceeding 0.4 was 16.5 percent in 2008, while the proportion in the United States peaked at 14.8 percent in 2007 (using gross income). China’s figure is even comparable to that in Korea, which was 23.5 percent in 2017. Partly attenuating the Chinese figures are the facts that income may be understated in the survey data, and that relatively small fractions of Chinese households report negative net worth. The fraction of households whose DSRs and debt-to-asset ratios jointly exceed 0.4 and 1, respectively, has increased rapidly from a low base, but was about 1.2 percent in 2015, still well below the 3.1 percent in Korea reported in the Bank of Korea’s Financial Stability Report The impact on growth and consumption dynamics of household debt are complex, but some research suggests that fast increases in household debt entail trade-offs between faster, near-term GDP growth and slower growth in the future. For instance, a one percentage point increase in the household-debt to GDP ratio would lower economic growth in the long run by a tenth of a percentage point, while some other research has found somewhat larger reductions in growth over shorter forecast horizons. The results suggest that the negative long run effects tend to kick in at GDP ratios ranging between 60 and 80 percent, which China is on track to reach fairly soon, as illustrated in the left panel of the chart below.In addition to the growth outlook, the rapid increase in household debt also raises issues from a financial stability perspective. Given the rise in mortgage loans and growing concerns with an overheated housing market, the property sector is a key watch point. Property has become the most important store of wealth in China, with alternative investment channels for household income still developing or under restrictions. For this reason, Chinese authorities view the housing sector as a key risk to financial and social stability and are likely to ease macroprudential policy in the event of a significant downturn in home prices.Limits on initial loan-to-value ratios are an important macroprudential tool in China, which provide some insulation to financial institutions and households in the event of shocks to house prices, incomes, or interest rates. The majority of mortgages in China are floating-rate loans, although benchmark interest rates are not adjusted often. Although loan-to-value ratios are increasing, they are generally low at around 50 percent on average; securitization of mortgage loans is also quite limited.Other direct and indirect risks related to the rise in household debt in China also stand out and bear close monitoring. Household lending is being driven by small- and medium-sized banks, as shown in the right panel of the above chart, which are typically less well-capitalized. These banks are increasing household loans at roughly 30 percent, on average, compared to 20 percent at the larger banks.The pickup in nonmortgage household lending (for example, credit cards and other consumption loans) may be adding additional leverage to borrowers of both mortgages (for down payments) and unsecured revolving consumer credit (from online peer-to-peer lending platforms). This additional leverage is of particular concern for the roughly one third of household debt that is estimated to be held by highly indebted households (those with debt-to-income greater than four times). It also suggests that a deterioration in the balance sheets of these households could have a negative impact on the banking sector as well as on the economy, a risk highlighted by the International Monetary Fund in its October 2017 Global Financial Stability Report | {
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Here's when Cheniere's Corpus Christi Liquefaction facility will open
Tim Acosta | Corpus Christi
Show Caption Hide Caption Cheniere proposing expansion of Corpus Christi Liquefaction Cheniere Energy Inc., which does business locally as Corpus Christi Liquefaction LLC, is looking to increase the annual capacity of its area facility from 13.5 million tons of natural gas to 22.5 million tons.
Texas is about to join the global liquefied natural gas market in force, and it all begins in San Patricio County.
Cheniere Energy Inc. will hold a grand opening celebration of its Corpus Christi Liquefaction facility in Gregory Thursday morning, ending years of work to bring the massive $15 billion facility online. The company will celebrate the first shipment of LNG traveling out of the plant after the ceremony concludes, officially putting it and the Port of Corpus Christi in play in the global LNG market.
Gov. Greg Abbott will attend Thursday's event, along with several other elected officials. The plant sits on over 1,000 acres of land owned or controlled by Cheniere on the La Quinta Channel, on the northeast side of Corpus Christi Bay in San Patricio County.
The LNG cargo will be produced from Corpus Christi Liquefaction's first of three LNG trains being constructed at the facility. That first train should be substantially complete early next year, Cheniere President and CEO Jack Fusco said in a Nov. 8 webcast to announce the company's third quarter earnings.
More: Cheniere Energy's deal with Taiwan company is a big deal. Here's why.
More: Cheniere Energy's Portland LNG plant flares up commissioning process
More: Cookie demonstration part of Cheniere Energy's efforts to educate about LNG
More: Cheniere may ship LNG from Port of Corpus Christi by end of 2018
The second train is scheduled to come online in the second half of 2019, Fusco said, with that third phase tentatively set to be complete in late 2021.
The trains are facilities that operate independently to produce liquefied natural gas, and are being built by San Francisco-based Bechtel Corp. Each will be capable of producing 4.5 million tons annually at full capacity, company officials have said.
The company has already signed a number of long-term sale and purchase agreements over the past several months with international companies to supply millions of tons of LNG via the Corpus Christi Liquefaction facility over the life of those agreements. | {
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I spent most of 2010 learning how to brew coffee using pretty much every technique I could find. I loved some, I feared others, but I didn't really find anything worth sticking with until I used an Able Brewing Kone in my Chemex. With the Kone + Chemex combination, I'm able to make coffee that has the velvety mouthfeel of a French press while retaining the complexity of flavor that I love in a pourover.
The Chemex is a notoriously fickle way to brew a cup of coffee. Because the hole in its neck is so large, Chemex filters need to be thick and heavy paper, which imparts a strong paper taste to the coffee and removes many of the tasty oils. At the same time, the brewing basket is enormous--making it difficult to control the amount of time the water spends in contact with grounds while simultaneously cooling off the coffee too quickly. While you can make an awesome cup of coffee with a Chemex and its paper filters, it's difficult to do with any consistency. If you want to brew coffee using a pourover device and a paper filter, a Hario V60 or one of those plastic Melitta cones are both better than the Chemex.
At least, this is what I thought until I learned to use the Able Brewing Kone.
The Kone was designed by Keith Gehrke, then of Coava Coffee in Portland, to be a reusable stainless-steel conical filter designed to fit into a Chemex carafe. With thousands of tiny etched holes, the Kone lets coffee--complete with oils and a bit of particulate--through. As I said before, the result is a cup of coffee with the mouthfeel of a French press and the delicate, complex flavor of a pourover.
To use the Kone properly, you need to modify your typical pourover technique. First, you want to grind your coffee much more finely for the Kone than you would for a paper filter pourover. When you're adding water to the brew basket, you want to agitate the grounds as little as possible. Typically, this means trickling the water as slowly as you can into one spot in the center of the Kone. If you treat the Kone like a traditional pourover, grinding coarsely and agitating the grounds with your stream of water, the water won't linger in the basket long enough and you'll end up with weak, underextracted coffee. Trust me, I learned this the hard way.
The magic of the Kone is that the finely ground coffee actually serves as a filter as well, this lets the brewing coffee linger longer in the basket and drain evenly from all parts of the filter. To really get the most out of the Kone, a pourover kettle, like the Hario Buono is necessary to get precise control over water flow and placement. As always, a good grinder is a necessity as well.
For reference, the ratio recommended by Able is what I recommend when using the Kone. Grind 25g of coffee, fine to medium fine. To the coffee, I add 400g total of water, with a one minute pause after the grounds are fully wet to let them bloom. I add the remainder of the water as slowly as I can, it typically takes between two and three minutes.
Keith Gehrke is going to be at the SCAA show later this week, showing off the third revision of the Kone. We'll be sure to catch up with him there. | {
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Why are today’s young men so scared of girls who want to have children? Olivia Fane always yearned for a family. Her grown-up sons see life VERY differently
Not so long ago, the girlfriend of one of my sons confided in me while clearing away Sunday lunch that what she really wanted — despite being a lawyer with a top firm in London — was to live in a cottage in the country and have lots of children.
She wanted to spend her days reading stories to them, making jam and chutney, having long walks in the middle of the day, and feel somehow that she was alive.
A short time later, she and my son split up. I was too tactful to ask why, but I’m sure my son, Will, 27, found her lack of ambition exasperating.
After all, she came first in her exams at law school. What was the point of having a good brain if you give up at 25 to become a full-time mum? For Will, kids weren’t even on the agenda.
Full-time mum: Olivia with three of her boys when they were younger
But despite my silence, all I wanted to do was ring the poor girlfriend to tell her I was with her every step of the way. I wanted to tell her that the life of the career-juggling modern woman was exhausting.
Why should she quash her yearning to be an old-fashioned mum just because society — and, more importantly, my son — sniffed at it?
It seems she’s not alone. For while we hear much of ‘Have It All’ young women, who foolishly ignore their biological clock to pursue their careers, how often do we hear about the young men who are even more reluctant to settle down and have babies?
Indeed, so opposed are these chaps to committing that I can’t help but feel that young women often keep their broodiness well hidden, playing at being independent career girls to avoid scaring them off. And when these women reveal their true intentions, their boyfriends bolt.
When I probed a little further, it seems that my fears are well-founded. Several of my five sons and many of their friends are among this group of baby-refuseniks.
Will and his brother Tom, 30, my eldest, are positively vituperative in their avoidance of a life filled with nappies. Well-educated, kind and polite they may be, but they’d do anything rather than settle down and have babies.
It’s all rather ironic, because the type of woman they’re rejecting is just the type of woman I was, a full-time mother, who had dipped her toe into the world of work, but turned away from it to devote herself to the running of a home.
Unlike Will’s broody ex-girlfriend, I had my first child at 23. And I can’t claim to have had a ‘career’ at all, despite qualifying as a probation officer before I fell pregnant. Rather, I worked with young offenders whenever I could snatch the time and afford the childcare, which was pretty rarely.
I stopped work altogether after the birth of my third son in 1988. It had become very quickly apparent that work of any kind made no economic sense and I became a full-time mum — just the kind of life my sons seem so contemptuous of.
So last night I bated my breath and asked my three eldest sons, all over 21, the following outright: if a girl in her 20s wanted to get married, have kids and give up work, would it put you off dating her?
Tom, as the eldest, probably the one who should be most immediately considering family life, baulked at the very question. He’s been with his Spanish girlfriend, Estephania, for four years, and children aren’t even on their radar.
Olivia's son Will, 27, who is an author, has no immediate plans to get married and have children
‘I hate that word “marriage”,’ he told me. ‘Marriage belongs to another era. I prefer the word “partnership” because that’s what it should be, a partnership of equals right from the start. Both man and woman should contribute financially to the home, and both should do domestic work.
‘What really annoys me is when the woman has children and somehow thinks it’s all right to skive and stay at home with them.
‘The baby should be sent to a nursery as soon as possible and the woman should get back to work. Aren’t women supposed to have the same aspirations in their careers as men? Then they should prove it and not expect a whole year’s maternity leave. It’s scandalous!’
His brother, Will, an author, had an even more pragmatic view. Yes, he would be put off dating a woman sprinting towards marriage and children.
He’s written a book, The Romantic Economist, about the correlation between love and market forces, which, he says, shows the gulf between the sexes on this issue
‘When you’re 30 and you’re female, your biological clock is ticking loudly and you will settle for less than perfect. That decreases your value in the market place. Unfortunately, there are simply more of you about.
‘But a man of 30 doesn’t even have to think of getting married. He’s still looking for his ideal.’
Will was clearly referring to himself. With no biological clock ticking, he’s taking his time to settle down. And while he is dating again, he declared that a family is not even on his horizon. Thankfully, my middle son, Ben, 26, is more of a romantic. He is setting up a gallery with his partner of a year, Karina, 29. ‘If you love someone, and they want children, even if it turns your life upside down, isn’t it worth it?’ he said.
But Ben is very much the exception. His friends tease him remorselessly for being so in love. ‘He’s not done his maths,’ they tell me. ‘We can’t even look after ourselves, let alone a family. We’ve got student debts to pay off. Some of us are still living with our parents!’
One young man actively avoided women in their late 20s because he felt he would let them down and waste their time.
Another said: ‘If you like them enough you’ll swallow that bitter pill.’ How awful that the natural broodiness of a young woman in her prime could be seen like that!
No wonder young women today aren’t having babies as easily as my generation did.
Born in 1960, I was brought up to believe that being a good wife and mother was the best life could offer us. My own mother would say to me: ‘To go to sleep in the arms of the man you love, to wake up at his side, to bring up children with him, this is what makes a life worth living.’
My boarding school reinforced the same message. St Michael’s, in the Sussex Downs, has long since closed as it offered something no longer wanted by the middle classes: teaching girls our task in life was to be good wives and mothers.
'Until our young men accept the realities of a woman’s ticking biological clock, I fear young women will continue to be disappointed.
The tragedy is that the new generation of men don’t want to support a wife and family. Why? Well, undoubtedly, there’s an element of herd mentality. Who wants to be the first stallion to be tied down, when you can bounce from relationship to relationship without feeling under any moral pressure to commit?
And there’s no doubt that young men will have an easier life if their female partner delays having children. Becoming more established on the career ladder means a greater income for her and less financial pressure on him. Young men today, as I discovered in my chats with my sons, expect and need a double income.
Of course, there’s some practicality to this. After all, house prices alone dictate that both partners need to be earning.
Let’s not forget that in the olden days, both men and women could slip into their prescribed roles and not think too hard about it. Dad would go out to work, Mum would stay at home.
But in the wake of so much choice on how to arrange things comes real confusion. And so the romantic image of men who provide, hunter-gatherer-style, is one that clearly hasn’t taken root among my sons’ generation.
Perhaps it’s no wonder. For so long, women have insisted that they can be just like the boys. So can we really be surprised when our young men refuse to countenance treating their female partners differently from how they are treated themselves?
And yet, despite all this, I am still haunted by my son’s poor ex-girlfriend, with her longing for a gentle life, and her description of whole nights spent in the office working.
‘Last year,’ she told me, ‘there were about 30 of us at work on Christmas Day! And one of them was a mum with young children. Why would I want to get to the top of that slippery pole?’
Why indeed. What new mum really wants another woman to enjoy her baby’s first steps, words, songs?
But until our young men accept the realities of a woman’s ticking biological clock, I fear young women will continue to be disappointed. | {
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VLADIVOSTOK, November 28. /TASS/. Turkey’s reactions to the incident with the Russian Sukhoi Su-24M, downed by the Turkish Air Force above Syria, reminds of the Theatre of the Absurd, Russia’s presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov said in an interview with the Vesti V Subbotu (News on Saturday) television programme.
"The president of Turkey has made a statement, where he said if a Turkish jet is downed above Syria, he would consider it an act of aggression," he said. "Then, how to qualify what has happened with the Russian jet?"
"Look, it is a sort of the Theatre of the Absurd," the press secretary said.
While speaking about development of the situation, he chose not to forecast most negative consequences from the incident like, for example, chances for Turkey’s blocking of navigation along straits.
"Those are most apocalyptic scenarios you describe," he told the anchorman. "No doubt, in our opinion, the predictability rate of actions, the Turkish leaders may undertake, is tough to foresee."
"Let us rather not discuss scenarios of the kind," he said.
"As of now, we can confirm only this: Russian pilots are insured against new threats, the air defence system has been installed, and let us leave alone the apocalyptic scenarios of the kind.". | {
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KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 7): The Ministry of Finance (MoF) has appointed a three-man executive team to undertake changes in the organisational structure and turnaround the asset owner and operator of public transport systems Prasarana Malaysia Bhd (Prasarana).
In a statement today, Prasarana president and group chief executive officer, Datuk Mohamed Hazlan Mohamed Hussain welcomed the appointments of group chief operating officer (Strategy and Transformation) Ang Yoke Kee and group chief operating officer (Operations) Muhammad Nizam Alias to the company to assist him in the restructuring effort.
Mohamed Hazlan said Prasarana would focus on three key areas – increasing the ridership of public transport services; enhancing the management and delivery of quality services, and improving the management of revenue and cost.
He said that Ang, a Masters degree holder in Financial Engineering from Carnegie Mellon – National Technological University, brings with him an extensive regional investment and consulting experience with Boston Consulting Group, Softbank and McKinsey to help transform and turnaround the company.
Meanwhile, Muhammad Nizam Alias, a graduate of Monash University who is currently pursuing his PhD in Islamic Finance with INCEIF, returns to Prasarana with the responsibility to enhance operational efficiency and productivity.
Nizam previously served as a General Manager in the Prasarana Group MD’s office, after stints in the Renong Group and POS Malaysia. | {
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The iPhone 4S and its new iOS 5 operating system offer a host of new features, including Siri voice control, a Cards app for sending paper greetings in the mail, Reminders that help keep you up-to-date, and Find my Friends for tracking people down.
But Android users don’t have to feel left out. There are a host of third-party apps that bring this functionality to Google’s mobile OS.
Cards Alternative: Postagram
The Cards app from Apple, which comes with iOS 5, will let you create digital cards directly on your iPhone or iPod touch—and after they’re complete, Apple will drop the physical missives in the mail for you. It’ll cost $2.99 for domestic delivery and $4.99 for international delivery.
But Postagram, a free app that’s available in the Android Market, been providing this very service for quite some time now—and at a cheaper rate, too. For 99 cents per Postagram sent, you choose a photo to mail and the service prints the image out on thick, glossy photo paper at a 300 dpi resolution, which pops out of the card as a 3 x 3 inch print. You can even add a custom 140-character message along with the photo if you wish.
Siri Alternative: Vlingo
Android users often opine that newer iterations of iOS simply play catch-up to a cache of features that already exist in their phones. Vlingo Virtual Assistant for Android is a testament to that ethos, and it's the closest thing to Apple’s new Siri voice control.
Tell Vlingo to “Text Chris; Where are you?” or “Find French restaurants,” then sit back and watch as it does exactly what you want. Get the app for free on the Android Market.
iMessage Alternative: Whatsapp Messenger
Ditch your carrier’s exorbitant SMS plans and send messages, pictures, audio notes, and video messages over 3G or Wi-Fi with the free Whatsapp Messenger. Like BlackBerry Messenger (and iMessage), the app lets you know when your note has been sent and exactly when the person on the other end has seen it.
Whatsapp also sends push notifications for each individual message, so you never miss out on what your friends are saying. It also supports group chat.
Newstand Alternative: Zinio
Newsstand on iOS 5 supposedly organizes your magazine and newspaper app subscriptions, but Zinio has been around for far longer and already aggregates many of your favorite digital publications in one place. You can purchase both single issues and full subscriptions of top titles in the app, plus watch videos, bookmark content, view interactive media, and even share articles with friends.
Best of all? Zinio gives you access to a sampling of the best pieces across top News, Science & Tech, Art, Lifestyle, and Entertainment magazines—for free—as soon as you download the app.
Reminders Alternative: Astrid Tasks
Astrid Tasks is the most popular to-do list for Android, and its best add-on feature is Astrid Locale. The app contains powerful organization tools to begin with—reminders, list organization, deadlines, sorting, and audio or vibration alerts—but Astrid Locale throws in the last essential—location-based tasks—into the mix. The only downside is having to shell out $1.49 for the upgrade.
Find My Friends Alternative: Google Latitude
Anyone who’s ever had to find their friends in a crowded venue will be familiar with the hassle of those extremely vague responses: “beside the speaker,” “next to the guy in the cowboy hat,” or “to the left of the stage.” Find my Friends from Apple, included in the upcoming iCloud, will let you share your location with friends and family and eliminate those messages.
But Google Latitude is an old tool that had already been implementing this. After signing into your Google account, the app lets you check into places, share your location with your friends, and even unlock offers where they’re available. You can find it in the Google Maps application on Android.
Tell us with a video or a photo what app is your favorite -- and we may feature it on-air!
Copyright © 2011 LaptopMag.com. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. | {
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One rocket was fired from Lebanon on Friday morning on a village in the Upper Galilee. There were no injuries in the attack.Artillery fire was directed at the area from which the rocket was fired, a senior army source said.The rocket was not fired by Hezbollah but by a small radical organization in Lebanon, Maj.-Gen. (res). Amos Gilad, director of Political-Security Affairs at the Defense Ministry, told Channel 2.Also on Friday morning, at around 3:30 a.m. sirens rang out in Haifa and Hadera. The IDF is examining that incident.The IDF struck 1,100 targets belonging to Hamas and other terror groups in the Gaza Strip since the start of an operation launched Monday to end Gazan rocket attacks, and 210 targets over the past 24 hours, a senior security source said. Fifty targets belonging to terror organizations were destroyed overnight between Thursday and Friday.Over the past 24 hours, the IDF hit 81 underground rocket launchers, 21 command and control centers, 15 attack tunnels, and ten training centers. Seven Hamas regime buildings were also hit. Since the start of the operation, the IDF has struck 600 underground rocket launchers, 95 command and control centers, 61 underground tunnels, and 22 regime buildings.On Thursday, the IAF carried out a series of targeted assassinations against senior Hamas and Islamic Jihad commanders.Two thirds of Gaza casualties are combatants, the source said."Every four and a half minute a building is struck in Gaza. That's our rate of fire at this time. In the coming hours, I'd expect to see the same trend," a source said. During overnight strikes, Israel Navy ships fired on targets on the Gazan coast.Meanwhile, the IDF is continuing to prepare a ground offensive option, the source added. "Hamas will have to ask itself questions about how its force which took between ten to 15 years to build up, sustained so much damage. They smuggled rockets, than moved to domestic production, and storage, and searched for weaknesses. They searched for the 'impressive' picture of a scared nation running to shelter. But they got a totally different picture. They met a defense system [Iron Dome], and a public that goes to the beach, hears a siren, goes to a safe room, and then goes back to the beach."Early Friday morning sirens rang out in Haifa and Hadera. The IDF is examining that incident. | {
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