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A new law in California’s Sonoma County that bans commercial cultivation in large areas outside of city limits has created an uncertain future for some 3,000 cannabis growers in that northern California region.
County officials approved the prohibition in December. It took effect Jan. 19, according to the Santa Rosa Press Democrat. The law was implemented in response to complaints against 15-20 commercial cultivation operations in single-family homes.
Cultivators in those areas are now faced with either moving out or hoping the authorities don’t go after them, the newspaper reported. The new rules could mean a loss of thousands of jobs and millions of dollars in tax receipts for the county, according to the Press Democrat.
The county has already begun enforcing the ban and has acted against MMJ cultivators whose operations do not meet the zoning law requirements. | {
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KITCHENER — Waterloo Region is getting $15.1 million in federal funding for improvements to the bus system, including new vehicles and equipment upgrades.
"That's 18 brand new buses on the streets of our community," said Waterloo MP Bardish Chagger, Minister of Small Business and Tourism, at the announcement in Kitchener on Thursday.
The seven approved projects will ensure "safe, reliable and modern transit," Chagger told the gathering in regional headquarters.
Along with buying new buses for the Grand River Transit fleet, money is earmarked for the installation of voice radio equipment and replacement of on-board cameras on transit vehicles, and improvements near stops including lighting and walkways to bolster safety and accessibility.
"We've already had significant support on the rapid transit side," said Coun. Tom Galloway, chair of the regional planning and works committee. "Here we have significant support for conventional transit."
This is the second part of a federal funding commitment to public transit in the region through the Canada-Ontario Public Transit Infrastructure Fund. The first part, announced last August, focused primarily on the region's new light rail system. In total, the investment is worth $35 million.
"The two work very much together," Galloway said. "It is one fare, one system."
Both rapid and conventional transit are essential in the region's efforts to manage population growth and limit urban sprawl, he said.
"We decided transit was a big part of the solution," Galloway said.
The new buses will be for iXpress routes that will connect with the light rail system. Trains are expected to start travelling the route from Conestoga Mall in Waterloo to Fairview Park mall early next year, after some delays.
The federal funding is good news for taxpayers, Galloway said, since the region already had most of the projects in the capital budget forecast.
"Pretty well all these projects were on that list," he said. "We're very pleased."
Mike Murray, chief administrative officer, said the region is building "a world-class transit system."
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He said the transit system is key for both residents to participate in the community, and for growth management.
"And that has to be a fully integrated system," Murray said. "That's really what we're trying to build, so that is serves the whole community." | {
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Craft Beer Holiday in Osaka returns for a second time in 2016, perhaps taking hints from the Keyaki Hiroba Beer Festival. Craft Beer Holiday is a four-day craft beer festival held at the park around Osaka castle, known as Osakajokoen from Friday 7th October to Monday 10th October. In 2015, over twenty breweries from across Japan came for the four days of drinking and relaxing in the park with an impressive view of Osaka Castle.
Craft Beer Holiday starts on Friday 7th October at 14:00 until 21:00, then on Saturday and Sunday from 11:00 to 21:00 while the last day Monday from 11:00 to 19:00 to give people a chance to recover for the first day back at work on the Monday. Tickets cost ¥3,200 in advance, which are on sale now, and for this you get ten beer tickets and an original glass. This year though the ticket system has changed with two tickets needed for one drink of 360ml of beer. Moreover, the tickets can be used to either buy beer or food on the day.
If you buy the ticket on the day, the price goes up to ¥3,500 for the same amount of tickets and original glass. It’s important to note that beers can only be served in the original glass or a specified glass from the events, so keep ahold of it and don’t lose it, drop it, break it, or other things that usually happen after too many beers. Additional tickets cost ¥1,000 on the day for a two drinks, while a special glass can be bought for ¥1,250.
If you go, let us know. Send us your pictures on either or Facebook page or Twitter feed.
Breweries Attending Craft Beer Holiday
At the time of writing, the list of breweries had not been confirmed, but the 2016 had the following:
How to Get Tickets For Craft Beer Holiday
Advanced tickets can be bought from the following places:
Using E+ (E plus) at http://eplus.jp/holiday/
FamilyMart and using the FamiPort
Craft Beer Holiday Details
Homepage (in Japanese): http://beerholiday.jp/
Social network: Facebook / Twitter
How to Get to Craft Beer Holiday Autumn 2016
Craft Beer Holiday Autumn is going to be held at Osakajokoen and the closest station to it is Osakajokoen on the JR loop line. Take exit number 3 and the location is about a three-minute walk.
About the Author BeerTengoku Writer Who is the BeerTengoku Writer? No-one seems to know. No-one has seen or heard of them when the Writer has been out. All we know is that they like beers, chips, and dogs.
Liked it? Take a second to support BeerTengoku on Patreon!
Like this: Like Loading... | {
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Jolyon Maugham QC has failed in his attempt to secure a judicial review against David Davis to get him to publish full versions of the government’s Brexit sectoral analysis. The claim by Maugham and his Good Law Project was dismissed because versions of the analysis have already been published and the information can be sought in a less attention-seeking fashion via a Freedom of Information request. Mr Justice Supperstone concluded: “In my judgment, there is a suitable alternative remedy in this case”. Remember this is the same Jolyon Maugham who crowdfunded £100,000 to launch a High Court claim against Uber demanding a 56p VAT receipt. He’s great at wasting other people’s money… | {
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Credit Scott For Florida Gov. Rick Scott waves to supporters during a campaign stop last month in Lakeland.
Gov. Rick Scott could face sanctions over his use of a private email account now that a judge in Tallahassee has given the okay for an additional complaint against Scott relating to public records.
Attorney Steven Andrews is engrossed in a dispute over property near the Governor’s Mansion. He filed a complaint against Scott a year ago. Andrews says the administration repeatedly failed to turn over documents in the case and used private email accounts to circumvent the law.
Now, Leon County Circuit Judge Charles Francis says Andrews can amend his lawsuit to say Scott purposely broke the law by conducting state business via private email.
The ruling follows last month’s release of nearly 200 pages of emails that Scott’s lawyer said didn’t exist. The documents show the governor used a private account to discuss government business like the state budget and possible vetoes.
Scott previously said his private email was not used for matters involving the state.
Copyright 2020 WLRN 91.3 FM. To see more, visit WLRN 91.3 FM. | {
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Das BAföG hat in den vergangenen Jahren immer weiter an Bedeutung verloren. Denn der größte Teil der Studenten erhält diese staatliche Unterstützung gar nicht, der Anteil der Empfänger sinkt stetig. Zum Wintersemester soll zwar eine Reform in Kraft treten, die dem entgegenwirken und zudem den Höchstsatz auf 853 Euro erhöhen soll. Doch auch danach werden viele junge Leute noch immer leer ausgehen. Zentraler Grund: Wer wie viel bekommt, hängt vom Einkommen der Eltern ab.
Die FDP hat mit diesem System schon lange ein Problem. „Volljährige Studierende müssen selbst entscheiden und für sich sorgen können“, sagt Jens Brandenburg, Sprecher für Studium und berufliche Bildung. Das sei bislang nicht immer gegeben. Hätten die Eltern andere Vorstellungen von der beruflichen Zukunft ihrer Kinder, sei die Finanzierung schwierig.
Seine Partei hat deshalb ein eigenes Konzept entwickelt, das sie am 5. April zur Beratung in den Bundestag bringen will und das WELT AM SONNTAG exklusiv vorliegt. 400 Euro stünden Studenten demnach zu – unabhängig davon, wie viel Mutter und Vater verdienen.
Quelle: Infografik WELT
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Das Modell besteht aus mehreren Komponenten und trägt deshalb den Titel „Baukasten-BAföG“. Element eins, ein Sockel von 200 Euro, soll direkt an alle Studenten fließen. Element zwei, von der FDP „Zuschuss“ getauft, ist hingegen an eine Bedingung geknüpft.
Diese Bedingungen können zehn Wochenstunden Arbeit, ehrenamtliche Tätigkeit, Pflege von Angehörigen oder die Betreuung der eigenen Kinder sein. „Diese Zeit ist zumutbar“, erklärt Brandenburg. „Wer einen eigenen Beitrag leistet, soll mehr Unterstützung bekommen. Das ist gerecht und zielgenau.“
Lesen Sie auch Nach der Schule Studium, Ausbildung oder beides? So entscheiden Sie richtig
Wer die zehn Stunden nicht leisten kann, will oder darüber hinaus Geld braucht, soll Element drei in Anspruch nehmen: das zinsfreie Darlehen. Dieses soll „abhängig vom späteren Einkommen“ zurückgezahlt werden.
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Die 400 Euro aus Sockel und Zuschuss dagegen müssen nicht zurückgezahlt werden. Insgesamt sollen Studenten damit auf maximal 1000 Euro pro Monat kommen. Die Dauer ist auf die Regelstudienzeit plus zwei zusätzliche Semester beschränkt. Die Höhe soll laut Entwurf an Preisentwicklung geknüpft sein.
Quelle: Infografik WELT
Die Folgen wären weitreichend. Denn mit Realisierung des FDP-Plans würde die Unterhaltspflicht, die Eltern bislang bis zum Ende des Studiums für ihre Kinder haben, entfallen – und damit auch das Kindergeld. Es soll ab Juli 204 Euro betragen und entspräche damit ungefähr dem vollkommen bedingungslosen BAföG-Sockel. Auch der Kinderfreibetrag, der sich bei der Berechnung der Einkommensteuer steuermindernd auswirkt, würde abgeschafft.
Brandenburg sagt: „Das System hilft, gerade Erstakademiker zu entlasten, die bislang häufig sehr viel nebenher arbeiten müssen.“ Tatsächlich zeigt die jüngste Sozialerhebung des Deutschen Studentenwerks, dass der Anteil von Menschen mit niedriger Bildungsherkunft an den BAföG-Empfängern gesunken ist – von 40 Prozent im Jahr 2012 auf zuletzt 27 Prozent.
Lesen Sie auch Eltern von über 18-Jährigen So bekommen Sie das Kindergeld auch für erwachsene Kinder
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Bei dieser Gruppe, die am wenigsten Geld von den Eltern bekommt, machte das BAföG 21 Prozent ihrer Einnahmen aus. Im Jahr 2012 waren es noch 35 Prozent. Selbst verdienten sie 30 Prozent, vier Prozentpunkte mehr als 2012.
Unabhängig von den Gerechtigkeitsfragen, die die Pläne aufwerfen, hat das FDP-Konzept ein Ziel, über dessen Erreichung sich alle Beteiligten freuen dürften: weniger Bürokratie. Denn es sieht vor, die Formalitäten per App über Smartphone zu erledigen – innerhalb weniger Minuten und ohne aufwendige Nachweise. | {
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india
Updated: Aug 15, 2020 01:08 IST
Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday outlined an infrastructure project pipeline worth more than Rs 102 lakh crore to be implemented over the next five years, which, she said, will serve as one of the key drivers of faster economic growth and the government’s ambition of turning India into a $5 trillion economy by 2024-25.
The projects have been classified under two broad categories — economic infrastructure and social infrastructure for both ease of doing business and ease of living, Sitharaman told reporters, unveiling the National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP) on the last day of 2019.
ALSO WATCH | Sitharaman launches infra pipeline to double investment to Rs 105 trillion
NIP is a booklet prepared by a task force that gives details of infrastructure projects in which the energy sectors make up the lion’s share of 24%, followed by roads (19%), urban development (16%) and railways (13%). The shares of rural and social infrastructure projects, which include health, education and drinking water, is 8% and 3%, respectively.
The government hopes the massive investment will help spur economic growth, which decelerated to 4.5% in the quarter ended September, the slowest pace in six years and the sixth consecutive quarterly decline in a row. The finance ministry has taken 32 measures since August to boost the economy, including corporate tax cuts at a cost of Rs 1.45 lakh crore to the exchequer to attract investments and about Rs 5 lakh crore in disbursal of bank loans since October to spur demand.
Sitharaman said private companies will account for 22%-25% of the investments and the balance will come from the Centre and the states in equal proportions. She said the task force prepared the NIP in record time, holding 70 conferences of entities engaged in various sectors, and the government will examine its recommendations to take speedy action.
The task force was constituted to draw up the NIP under the chairmanship of the economic affairs secretary after Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 15 announced the intent of the government to make massive investments in infrastructure.
The task force held its first meeting in September 2019.
“I’m happy to say that the promise which Prime Minister made during his Independence Day speech 2019... within the end of the year, we have kept the promise,” she said.
Modi said in his Independence Day speech that India needed to build modern infrastructure to reach global standards. “So we have decided to invest 100 lakh crore rupees for modern infrastructure in this time period. This will generate employment; will develop new systems and various aspirations will be met,” he had said from the ramparts of the Red Fort.
Out of the total expected capital expenditure of Rs 102 lakh crore, projects worth Rs 42.7 lakh crore (42%) are under implementation, projects worth Rs 32.7 lakh crore (32%) are in the conceptualisation stage and the rest are under development , a finance ministry statement said. “It is expected that projects of certain states,who are yet to communicate their pipelines, would be added to the pipeline in due course,” it said.
“To achieve the GDP of $5 trillion by 2024-25, India needs to spend about $1.4 trillion (Rs 100 lakh crore) over these years on infrastructure. In the past decade (FY2008-17), India invested about $1.1 trillion on infrastructure,” the statement said.
Niranjan Hiranandani, president of the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India, said: “The finance minister has unveiled Rs 102 lakh crore of infra projects over the next five years, it will create new jobs, support related industries as also enhance the nation’s growth into the $5 trillion economy. It dovetails with other positive moves which the Indian Government has recently unveiled, and the positive effects should be visible sooner rather than later.”
He said the implementation of public-private partnership project will be key, noting that “private players are still facing an acute credit crunch” and the government needs to address the issues confronted by private entities. | {
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Campaigners are calling to ban 16-year-olds joining the armed forces.
They will use tomorrow’s International Day Against The Use of Child Soldiers to highlight the issue with the Government.
Stats show more than 2,000 under-16s sign up each year, with 80 per cent going to the Army.
An early day motion tabled by Plaid Cymru MP Liz Saville Roberts says: “Westminster must seriously consider its policy of recruiting 16-year-olds into the armed forces and recognise the deep emotional, physical and psychological damage this does to them.
(Image: Anadolu)
“Fewer than 20 countries in the world allow their armed forces to recruit 16- year-olds – including the likes of Iran and North Korea. We shouldn’t be part of this group.
“A government that believes it is morally acceptable to stop a 16-year-old from buying glue, yet is happy to teach them how to kill with a bayonet has clearly mislaid its moral compass.”
She said child recruits are more susceptible to post-traumatic stress disorder, alcohol abuse and even committing suicide.
Stats show the UK is the only European country that recruits 16-year-olds into the armed forces with under 18s accounting for 22.3 per cent of all Army recruits at end of 2016.
The other countries where 16-year-olds can join the armed forces include – Mauritania, Pakistan, El Salvador, UAE, Zambia, Egypt, Bangladesh, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Iran, Tonga, Trinidad & Tobago and Papua New Guinea. | {
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Black Beauty has found her forever home. Congratulations Beauty!
Hi, My name is Black Beauty!
As you can tell from my name, I am absolutely GORGEOUS. I am still a puppy, at just 9 months of age. I am medium sized, and weigh 38 pounds. I am very cute and playful. I have had obedience training and am really fond of people of all sizes and ages.
Unfortunately, there is one thing I DO NOT like. Min Pins. They drive me crazy. They bark and yip and snarl and snap at me. They are obnoxious little dogs and I just can’t handle them. And that’s where my story gets interesting… I live with 12 of the little stinkers! They are always on my case, challenging me. Recently I went to be spayed, and while I was recovering at home, they would not leave me alone. So, as much as I hate to admit it, I snapped back.
Now my owner has no option other than to find me a good home and quickly. She loves me to bits, but her her ex-husband, who lives here and owns the MinPins does not want me to stay any longer.
Linda is heartbroken, and does not want to have to put me in a shelter. She is dearly hoping to find me a loving home with people who will cherish me as much as she does. I am fine with larger, non-yappy dogs.
I am spayed, house broken and very sweet. I love to ride in the car and have undergone obedience training. I am fully house-broken, and ready to love. I’ll even bring some of my supplies along with me.
Please offer me a loving, forever home today. I can’t wait to show you my dazzling white smile and wiggle my way into your heart.
Love, Black Beauty
Location: Avondale, AZ, 85323
Type of Pet: Dog
Breed: German Shepherd/Schipperke Mix
Age: 8 months old
Color/Coat Type: all black
Size: 38 pounds
Health Issues: no
Behavior Issues: She does not like mini pins dogs. I have had her since she was 2 weeks old. Bottle fed her. She was raised with minpins, (10 of them). She ate, slept and played with the minpins. Then she was spayed. When she came home after surgery she attacked a minpins. We did not understand this. She got along with all the minpins till she was spayed then everything changed. I have tried to adopt her out. Rescue me.org but not much has happened. Today she attacked another minpin. He at the Vet overnight. I live with my exhusband and the minpins are his. He is very upset which I do not blame him.
Please help me find a foster home for Black Beauty. She gets along with all our big dogs, loves people and children. I do not want to take her to Maricopa County Humane Society, they will put her to sleep. She has had all her shots, spayed. Dog training classes, beginning classes, (6 weeks) She is very smart and I love her but this is very upsetting for the whole household. There is 10 minpins, 3 queensland, and then Beauty and her sister Suzette. Our house is full and we can’t have one dog that is hurting the others. Please help me rehome her, she deserves a good home.
Black Beauty is:
Obedience Trained
Black Beauty gets along with:
Children, Adults, Big Dogs
Personality
She is sweet and loving. She loves to play. Since she was a month old she has had her own toys. She plays with her ball, runs, chases it and brings it back to me so I can throw it again and again. She loves her sister and the Queensland Heelers. Plays with them all day in the back yard. She is taken for a walk everyday and loves her walks. She loves riding in the car, and is potty trained since she was 3 months old. When it gets dark her and her sister crawl underneath the bed goes to sleep. She is very smart can sit, lay down, and knows how to leave it. She loves to please. This other side of her is very perplexing. She knows how to use a dog door. Her only problem is small dogs. Please help us. Call me.
Reason For Rehoming
I have written my problem with Black Beauty in the above 2 paragraphs. Please help me. I am so upset about this situation. Black Beauty was dragged to my door by her mother, a stray dog, that had Black Beauty and her sister during the very hot June, 2015. She knew she could not keep them alive so she gave them to me. The mother watched me as I picked them up off my garage floor and took them in my house. She stood on my driveway and just nodded her head and walk away, once she saw that I rescued them. Please, Please help me find a place for Black Beauty. Please do not have a bad ending come to her. If this is my fault then I can take the blame but we should not let Black Beauty have a bad ending. | {
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분양받은 반려견이 식분증(배설물을 먹는 증상)을 보인다는 이유로 환불을 요구하다 거절당하자 반려견을 집어 던진 여성이 동물 학대 혐의로 검찰에 넘겨졌다.
강릉경찰서는 13일 동물보호법 위반 혐의로 수분양인 이모씨를 기소 의견으로 검찰에 송치했다.
이씨는 지난 9일 오후 5시께 강릉 한 애견분양 가게에서 "강아지가 똥을 먹는다"며 환불을 요구하고, 거절당하자 3개월 된 몰티즈를 집어 던져 사망에 이르게 한 혐의를 받는다.
기사 제목과 주요 문장을 기반으로 자동요약한 결과입니다. 전체 맥락을 이해하기 위해서는 본문 보기를 권장합니다. | {
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Want to be tough on the tarnish and not your coppers? If so this blog is could help, from the junk drawer coin stashers to the binder organizers. When I started I was that coin pocket plunger and nothing is wrong with that, I just never thought the fun times would turn into a collection. I would dig in the depths of my pocket and remove any penny tarnished or not for a go at the hand cranking penny press. Now that I’m into the collecting side, some of those pressed pennies aren’t the shiny copper I want.
Looking at them and all the tiny details of tarnished covered treasured memories was a little overwhelming. Bring forth the toothbrush, expensive copper cleaner, and watching the clock as I scrub each coin. This really is a problem when you have a large amount of coins. To fix a problem you have to first understand the problem.
So what is causing that brown dirty look on the pennies? It’s called tarnish. It happens when copper, a metal, reacts with oxygen and sulfides in the air. This forms a reaction called copper oxide and/or copper sulfide which causes the brown or green appearance on the pennies. This can vary too depending on the penny. All pennies made before 1982 are solid copper and tend to have a more green tarnish, whereas the newer pennies are made from a combination of zinc and copper giving them a more brown tarnish.
To care for the pressed pennies you are going to want something thats not too abrasive because this can cause damage to the design or even the copper. So I set out to find just that something mild, not time consuming, and easy on my wallet. I searched the internet and found many, many possible solutions. Then I narrowed it down to two easy fast and cheap choices.
The first was a mix of baking soda and lemon juice. Two easy to find and cheap to buy ingredients with simple instructions to use. So, I grabbed a very tarnished Cabela’s pressed penny I had and, that I didn’t care too much for, to experiment on.
I then placed the penny on a foam plate (for easy cleanup) followed by mixing a tablespoon of baking soda with a teaspoon lemon juice in a coffee cup. Then poured the mix on the penny.
This was my first mistake of many with this experiment. Judging by the chemical smell that came off that bubbling concoction, I may have found the base ingredients of mustard gas. Y’all it ate right through that plate. Ok now to recover… I picked the penny up and an old toothbrush. I scrubbed the penny for a minute and washed it off. Here was my second mistake the instructions said to use a rag and gently buff the copper. Either way brush or “buff” the baking soda put some pretty nice scuffs on the penny. Side note, it didn’t clean it as well as I would have liked. Why did I tell you this? Well because it’s a lesson learned … just because it’s on the internet doesnt mean it’s right.
Moving on to the next penny and the next hopeful cleaning candidate. No laughing here… I used ketchup. Yes, that wonderful red goo we use to smother and cover many tasty foods in. I used an extra Kentucky Down Under pressed penny that had seen better days. I mean it couldn’t go as poorly as the baking soda and lemon juice right?
This time using a glass plate I laid the penny down and blobbed on the ketchup. Over it and under it I covered this penny. Now I waited…. 15 minutes to be exact. A quick rinse in the sink and a towel rub dry I had my solution.
What I found was a like new penny under the tomato goo. How did this work though? The salt and acetic acid in vinegar, both ingredients in ketchup, caused a breakdown in oxides and/or copper sulfides that cause tarnish. When the breakdown happens it makes the tarnish easy to remove and causes little to no damage to the design or the penny. So while I kicked back and waited for a clean penny, I let science go to war with the tarnish. A wonderful side to this blog you can use it as a great educational experiment with kids. Enjoy the penny pressing journey.
Jaclynn
Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus. | {
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Under an agreement signed by George W. Bush, the U.S. was to withdraw forces from Iraq by the end of 2011. American military officials, fearful that Iraq might unravel without U.S. supervision, wanted to keep 20,000 to 25,000 troops in the country after that. Obama now claims that maintaining any residual force was impossible because Iraq’s parliament would not give U.S. soldiers immunity from prosecution. Given how unpopular America’s military presence was among ordinary Iraqis, that may well be true. But we can’t fully know because Obama—eager to tout a full withdrawal from Iraq in his reelection campaign—didn’t push hard to keep troops in the country. As a former senior White House official told Peter Baker of The New York Times, “We really didn’t want to be there and [Maliki] really didn’t want us there.… [Y]ou had a president who was going to be running for re-election, and getting out of Iraq was going to be a big statement.”
In recent days, Republicans have slammed Obama for withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq. But the real problem with America’s military withdrawal was that it exacerbated a diplomatic withdrawal that had been underway since Obama took office.
The decline of U.S. leverage in Iraq simply reinforced the attitude Obama had held since 2009: Let Maliki do whatever he wants so long as he keeps Iraq off the front page.
On December 12, 2011, just days before the final U.S. troops departed Iraq, Maliki visited the White House. According to Nasr, he told Obama that Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi, an Iraqiya leader and the highest-ranking Sunni in his government, supported terrorism. Maliki, argues Nasr, was testing Obama, probing to see how the U.S. would react if he began cleansing his government of Sunnis. Obama replied that it was a domestic Iraqi affair. After the meeting, Nasr claims, Maliki told aides, “See! The Americans don’t care.”
In public remarks after the meeting, Obama praised Maliki for leading “Iraq’s most inclusive government yet.” Iraq’s Deputy Prime Minister, Saleh al-Mutlaq, another Sunni, told CNN he was “shocked” by the president’s comments. “There will be a day,” he predicted, “whereby the Americans will realize that they were deceived by al-Maliki … and they will regret that.”
A week later, the Iraqi government issued a warrant for Hashimi’s arrest. Thirteen of his bodyguards were arrested and tortured. Hashimi fled the country and, while in exile, was sentenced to death.
“Over the next 18 months,” writes Pollack, “many Sunni leaders were arrested or driven from politics, including some of the most non-sectarian, non-violent, practical and technocratic.” Enraged by Maliki’s behavior, and emboldened by the prospect of a Sunni takeover in neighboring Syria, Iraqi Sunnis began reconnecting with their old jihadist allies. Yet, in public at least, the Obama administration still acted as if all was well. | {
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Quick and dirty way to have OpenBSD running on your Linode:
1. Create New Linode.
2. Create New Disk
Select unformatted raw 1024MB (make it bigger just in case)
Label Install Disk
3. Create New Disk
Unformatted raw, make is as big as it's allowed.
4. Go to Remote Access and connect to your console either using ajax or ssh
5. Go into Rescue tab and Click Reboot into rescue mode
6. When finnix boots, download installxx.fs using wget
i.e wget http://mirrors.nycbug.org/pub/OpenBSD/s … stall58.fs">http://mirrors.nycbug.org/pub/OpenBSD/snapshots/amd64/install58.fs
7. check where is your Install Disk located by doing fdisk -l. (most likely sda)
8. dd if=install58.fs of=/dev/sda bs=1M
9. create new configuration
Label: OpenBSD
VM Mode Full-virtualization
Kernel: Direct Disk
/dev/sda OpenBSD
/dev/sdb Install.fs
change boot device to /dev/sdb
10. disable all filesystem/boot helpers
11. Reboot into OpenBSD profile but be careful.. As soon as you see boot> we need to interrupt it by pressing space or something similar. this may require few tries and it usually works better from ajax web console.
You could of course edit install58.fs but I found this unnecessary.
12. execute set tty com0
13. install openbsd
14. change profile to boot from /dev/sda and enjoy!
My ref code in case someone needs a new linode account to try it: | {
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WithColor Wins Back $700k From Isildur1
Pete - Saturday, August 29, 2015, Written by- Saturday, August 29, 2015, High stakes reports
Hats off to PLO specialist "WithColor"for not throwing the towel in after Tueday's $1.1m hammering at the $200/$400 PLO tables against Viktor "Isildur1" Blom. In yesterday's return match he picked himself up, dusted himself down and managed to shake off a tricky start to romp to a near $700k victory over the rampant Swede in a hugely entertaining match.
Isildur1 had toyed with a few short games of $50/$100 and $100/$200 PLO a little 8-Game, and a little FLO8 resulting in a small profit before the main event of the day - a 5hr 45min heads-up battle over 4 tables against WithColor.
The match started off well for Isildur1 as it looked like he was set to continue as he left off a few nights ago and after the first couple of hours play he had taken a near $200k lead in the match. At this point they switched from $200/$400 down to $100/$200 deep for around 20 minutes before moving up to deep $200/$400. This is where the real action took place.
WithColor was playing a much stronger game, and Isildur1 wasn't reacting well. The Swedish pro was being both outplayed and out-lucked, which only had the effect of sending Isildur1 into tilt-mode and his losses started to mount up.
To be fair to Isildur1 he did manage to compose himself and worked hard to get back into the game, but it wasn't to be his night and as well as being outplayed, he was on the end of a huge number of bad beats and coolers. There were numerous top set vs middle set and full house over full house pots, all of which went to WithColor. He even managed to river a full house on both runs of the river with Isildur1 ahead with a straight on the turn to take the day's biggest pot of $163k.
During the dying minutes, Isildur1 did win back around $100k but WithColor still ended the session up a huge $697k. Despite this loss, Isildur1 is still up $2m since last Friday so we may well not have seen the last of this great rivalry just yet.
Yesterday's Biggest Winners
WithColor +$697k
Jalovaaen +$48.4k
fjutekk +$17.7k
TILTMENOT +$17.5k
For all yesterday's results go to our results page, or for current action check out the live results section. | {
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We are actually witnessing an erosion of protections of women and children in abusive relationships. Policies that reflect social biases paint women as “vindictive” liars, combine with the efforts of both alleged abusers to fight to regain control of their wives and children and fathers’ rights proponents are harming women and children trying to escape abuse.
This article was updated at 1:44 pm EST to insert a missing paragraph.
When do reproductive rights end? Do they end at birth? Do they continue throughout a child’s life? Do reproductive rights extend to parental rights? These are questions we are just starting to ask. And finding the answer can be, in many cases, the difference between life and death.
Most agree that women have a right to control their own bodies. However, recent research shows that some men sabotage women’s use of birth control and some use coercion to get a woman pregnant. Abusive men use these tactics to control women. And in cases where a woman then has children in an abusive setting, what are the woman’s reproductive rights and how do these intersect with her parental rights? Surely, charges of “failure to protect” can be used against her if she or the child is harmed. But what happens when women flee such relationships or try to deny abusive parents access to their children? Does either the judicial system or society support her in her efforts to protect her children? Do we believe her? Provide her with protection? Deny abusers access to children?
We are actually witnessing an erosion of protections of women and children in abusive relationships. In this article, I examine the ways in which policies that reflect social biases painting women as “vindictive” liars, combine with the efforts of both alleged abusers to fight to regain control of their wives and children and fathers’ rights proponents are harming women and children trying to escape abuse.
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Approximately 100,000 contested child custody cases occur each year in the U.S. Two-thirds of these involve domestic violence, committed overwhelmingly (90 percent) by fathers, according to Harvard’s Jay Silverman, in a forward to the book Domestic Violence, Abuse, and Child Custody. Research finds that men who assault their wives are also likely to abuse their children. While we are likely to believe that the protective parent would gain custody, this is not often the case. In contested custody cases, men who seek custody get it up to 84 percent of the time. The Leadership Council on Child Abuse and Interpersonal Violence estimates that approximately 58,000 children a year go into unsupervised, joint or sole custody with an abusive parent. What’s a mother to do to protect herself and her child?
Failure to protect
In a recent case our judicial system was tested and failed. Katie Tagle sought a restraining order on Jan. 21, 2010 against her ex-boyfriend Stephen Garcia to stop him from having unsupervised visitation with their nine-month-old child. She told the judge Garcia threatened to kill the infant. The judge thought she was lying. The court transcript records Judge Robert Lemkau as saying, “One of you is lying…” And later, “Mr. Garcia claims it’s total fabrication on your part.” Garcia also referred to it as “little stunts and games” that “she used” to deny him access to his son. Even when she mentions the evidence of the threats, he says, “Well, ma’am, there’s a real dispute about whether that’s even true or not.” And finally, “My suspicion is that you’re lying…” (said twice). He denied her the order (as did two other judges). Garcia took their son that day and drove off into the mountains. Ten days later they were both found dead.
If this were only an isolated case, it might end there. But it’s not.
Within two weeks of the Garcia-Tagle case, on February 8, 20-year-old Nicholas Bacon shot his nine-month-old son and then himself. Bacon had joint custody.
Shortly after these two cases, 34-year-old Jesus Roman Fuentes shot his four-year-old son during a court-ordered visitation. The boy died at the hospital. The father, who had also shot himself, died this past week.
And following on these three cases, Mark Resch shot his seven-year-old son during a scheduled visitation and then committed suicide. The apparent motive was revenge against his estranged wife. In this case, the wife sought two orders of protection and police removed a gun from the household. Evidently, the family court judge still believed this man was a safe parent.
Mark A. Guenther was charged in the murder of his 18-month-old daughter this month. According to a commenter named Brokenhearten, who posted a comment on the news article:
Her mother tried and tried to get something done so that she did not have to go see her father. She had DFS out to his house, they found nothing…She filed for an order of protection on a couple different occassions…they were dismissed…She refused to let her see her dad until her back was up to the wall…the court systems had tied her hands and she had no other choices but to let her sweet baby go to her dads house and hope that everything was ok…
Once again, parental rights trumped safety and the system meant to protect children ignored the dangers identified by the mother.
Family court and fathers’ rights = A deadly combination
Historically, battered women have had problems retaining custody of their children. Mainly this was due to how they present; in a word, poorly. They cry, they’re frightened, they appear anxious and even hostile. Now add to this mix the Fathers’ Rights movement, a group referred to as anti-feminist, backlash and even, the “Abusers’ Lobby” and you have what amounts to a catastrophe, if not a deadly combination, for women and children. (In contrast, positive parenting or responsible fatherhood groups often work as allies with women.)
The Fathers’ rights movement (along with many Men’s rights activists), has introduced policies such as “friendly parent” policies, joint custody, punishment for false allegations and various syndromes to family courts across the country (as well as in many Western countries and in India). Most of these policies seem beneficial on the surface — but have hidden dangers lurking underneath.
In today’s courts with friendly parent policies, a battered woman will look anything but friendly. So who gets custody? The one who appears most likely to share parenting responsibilities. Often enough, the batterer.
Joint custody is another policy that sounds fair in principle, but experts warn it is not ideal for couples with high conflict. Family court is, however, known to be “the place” for couples with moderate-to-high conflict. Most couples (roughly 85 percent) resolve parenting plans themselves. Those that can’t, and often enough those with some prior history of abuse or control, go to family court. Fathers’ rights groups would like to see family courts enforce presumptive or mandated shared custody. Experts in domestic violence would not.
Domestic violence experts also cringe at the idea of punishing false allegations, something the fathers’ rights groups actively promote. Since accusations of abuse can be difficult to prove – with evidence and witnesses – this can serve to punish parents for alleging abuse. Punishment deters reporting. Parents can be fined, jailed or denied custody if the judge doesn’t believe their accusation. Domestic violence expert Barry Goldstein says, “Research has established that fathers in contested custody cases are 16 times more likely than mothers to make false allegations. It is not that men are more dishonest, but 90 percent of contested custody cases involve abusive fathers seeking custody to pressure their partner to return or punish her for leaving. Although fathers are more likely to make false charges, courts are more likely to believe them.”
Parental alienation (PA) or parental alienation syndrome (PAS), the idea that a parent poisons the mind of the child(ren), is another idea introduced within the last two decades by fathers rights groups. Developed by Dr. Richard Gardner, PAS is highly controversial. Proponents claim parents (mostly mothers) turn their children against the other parent. Opponents claim PAS can mask child abuse. Indeed, research by Jay Silverman found 54 percent of cases with documented abuse were in favor of abusers. PAS was used in nearly every case.
In many of the cases I’ve cited, had the women tried to deny the fathers access to the children, they could’ve been countered with “alienation” or the judge could’ve immediately transferred custody over to the more “friendly” parent.
In a case stemming from November, for example, Danielle Horvat fled with her three-and-a-half-year-old boy, Garrett Aguilar on a day that she had a dispute with the boy’s father, David Aguilar. She stopped at one domestic violence shelter. Despite the fact that police did not investigate her claims of abuse, the court immediately transferred custody over to the father, as they often do when parents flee.
The incredible lightness of domestic violence
Thanks to the aid of the Internet, (mostly) men that make claims of being falsely accused or alienated find support, encouragement and targets for their anger — which is aimed at their exes, or women in general and feminists in particular. Individuals and groups that promote studies referring to domestic violence as 50-50 or “mutual” also find supporters within this crowd. Many of these claims are based on studies that rely on self-reportage or pick up common couple violence. Their limitations include using self-report; not picking up severe violence or homicide; not putting violence into context (was it used for self-defense?); and not including violence during separation (the most dangerous time for a woman). What the promotion of these studies has done is introduce the element of doubt. If you combine this with women’s low credibility (due to societal bias and the biases of the legal system), you have danger.
Take the case of Timothy Frazier. In May 2009, Frazier convinced police his ex-girlfriend Candice Dempsey was a threat to their 21-month-old son. While Frazier made it very clear to police he did not have custody, police readily handed his son over to him. Two weeks later, both were found dead.
Even when the woman is believed, it is not often the father will have his parental rights terminated. Last year, Octavious Dupree Gilmore punched his ex-girlfriend in the head and threatened to kill her, their two kids and himself. The Gaston Gazette reported him as saying, “”…(I)f I can’t have you, nobody can,” Gilmore allegedly told her. “I’ll kill you, the kids, then myself.” He was charged but later released. According to the article, he was told to “have no contact with the accuser outside of their child custody agreement,” (emphasis mine). Despite an assault and death threats, the judge believed this man to be a safe parent.
In another case, charges of domestic violence were not given much weight, as they were not placed in context of the abuser’s history. Craig Alan Wall, Sr. was a suspect in his 5-week-old son’s death. He violated a protection order when he went to his son’s memorial. The prosecutor never mentioned that Wall was a suspect in his son’s case or that he had served a 14-year prison sentence for armed robbery. The judge released Wall on $1,000 bail. Two days later, he stabbed his ex-girlfriend (the child’s mother) to death. She was 29 and left behind a 6-year-old son.
Fathers rights do not trump women and children’s safety
In many of these cases, the women are doing what they are “supposed to do:” reporting domestic violence, filing orders of protection, using shelters, and so on. And yet, despite jumping all the hoops set up for them, in many of these cases, the system is failing them. The women in question are not finding justice for themselves or their children. As a result, we find women who feel forced to stay with an abuser or forced to share parenting rather than not be able to protect her children at all. These women are not “failing to protect,” but the judicial system is failing to protect them and their children from further harm, abuse and death. (For citations to research on women losing custody, see www.leadershipcouncil.org) [Note: organizations like Justice for Children do report men experiencing similar situations, but overwhelmingly we witness women facing this type of bias and injustice in family court.]
Many of the fathers rights guys think their reproductive rights extend to their parental rights. This should also be the case for women — and, indeed, many mothers’ rights groups have sprung up in defense of these rights. So the question remains: When do our reproductive rights end? How can we we prevent women from losing custody of the very children they bear? How can we help them protect themselves and their children from harm? How can we help women receive justice in a judicial system that may not believe their claims and may actually punish them for making abuse allegations? Fathers do have rights, no doubt, but their rights do not trump women and children’s safety. That is the balance — the justice — that we must seek — and it’s a matter of life and death that we do so soon. | {
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Michelle just might be abusing her position here.
We last saw Hsin’s old, annoying and mysterious friend Lin when he took a break from an international summit to take the band out for drinks.
A friend of mine is very fond of this expression since your pants pocket is the most likely place for your cell phone to be when someone calls. | {
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The 77th annual Golden Globes ceremony will kick off next month, honouring the best performances in both television and film. From the looks of it, both JOKER and THE IRISHMAN lead the way in the nominations. JOKER has nominations for Actor (Joaquin Phoenix), Director (Todd Phillips), and Picture, while THE IRISHMAN is noticed for its Director (Martin Scorsese), Best Supporting Actor twice (Al Pacino, Joe Pesci) and Best Picture. Noah Baumbach's MARRIAGE STORY is leading the nominations for six categories.
On the television side of things, GAME OF THRONES’ Kit Harrington is nominated for Best Actor, the critically acclaimed drama KILLING EVE in both the Best Drama category and Best Actress (Jodie Comer). Brian Cox has also earned a nomination for his thunderous role in HBO's SUCCESSION which has received a nomination for Best Television Series -
Drama. See the full list of nominees below: | {
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Article content continued
The remains of the king were excavated from beneath a parking lot in Leicster, central England, in August 2012. Dr. Hainsworth, with colleagues Guy Rutty and Jo Appleby, spent several months using modern forensic tools to reveal new clues about the last king of England to be killed in battle. Historical accounts state that Richard was knocked from his horse at the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485.
The researchers used the same 3D-imaging technology found in modern hospitals, a CT scan, to get the big pictures. They used a micro-CT scan to get more refined images as well as a variety of microscopes and high-resolution photography.
Once they scanned the three parts of the skull, a process that took six hours per scan, researchers tapped into the extensive medieval weapons collection at the Royal Armouries Museum in Leeds to match the shape and edging of the wounds to possible arms.
If you took a serrated kitchen knife and pushed it through a block of hard cheese, what you’d get is a pattern on the cheese of the tool marks on your kitchen knife. You can also see marks like that in bone
“If you took a serrated kitchen knife and pushed it through a block of hard cheese, what you’d get is a pattern on the cheese of the tool marks on your kitchen knife,” Dr. Hainsworth said. “You can also see marks like that in bone.”
Their investigation found that Richard also sustained a major injury to the right side of his head, likely from a halberd, a pole with an axe on the end. Dr. Hainsworth said the images couldn’t reveal of how much of his brain would have been exposed by that hit. Seven centimetres would have been fatal.
Dr. Hainsworth said the king also sustained four injuries to the top of his head — one from a square-shaped dagger, likely a rondel, and three slicing marks from another dagger — as well as injuries to his cheek, jaw, rib and pelvis.
Richard will be buried in a $1.8-million ceremony at Leicester Cathedral.
National Post | {
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(A girl of about eight years old is staring longingly at the display of stickers we have by the cash register.)
Girl: “I’d love to have some of these stickers, but I don’t have any money.” *sighs loudly*
Me: “I’m sorry to hear that.”
Girl: “So… are you going to give me some for free, or what?”
Me: “…” | {
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Why Maury Island Matters Inside the Fight over a Vulnerable Part of Puget Sound
Puget Sound is kind of fucked. Among its many problems: Fish in Hood Canal aren't getting the oxygen they need, invasive sea squirts (tube-shaped invertebrates) are crowding out important shell fisheries, and a food chain messed up by pollution and shoreline development means animals are struggling to eat.
Which is why a light-sensitive plant called eelgrass is so important. Eelgrass is one of the few plants in Puget Sound with a life span long enough to really settle in and act as a sustainable source of shade, shelter, and nutrients for low-on-the-food-chain sea creatures. Then when it dies, it feeds bugs and crabs. Eelgrass is like nonstop life support, and protecting existing beds of it is crucial. A lot of it grows in Puget Sound's shallow northern bays, and the rest is scattered in nearshore zones just below steep bluffs like the Maury Island Aquatic Reserve, one of just four areas in Puget Sound specifically designated for protection because of the high number of endangered species that live and eat in the area.
In 1998, local mining company Glacier Northwest (a subsidiary of Japanese giant Taiheiyo Cement) first applied to turn a dilapidated dock into a high-tech dock directly below its gravel mine on Maury Island, setting off a 10-year run of environmental-impact studies by government agencies, permit applications and mitigation plans by Glacier, and lawsuits from local environmentalists. Meanwhile, between 1998 and 2008, local environmental groups and the Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) were learning more and more about the types of environmental parameters that sustain eelgrass habitat.
The proposed Glacier dock—shaped like a T and designed to transfer gravel to boats in a large conveyor tube—would significantly alter the sensitive nearshore habitat with construction noise, interrupted sediment drifting patterns along the beach, and ground contamination from the unloading process. But most importantly, the shade cast by the physical structure of the dock and conveyor tube would surely kill off the eelgrass. Doing so would be in violation of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) because of the way it would hurt chinook salmon, orcas, and other species that develop and feed in those eelgrass beds.
But a study done by the Army Corps of Engineers and completed in the summer of 2008 gave the project its final permit in the face of disagreement from environmental interests, and Glacier got permission to build the dock anyway. The permission came on December 2, 2008, when outgoing public lands commissioner Doug Sutherland—clearly stung after a narrow loss to Democrat Peter Goldmark in last year's election—granted Glacier, who had contributed $50,000 toward his reelection bid, a 30-year lease to work in the protected Maury Island reserve in one of his final moves before leaving office. ("I looked at the data we asked for, I looked at the information that was provided, and it appeared to me there was no scientific reason not to proceed," Sutherland told the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. As for the $50,000, he said, "I know nothing about the independent expenditure... That was not part of my campaign.")
So a number of environmental groups led by a Maury Island operation called Preserve Our Islands submitted a lawsuit in federal court seeking to halt construction on the dock. They had the support of the Goldmark administration, which doubted the legitimacy of Sutherland's decision to grant the lease (which Glacier only pays $1,500 a year for) because they said that new science provided compelling reasons to doubt the Army Corps of Engineers permit. To their great relief, U.S. District Court Judge Ricardo Martinez ruled on August 13 in favor of the salmon and the orcas, saying the Corps' permit was no longer valid. Without valid environmental permits, leases in aquatic reserves lose their standing.
"The ESA is a really blunt tool when it comes to protecting salmon and orcas," Mike Sato, communications director for fellow plaintiff People for Puget Sound, told The Stranger. "But it is a tool that can stop some really bad stuff from happening. And in this case, I think it did."
But it isn't a done deal. There is still a chance that two major federal agencies (the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Corps) will find it worthwhile to reevaluate their permits based on the latest information. However, given the stress that our current economic situation has placed on many government agencies' discretionary spending, that is somewhat unlikely. Even if they do reevaluate the permit, the Corps could find that the project is too harmful to the chinook and the orcas. That would once again spell doom for the Glacier dock.
Bridget Moran, deputy supervisor for aquatics and agency resources with the DNR, describes this instance of halting the construction as a way to help mitigate against the "death by a thousand cuts" ailment that is slowly killing Puget Sound one habitat at a time. "Each one doesn't seem like it has a big impact," she said of the Maury Island issue. "This ruling tells us to look more broadly at the bigger pictures."
Puget Sound is still fucked—but a little less so today than it was a week ago. "We didn't move forward on protecting Puget Sound," Sato said. "But we sure didn't make it worse." | {
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Illegal overfishing affects catch in Turkish waters
The annual fish catch in the wild has declined from 503,000 tonnes to 354,000 tonnes over the last 20 years. | {
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The state of Minnesota is roughly 84 percent white and 6 percent black. The state of Minnesota puts out an incredible document entitled the Minnesota Uniform Crime Report, with the last version covering 2017. It appears no news publication in St. Paul, Minneapolis or Duluth has been interested in analyzing the data within this report.
In 2017, there were 103 homicide arrests in the state of Minnesota (p. 57):
59 of those arrested were black or 57 percent
38 of those arrested were white or 37 percent
In 2017, there were 1141 arrests for robbery in the state of Minnesota (p. 57):
758 of those arrested were black or 66 percent
308 of those arrested were white or 27 percent
Again, remember Minnesota is only six percent black. These reports are out there for every state and in many cases, for every major city in the United States. And not one newspaper or local news channel in Minnesota will dare publish the data, because we might start basing social policy (as we once did in the USA) on who/whom commits the crime to ensure the law-abiding receive protection.
It should be noted in 1990, the state was almost 95 percent white. There’s an amazing line of dialogue from 1993’s Hots Shots! Part Deux, which was regrettably prophetic (considering what’s happened with the mass importing of Somalians to Minneapolis/St. Paul). When discussing an attack on the Middle East, the President of United States in the movie (played by the late Lloyd Bridges) inadvertently points to Minnesota on a globe instead of Iraq:
President Thomas ‘Tug’ Benson : Here’s the target area.
Hots Shots! Part Deux was a spoof, but in 2019 Minnesota, the joke has come true. | {
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de Dan Tapalaga
Joi, 15 iunie 2017, 10:44
52896 de afisari
Ce poate face premierul? In primul rand, presimt ca nu se va grabi sa trimita demisiile la Cotroceni. Cum ar fi daca primele demisii expediate la Iohannis vor fi trei: Sevil, Olguta si Carmen? Cum vor reactiona baronii cand Grindeanu va lua pusculita si biciul din mana lui Dragnea? Vor mai ramane langa liderul PSD? Premierul mai are un interes sa traga de timp cu demisiile ministrilor. Cu cat o lungeste mai mult, cu atat are sansa sa-i intoarca pe unii din drum.Tineti cont ca presedintele Iohannis mai este in Romania doar azi si maine. Toata saptamana viitoare lipseste. Pleaca luni intr-o vizita oficiala de patru zile in Germania, unde se intalneste cu Merkel, apoi merge la Consiliul European de vara de la Bruxelles. De ce n-ar profita Grindeanu de absenta lunga a presedintelui pentru a castiga timp? De ce nu l-ar fierbe putin pe Dragnea, mai ales ce are la dispozitie 15 zile pentru a rezolva demisiile ministrilor? Deja le transmite pesedistilor incurajari sa ramana “de partea buna".Daca Grindeanu trimite la Cotroceni demisie cu demisie are ocazia sa-si refaca trepatat echipa. Victor Ponta si Daniel Constantin sunt gata sa-i livreze oameni, plus ca se vor gasi destui in PSD care vor trece de partea premierului in ciuda amenintarilor cu excluderea. Pana la urma, Dragnea nu poate elimina din partid filiale intregi.In fata acestui scenariu, liderul PSD are doua optiuni: fie se resemneaza, fie depune in parlament o motiune de cenzura impotriva guvernului Grindeanu. Retragerea sprijinului politic votata miercuri in Comitetul Executiv National nu are nici o valoare din punct de vedere juridic. Nu produce nici un efect din punct de vedere constitutional. Chiar daca liderul PSD exclude din partid fiecare nou ministru pus de Grindeanu in guvern, tot nu rezolva nimic. Singurul mod de a darama propriul guvern si de a scapa de premier este motiunea de cenzura. Restul sunt artificii mediatice. Vorba lui Tudorel Toader: S-a prabusit doar pilonul politic, pilonul juridic inca tine Guvernul in picioare.Daca Sorin Grindeanu va ajunge insa in pozitia de a reface echipa guvernamentala, daca oamenii lui Dragnea zboara din noul Guvern iar painea si cutitul trec cu totul in mainile premierului, ma tem ca sansele liderului PSD de a-si tranti propriul guvern prin motiune de cenzura scad dramatic spre zero. Se vor gasi destui parlamentari PSD si ALDE gata sa-l salveze pe Grindeanu pentru bani, sinecuri sau alte beneficii pe care premierul le poate imparti. Dragnea nu mai are nimic de oferit, in afara de vorbe si de o perspectiva personala cam sumbra.Premierul Grindeanu poate supravietui exact cum a facut-o premierul Tariceanu in 2007, in ciuda incercarilor presedintelui Traian Basescu de a-l convinge sa demisioneze pentru a organiza anticipate. Or, tocmai Tariceanu ii reproseaza azi lui Grindeanu ca se agata de putere, el care a supravietuit doi ani conducand un Guvern minoritar de 20% si cu sustinerea tacita a opozitiei reprezentata pe atunci de PSD. Ce ce n-ar proceda exact la fel Grindeanu?In fine, prin riposta dura de miercuri seara, premierul Grindeanu se rupe complet de Liviu Dragnea, acuzat pe fata ca vrea toata puterea pentru a o exercita in interes propriu. Este prima demonstratie de forta in fata liderului PSD si primul gest de autoritate. De vazut cum va fi perceput in interiorul PSD. De acum, nu mai exista cale de intoarcere. Unul dintre cei doi va pierde urat. In acest moment seful guvernului pare sa fie intr-un usor avantaj. Mecanismele legale sunt de partea lui. Presedintele Klaus Iohannis - omul cheie in aceasta criza politica - nu are nici un interes sa-l obstructioneze sau sa intre in jocul lui Dragnea. Drept dovada, Administratia Prezidentiala a invitat practic PSD joi, prin purtatorul de cuvant, sa-si dea jos premierul prin motiune de cenzura daca doreste, altfel premierul este bine-merci in functie.Poza serii de miercuri, 14 iunie 2017, va intra in antologia prostiei politice romanesti. Dragnea si Tariceanu, doi lideri de partid cam negri la fata anunta o tara intreaga, de buna voie si nesiliti de nimeni, ca au pus cu mana lor un guvern de incompetenti, de ratati, de netrebnici si de impotenti care nu pot fi lasati sa ruineze tara. Evaluarea partidului de guvernamant (atentie, nu a opozitiei) arata ca in primele sase luni, o echipa de habarnisti instalata de Palatul Victoria ne-au distrus sansa la o viata mai buna, au dat cu piciorul in galetile cu lapte si miere promise in campanie.Prin urmare, liderii PSD si ALDE, care au castigat alegerile cu un scor zdrobitor, solicita dupa sase luni propriului guvern sa plece intr-un cor de huiduieli si acuzatii ca nu respecta textul sacru al programului de guvernare. Fabulos, unic, speechless. Dispret total fata de alegatori, un afront continuu la bunul simt, bataie de joc fata de propriul partid tratat ca o armata de slugi proaste.Nici macar alegatorii nepretentiosi n-au cum sa inghita prea usor gogosile servite in aceste zile de Dragnea si Tariceanu, pana si ei au ocazia sa se lamureasca acum ca au fost pur si simplu trasi pe sfoara de o adunatura de borfasi disperati sa-si salveze pielea. | {
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WATCH LIVE: CBC News is providing live coverage of results on CBCNews.ca and on CBC News Network. Mobile users can watch live here.
With 22 of all 32 regions in Scotland's independence referendum being announced, the No side of the campaign has a substantial but not yet foregone lead.
Glasgow, the biggest city to report to date, put a dent in the lead but the overall total still stands at 53.8 per cent choosing to keep the current relationship with the United Kingdom, compared to 46.2 per cent for the Yes campaign, the BBC reported.
The first six of 32 regions reporting all went into the No column, with Dundee and West Dunbartonshire then becoming the first centres to fall for the Yes side.
But through 22 regions, only four featured a Yes majority.
The question on the ballot asked voters simply: "Should Scotland be an independent country?" and a record number of voters were expected to turn out for their chance to weigh in on the question.
Clackmannanshire, the first region to report, was a win for the No vote, with 54 per cent rejecting an independent Scotland.
The fifth centre to report was remarkably close. The margin of victory among 54,572 total voters in Inverclyde was just 86 votes, with the No side again prevailing.
The margin between the two sides through the entire country was just 1,400 votes through eight centres — until Midlothian reported a comfortable result for the No campaign. Stirling and Dumfries were even more clear cut for No.
Glasgow's vote count came in at just over 364,000, with a 53.5 per cent advantage for Yes.
Local officials said that more than 4.2 million people registered to cast a ballot in the referendum, which represents roughly 97 per cent of all eligible voters. Included in those eligible to vote were people as young as 16.
Final push
Alex Salmond, the first minister who led the independence campaign, made a final effort to woo voters Wednesday, saying the referendum represented an "opportunity of a lifetime."
British Prime Minister David Cameron made a case for a No vote days earlier, warning that a vote for independence would be "forever" and urging voters to choose to stick together.
Ballot papers are counted in Aberdeen immediately after the polls close in the referendum on Scotland's independence. (Ben Stansall/AFP/Getty Images)
CBC's Nahlah Ayed, reporting earlier from Edinburgh, said there has been a "real sense of occasion" throughout the day as voters went to the polls.
Ayed noted that there was a great deal of excitement, but also a lot of nervousness as people wait for the official results.
Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson told the BBC she was confident the "silent majority" of Scots would deliver a No victory, but the Yes campaign said it was too early to predict the outcome.
After the polls closed late Thursday, a nationwide count began immediately. Many Scots stayed up overnight in homes and bars, awaiting a result that could possibly change their lives, shake financial markets worldwide and boost other independence movements from Flanders to Catalonia to Quebec.
"Why not roll the dice for once?" Yes supporter Thomas Roberts said at one Edinburgh polling station. "I'm going to sit with a beer in my hand watching the results coming in."
Scotland has a population of just over 5 million, a small proportion of the more than 64 million people in the broader U.K.A vote for independence would trigger 18 months of negotiations on how the two countries would separate their institutions before Scotland's planned Independence Day on March 24, 2016. | {
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Even though I currently have a girlfriend I still masturbate to the awesome sex I had with previous girlfriends
15,633 shares | {
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Közös közleményben reagáltak a magyar gyermekorvosi szakma fontosabb csoportjai egy netes posztra, ami a fiatal webceleb orvos, dr. Novák Hunor oldalán jelent meg. A posztban egy Angliából hat év után hazatért, fiatal gyermekorvos tapasztalatairól lehetett olvasni. Röviden összefoglalva: Dr. Szakács Krisztina szerint a magyar gyermekorvosi képzés nyugaton tulajdonképpen használhatatlan, szerinte számos, a hazai gyakorlatban tanult módszer volt – például a lázcsillapítás, az allergiás reakciók és úgy általában a betegkezelés körében –, amelyről az első pár hónapjában kiderült, hogy a britek egyszerű barbárságnak tartják.
A most kiadott közleményt a Magyar Gyermekorvosok Társaságának és a Házi Gyermekorvosok Egyesületének vezetősége, az Egészségügyi Szakmai Kollégium Csecsemő- és Gyermekgyógyász, valamint Gyermek Alapellátási Tagozatának tagjai közösen jegyzik. Szerintük a brit tapasztalatait megosztó orvos véleménye „nem állja meg a helyét és egyoldalú általánosítás a magyar gyakorlatot korszerűtlennek, az európai átlagnál elmaradottabbnak nevezni”. Az orvosnő azonban továbbra is kitart állításai mellett.
A szakmai szervezetek közleménye szerint ahogy más európai országokban is, a bizonyítékokon és a humanista értékrenden alapul a csecsemő- és gyermekgyógyászat, és ahogy a világon mindenhol, úgy itthon is vannak a fejlődésre gyorsabban és lassabban reagáló szakemberek és osztályok, és a betegek is változó ütemben fogadják be a megújult gyakorlatokat.
„Egy-egy régi, de a hatósági előírásoknak még megfelelő gyakorlat mindenhol hosszabb-rövidebb idő eltelte után kopik ki a mindennapokból. Hazánk összességében nincs elmaradva e területen: a szakorvosképzés, a kötelező továbbképzési rendszer és a szakmai protokollok a legújabb tudást tartalmazzák, és a gyermekeket gyógyító intézmények, praxisok is folyamatosan, bár változó gyorsasággal újítják meg gyakorlatukat” – írják a szakmai szervezetek.
A közlemény kiemeli, hogy angliai tapasztalatait megosztó kollégájuk
még a szakorvosképzés befejezése előtt települt más országba,
így itthon nem tehetett szert arra a komplex ismeretre, amely jellemző és elvárt a magyar gyermekorvosoktól, és néhány év alatt nem kaphatott átfogó képet a hazai gyermekorvoslásról. A válasz szerint ez fontos körülmény, mert „az általa általános hazai gyakorlatként leírt megoldások a valóságban egyediek és nincs szakmai támogatottságuk, ezekkel itthon is megbukna a gyakorlati és az elméleti vizsgákon, és nem tudna csecsemő- és gyermekgyógyászati gyakorlatot folytatni”.
A közlemény szerint veszélyes dolog, ha „bizonyítékokkal alá nem támasztott, szubjektív, ám nagy publicitású vélemények” ingatják meg a családok bizalmát a gyermekorvosokban, főleg úgy, hogy a hazánkban dolgozó gyermekorvosok az angliainál nehezebb körülmények között, ám többségükben nemzetközi mércével mérve is a legmodernebb ismeretek alkalmazásával gyógyítják a gyerekeket.
Kiemelik: a csecsemőhalálozás csökkenése, a kiemelkedő hazai szoptatási és átoltottsági arány, a házi gyermekorvosi és védőnői rendszer gondozási eredményei, kitűnő gyermeknefrológiai és neonatológiai műhelyeink gyakorlattá váló tudományos eredményei miatt a szakma sok nemzetközi elismerést kap. Nem mellékes az sem, hogy több nem bizonyított hatékonyságú eljárást (pl. a homeopátiát) egyes nyugati országoknál jobban távol tudnak tartani a napi gyakorlattól.
Dr. Szakács Krisztina: Több elavult terápiás gyakorlat él Magyarországon
A szervezetek közleményére Dr. Szakács Krisztina a következőképpen reagált: "Tájékoztatásul közlöm, hogy angliai munkámat többször megszakítva, az itthoni szakképzési rendszer követelményeinek eleget téve 2013. november 20-án, a Nemzeti Vizsgabizottság előtt szakvizsgát tettem és így csecsemő és gyermekgyógyászatból szakképesítést szereztem. Külön kiemelném, hogy Gyermekgyógyászati szakképzésem alatt soha egyetlen egyszer sem buktam meg, szakvizsgámat első alkalommal sikeresen letettem. Továbbra is fenntartom azt, hogy Magyarországon sajnos még mindig számos olyan elavult terápiás irányvonal létezik, (pl. lázcsillapítás, a calcium indokolatlan rutinszerű használata allergiában, túlzottan sok szájon át valamint intravénás formában adott antibiotikum adása stb... melyek az Egyesült Királyságban nem állják meg a helyüket. Mellékelem a Nemzeti Vizsgabizottság által kiadott szakvizsga bizonyítványomat." | {
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Summer fades and days get shorter, but Hazy Little Thing is all about bright nights. It's a juicy, golden and glowing IPA, a fruit-forward hop adventure for the daring. Go bold and make tonight a Hazy one.
To earn this new badge, check-in one (1) Hazy Little Thing from Sierra Nevada between 9/11/19 and 11/11/19
.
For more information on Sierra Nevada, check out their website, or follow them on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. | {
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Kelowna
Roadside memorials to be discussed
Kelowna City Council is being asked to do something about roadside memorials which, according to a Kelowna woman, can be distracting to drivers.
Suzanne St. Germain recently wrote council asking that something be done about a particular roadside memorial on Longhill Road in Glenmore.
"This memorial is particularly disgraceful and not in any way honouring the young man who lost his life there," says St. Germain in her letter.
"It has been there since December 2004/January 2005 and is covered with dirty, decaying remnants of clothing items, sun-bleached plastic flowers and more seem to litter the ground as well."
St. Germain says the man who died at that spot and his family are from Vernon.
"It seems unlikely that anyone has visited it in years."
In her letter, St. Germain says she believes a bylaw should be in place that would help respect the families grief while at the same time "seeing they are removed after a certain designated time period by city workers."
St. Germain point to a new program in Calgary where roadside memorials are allowed to stay for one year after which time they are replaced by a metal band called a 'Halo' (Honouring A Loved One).
"I am sending this to you in hopes Kelowna will start a similar program. I am hoping the Longhill memorial can at least be cleaned up and dignified somewhat."
Mayor Sharon Shepherd is bringing up the matter at Monday morning's City Council meeting. | {
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Kapil Mishra was assaulted by a supporter of Aam Aadmi Party at dharna site on Wednesday. Kapil Mishra was assaulted by a supporter of Aam Aadmi Party at dharna site on Wednesday.
Former Delhi minister Kapil Mishra was assaulted at the site of his hunger strike on Wednesday. The attacker, identified as Ankit Bhardwaj, was caught by Mishra’s supporters and handed over to the police. Speaking to the media, he accused Mishra of abandoning the Aam Aadmi Party. “Nobody has sent me here, I have come on my own. I am an AAP worker,” Bhardwaj claimed.
Mishra did not comment on whether Bhardwaj is a volunteer of the party, as claimed by him. However, he said the man had threatened to kill him. “The guy came running, put his hands on my neck and said he would kill me. My aides caught hold of him and the police came and whisked him away,” said Mishra.
The AAP has said Bharadwaj has no link with it and is working for the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM), the youth wing of the BJP. The BJYM has also denied having any link with Bharadwaj.
Mishra was sacked from the primary membership of the party after he made corruption charges against party’s national convener Arvind Kejirwal. He had earlier said he received death threat after he levelled charges against Kejriwal.
A day after he was removed as the water minister from Delhi cabinet, Mishra had alleged that he had seen health minister giving Rs 2 crore bribe to Kejriwal. The Aam Aadmi Party rejected Mishra’s charges as baseless and suspended his party’s membership.
Mishra, who began his hunger strike on Wednesday morning, has been demanding senior AAP leaders to disclose details of the travel expenses incurred during their foreign trips. “I am sitting on a ‘satyagraha’ till I get a clarification on details of international travel expenses of some senior AAP leaders. It is not a dharna but a satyagraha. I would like to send out a message to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to put out the details of the foreign tours of his five AAP leaders — Satyendra Jain, Ashish Khetan, Raghav Chaddha, Sanjay Singh and Durgesh Pathak in public domain,” Mishra told the media.
Mishra alleged that AAP leaders — Satyendra Jain, Ashish Khetan, Raghav Chaddha, Sanjay Singh and Durgesh Pathak — used “illegal money” to fund their foreign trips. He also claimed that he has been receiving death threats over the phone.
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“What on earth is that game?”
I was mixing two of my hobbies:
working on a side project, my eBay frontend software, AuctionSieve
testing it by searching for vintage Apple II stuff
I wasn’t really expecting to find anything. I’d just fixed a bug and was doing some testing to make sure everything was working. But an auction came up. It was a ‘lot’ of old Apple II games – original disks! And the bid was still at one dollar.
Let’s see – Ultima 1, Cranston Manor, (Sierra) Online systems Hi-res adventures 1-4, stuff from Broderbund, Muse, etc – around 30 games in all – all originals (no boxes or manuals though). Wait a sec, that’s a California Pacific version of Ultima 1. Some quick googling ensues. Yep, these are worth quite a bit of money.
And some weird game I’d never heard of called Caverns of Mordia.
So I put a bid in and after several days, couldn’t believe my luck. I won the auction for $10.50!
The games arrived a week later and I did a closer examination of what I got. All in good order. Yep, this was definitely a bargain. And what on earth is this Caverns of Mordia thing?
So I did some searching. I actually found a copy of the disk online in the asimov archive. Downloaded it and played it in an emulator. Real old-school stuff but unfortunately it crashes at certain points – perhaps a bad crack?
Did some more searching and found a pdf of the manual. Looked through it and found the authors – H. G. L. Coster and A. L. D’Assumpcao – published in Sydney by Lothlorien Farming copyright 1980.
Hm, I wonder who these guys are? Searched for A L D’Assumpcao – no dice. Did a search for H G L Coster and hit pay dirt – found he’s a professor at Sydney Uni and UNSW – one Hans Coster!
Could it really be the same person? So I sent him an email.
Dear Professor Coster, I recently bought a bunch of Apple II games off eBay. Your game, Caverns of Mordia, was included – see attached image. I’m interested in the digital preservation of items such as this and there’s not a lot of information on the internet about it. What I did find was a scan of the manual with your name – and a quick google search later, you were easy to find. I was wondering if I could ask you a few questions about it? Regards, Neville Ridley-Smith
And the next day, he replied!
Dear Neville,
What a surprise to r of this; a real blast from the past!
I would be pleased to answer any questions you may have.
Actually, I still have the source code etc.
I look forward to hearing from you,
Regards
Hans
Wow, I had made contact with an original Apple II game developer.
…
And then I got to meet him!
By chance, Wozfest /// (a gathering of Apple II enthusiasts in Sydney) was just around the corner and after some Q&A with Hans, I invited him along and he was very enthusiastic.
We had a great time on the night. He brought along some of his original disks, which unfortunately couldn’t be imaged.
He also brought along an original manual (printed on orangey-red paper to prevent photocopying)
and some of his notes and graphs he drew up when designing the game.
Much fun was had – there were even some Apple II product announcements on the night. Recap here : http://apple2.europlus.zone/community/wozfest-iii-recap/
So that was that.
Time passed…
Wozfest $04 came and went and I wasn’t able to go.
But unbeknownst to me, the organiser and host of Wozfest, Sean McNamara, planned something a bit more elaborate for Wozfest 5.25” – he hinted at something big in the mailing list.
Fortunately I was able to go along to this one. And what a surprise it was – a new updated re-release of Caverns of Mordia!
Hans had a slightly updated version of the game which was never released.
He deprotected it and had his grandson type up the manual afresh. With Sean’s help they created 20 copies to give away and I was one of those lucky ones to attend in person and receive a copy! Here it is pictured below.
For more detailed info about the re-release, follow these links.
http://apple2.europlus.zone/resources/caverns-of-mordia-re-released-at-wozfest-5-25in/
http://apple2.europlus.zone/community/wozfest-5-25in-recap/
http://apple2.europlus.zone/community/wozfest-5-25in-galleries/
And that’s how a retro game can come back to life and be preserved. I’m glad I was able to play a small part. If you have any interest in digital preservation, now is the time to act.
Read on to Part 2 – a Q&A I did with Hans about the game which contains fascinating historical and technical information. | {
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El Empleo es un corto animado hecho en Argentina y que nos puede (o no) llevar a una pequeña crisis existencial, o al menos nos hará reflexioanar sobre la ruleta vital en la que estamos subidos y de la que no es nada fácil bajar.
Más de uno nos sentiremos identificados con la historia, que sin palabras y con una técnica simple a base de acuarelas, relata a la perfección una parte de la vida moderna. Conceptos como la productividad, la monotonía, la alienación, el automatismo, a trevés de un día culaquiera en la vida de un hombre cualquiera. No contamos nada más, a ver qué os parece. ¿Qué diría Max Weber sobre ésto?
Dirección / Direction: Santiago ‘Bou’ Grasso
Idea: Patricio Plaza
Animación / Animation: Santiago Grasso / Patricio Plaza
Productora / Production company: Opusbou | {
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Out: Russia. In: Saudi Arabia
The progressive narrative of President Trump as evil never changes, but the argument keeps changing. Even before he was inaugurated, he was denounced as a pawn of Russia's Putin, a traitor. Robert Mueller was appointed with the mission of proving this but so far has come up with nothing that has leaked out. As the oil explorers say, he has nothing but "dry hole." Since Trump must be a pawn of nefarious foreigners (except when he is a dangerous nationalist, heedless of our obligations to other nations), we now have hysterical accusations that he is instead a pawn of Saudi Arabia, because he insists on maintaining the strategic relationship with that Arab absolute monarchy.
Yesterday, Democrat representative Tulsi Gabbard, using vulgar language, accused the POTUS of being a Saudi agent, which would be treasonous: Hey @realdonaldtrump: being Saudi Arabia’s bitch is not “America First.” — Tulsi Gabbard (@TulsiGabbard) November 21, 2018 Rep. Gabbard has not always been so finicky about supporting brutal Arab dictatorships. Hank Berrin of The Daily Wire pointed out: As The Washington Examiner pointed out, Gabbard has some shaky ground she's standing on, considering she met with Syrian President Bashar Assad in January 2017 and later publicly doubted claims that Assad had used chemical weapons on his own citizens. Gabbard's defense of Assad came in the face of the U.S. and its allies agreeing that Assad had indeed used chemical weapons on his own people. Additionally, Syria is in league with Iran, a vehement foe of Saudi Arabia. Gabbard's vulgar attack on Trump triggered Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) to fire back, "And how would you describe your fondness for Assad? Asking for the 500,000 Syrians he murdered ... including the 50,000 children who gasped their last breath because of him." And how would you describe your fondness for Assad? Asking for the 500,000 Syrians he murdered... including the 50,000 children who gasped their last breath because of him. https://t.co/5Ezre1lWwO — Adam Kinzinger (@RepKinzinger) November 21, 2018 Another congressional Democrat, Jeff Merkley, hedging with the word "almost," repeated the accuation, charging Trump with "almost operating as Saudi Arabia's agent or publicist or advocate, rather than America’s advocate." "The President is really almost operating as Saudi Arabia's agent or publicist or advocate rather than America's advocate," says Sen. Jeff Merkley about President Trump siding with the Saudi crown prince over the CIA in the Khashoggi case https://t.co/NncrDlyCl2 pic.twitter.com/SyZLO0q0Vj — OutFrontCNN (@OutFrontCNN) November 22, 2018 Meanwhile, Bill Kristol, who has been himself been scurrilously accused of being an agent for a regime other than the American Republic, has done another 180-degree reversal and accused the President of doing the same: I feel a touch of whiplash coming on, watching Kristol. | {
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The following report is a complimentary offering from MEMRI's Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM). For JTTM subscription information, click here.
On December 15, 2014, a document detailing the Islamic State (ISIS) penal code was released on the Jihadi Media Platform forum (alplatformmedia.com). The document, which was titled "Clarification [regarding] the Hudud [Koranic punishments]," included a list of crimes and their respective punishment according to the shari'a. ISIS said it published the document as a warning and a reminder to the people living under its rule. It also reaffirmed its commitment to enforce it vigilantly.
The document begins with various Koranic verses emphasizing the need for Muslims to adhere to the shari'a, while noting that those who do not follow it are considered unbelievers.
Following are the crimes appearing the document along with the respective punishment:
Blasphemy against Allah: Death
Blasphemy against the Prophet Muhammad: Death – even if the accuser repents
Blasphemy against Islam: Death
Adultery: Stoning until death in case the adulterer was married and 100 lashes and exile if he or she were unmarried.
Sodomy (homosexuality): Death for the person committing the act, as well as for the one receiving it.
Theft: Cutting off the hand
Drinking alcohol: 80 lashes
Slandering: 80 lashes
Spying for the unbelievers: Death
Apostasy: Death
Banditry:[1]
1: Murder and stealing: Death and crucifixion
2: Murder only: Death
3: Stealing (as part of banditry): Cutting off the right hand and the left leg
4: Terrorizing people: Exile | {
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Not to be confused with the Chaos Archmage
Archmage is a title the ADOM community has bestowed on any character who can repeatedly bookcast the Wish spell indefinitely. The obstacles to this form of ultimate arcane power are quite extreme. The PC does not need to be a Wizard or even a spellcaster to become an archmage, but it is very difficult otherwise.
Finding the spellbook [ edit | edit source ]
The spellbook of Wish is the rarest spellbook in the game, but it is not impossible to find. Wizards and Necromancers are guaranteed to have one generated in the Library. Other classes will find a lot of spellbooks there as well, one of which can turn out to be a spellbook of Wish. In most cases, other classes will have to resort to scumming methods, such as restocking shops, or slaughtering the Animated Forest.
Reading the spellbook [ edit | edit source ]
Wish is by far the hardest spellbook in the game to read. Again, it is beneficial to be a Wizard or other spellcasting class; non-spellcasters will need significantly higher Learning. The Literacy and Concentration skills should be maximized prior to attempting to read the spellbook. Reading in a shelves of books room is also helpful.
Avoiding hunger [ edit | edit source ]
The wish spellbook takes 3,003 turns to read successfully. Provided that the PC doesn't have anything increasing their hunger rate (being a troll, encumbrance, equipped artifacts, equipped invisibility-granting items, or the Thin and nimble corruption) there is barely enough time to read the spellbook at bloated and not die of starvation.
A blessed stomafilia herb should allow reading the book safely, as will items that can increase satiation at bloated, such as scrolls of satiation, potions of toughness, potions of potential toughness, Staff of nourishment, and the Cornucopia.
Alternatively, the spellbook can be read in a rich flavor room, which prevents satiation from going down.
Learning Wish without the spellbook [ edit | edit source ]
Certain race/class combinations (e.g. troll Mindcrafter) may be unable to learn Wish from the spellbook, or may want to avoid the risk of the spellbook being destroyed on an unsuccessful read. Wish knowledge can instead be obtained from the Bard level 18 power, mushrooms of the inner light, wands of wonder, potions of wonder, and the staff of wonder. The grind-able methods of increasing spell knowledge (potions and wands) grant a low amount of knowledge, so the PP cost of Wish may end up being higher.
Casting the spell [ edit | edit source ]
Wish costs 3000 PP if at least 100 points of spell knowledge are available. This can be reduced to 1500 by being lawful on Silvernight. Note that the cost of Wish is not discounted for chaotic characters on Darknight.
A room that says "The atmosphere of this room makes your skin tingle!" can be used to lower the spell cost by 20%. Although the cost cannot be lowered below 1500, this can be helpful for PCs with less than 100 spell knowledge.
The mana battery corruption also reduces spell costs by 20%. Again, this is useful for PCs with less than 100 spell knowledge.
The Wizard/Priest class powers that lower spell cost do not affect the Wish spell.
However, for an archmage, casting the spell is not enough; casting will lower spell knowledge, and the book will not provide infinite knowledge. As spellbooks of wish cannot themselves be wished for, the player will be unable to replenish these castings unless they find another spellbook. To attain truly infinite wishes, the player must bookcast the wish; bookcasting does not reduce spell knowledge and will never use up or damage the book. The bad news is that bookcasting triples PP cost. The good news is that the Great Book Caster talent will reduce this penalty to a mere 50% increase. "Magically charged" rooms can further reduce the cost of bookcasting by 25%. PCs can pay for some of this cost with HP (1 HP pays for 2 PP), although this incurs a potentially lethal satiation cost.
Successfully casting the wish spell reduces a random Attribute by 10 points, which will gradually reduce bonus HP and PP. The PC must have enough base HP and PP to bookcast Wish with all Attributes at a base score of 1. If this condition is met, the player is an Archmage, as at this point there is nothing that can keep them from bookcasting wish over and over; any limiting factors can be overcome with wishes.
Increasing base HP [ edit | edit source ]
Base HP can be increased by drinking blessed healing potions, namely potions of ultra healing, potions of extra healing, and potions of healing. These can be generated in large numbers with various scumming techniques. Jharod is also a bottomless source of potions of ultra healing, provided the player has a means of healing monsters that have not been attacked by the PC (healing spells or class powers). A limitless supply of injured monsters can be created by bringing a fluff ball to the Water Dragon Cave. As Jharod's regeneration will keep him from drowning, he can be safely lured underwater.
The "of life" armor suffix increases max HP by 20%.
Items that provide Toughness bonuses are very useful, as they will increase HP even when natural Toughness is reduced to 1. These include bracers of toughness, knife of endurance, Chaos Orb of Elemental Earth, Rolf's Companion, and a few non-guaranteed artifacts.
Increasing base PP [ edit | edit source ]
PCs afflicted with the mana battery corruption will drain any wand they touch of its charges. This yields PP; 1 for an uncursed wand, 2 for a blessed one (number of charges above 0 is irrelevant). A level 32 Wizard can recharge any wand once. Wands can be generated in large numbers with various scumming techniques. Non-artifact magic staves can also be used, and are even renewable. The PC can leave a pile of undesirable magic staves on the ground and pick them up once they're fully recharged.
The "of power" armor suffix increases max PP by 20%.
Items that increase Mana are very useful, as they will increase PP even when natural Mana is reduced to 1. These include staff of the magi, pendant of mana, Trident of the Red Rooster, Crown of Chaos, Chaos Orb of Elemental Mana, and Staff of the archmagi.
Practical methods [ edit | edit source ]
Necromancer death abuse [ edit | edit source ]
Resurrecting with the level 50 Necromancer class power is supposed to halve maximum HP and Toughness. However, it functions oddly in ways that make gaining archmage status quite easy. After a certain number of deaths, the HP divisor overflows, resulting in the character having normal HP from then on (actually an HP increase for Mist Elves). The Toughness halving sets base Toughness to half of the old modified Toughness score. This can actually result in a Toughness increase if there is a large positive modifier. With a modifier of +50 from a combination of +Toughness items and boost toughness potions, modified Toughness will eventually reach 99.
On Silvernight with the bookcasting talents in the bookcasting discount room, the character should have enough maximum HP to cast Wish successfully without any special grinding. Each Wish will kill the character by starvation, replenishing HP and Toughness. Initial wishes can be spent on speed to extend the duration of Silvernight, potions of boost toughness to maintain Toughness at 99, and potions of water and potions of ultra healing to increase maximum HP sufficiently to cast Wish without needing Silvernight, the discount room, or any temporary boosts.
Continual PP restoration [ edit | edit source ]
Characters casting from PP will run into the problem of needing to wait for PP to regenerate. One method is to use the Orb of Mana to fully restore PP, and then wish for scrolls of corruption removal to undo the corruption. This has the added benefit that each use of the Orb will increase maximum PP. Once maximum PP is sufficiently high (or cannot be increased any further), wishes for crystals of power and potions of water can be used to restore PP. Some wishes for speed should be thrown in to extend the duration of Silvernight.
Being an Archmage [ edit | edit source ]
Obviously, ultimate arcane power has nice perks. The player can wish for unlimited amulets of life saving, keeping them safe from most deaths (level 50 necromancers with toughness-boosting gear don't even need these). Aging and corruption deaths can be staved off with potions of longevity and scrolls of corruption removal. See Archmage wishes for more ideas. | {
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All necessary action taken, says National Payments Corpn. of India.
National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), the domestic payment gateway, has urged debit card customers whose data has been compromised, not to panic as all the necessary actions have been taken to deal with the fiasco. “Necessary corrective actions already have been taken and hence there is no reason for bank customers to panic,” said A.P Hota, MD & CEO, NPCI. The advisory issued by the NPCI to banks for re-issue of cards is more a preventive exercise, he added.
According to a statement issued by the NPCI, 641 customer complaints from 19 banks have been received and the amount involved is Rs. 1.3 crore.
According to RBI norms, if the customer is not responsible for a fraudulent transaction, then the bank will be liable to pay compensation.
“All affected banks have been alerted by all card networks that a total card base of about 3.2 million could have been possibly compromised,” the statement said. The total debit card base of the country is 697 million.
According to the NPCI, the problem was detected when some bank customers complained that their cards were used fraudulently mainly in China and U.S. while customers were in India.
Suspecting that it could be a case of card data compromise, all the three payment gateways that operate in India — RuPay, Visa and MasterCard — swung into action in September.
“It was established through the analysis after such frauds were reported that there was a possible compromise at one of the payment switch provider’s system. Based on the analysis, NPCI and other schemes identified the period of compromise and the possible card numbers which could have been compromised during that period,” the NPCI said.
State Bank of India (SBI), the country’s largest lender which is in the process of replacing over 0.6 million debit cards, corroborated the NPCI’s views.
“Card network companies NPCI, Mastercard and Visa had informed various banks in India about a potential risk to some cards in India owing to a data breach. Accordingly, State Bank of India (SBI) has taken precautionary measures and has blocked cards of certain customers identified by the networks,” the SBI said.
Hitachi said it had appointed an external audit agency certified by Payment Card Industry (PCI) in the first week of September, to check the security of systems for any breach or compromise based on a few suspected transactions that were highlighted by banks for whom it manages ATM networks.
Yes Bank has also appointed a Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA) for a forensic audit of its systems and processes.
“Yes Bank has proactively undertaken a comprehensive review of its ATMs, and there is no evidence of a breach or compromise on Yes Bank ATMs,” the bank said.
“Yes Bank continues to work with relevant stakeholders to ensure utmost safety and security of its ATM network and payment services which are completely safe to use,” it added. | {
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A A
KAREN FOSTER
A wise person once said to me as we watched a local organization slowly spiral out of existence: “You know it’s over when they’re counting the pencils in the drawers.”
That stuck with me. So did the next piece of wisdom: That’s why you don’t let accountants run everything. (For the record, this person was an accountant.)
I was reminded of that interaction reading Don Mills’ Feb. 2 To the Point column. He makes a coherent argument, based on a lifetime of research. But this is also an example of what happens when numbers determine the parameters of a vision: on the one hand, it leads to the pursuit of growth or efficiency for growth or efficiency’s sake. On the other, it offers a justification for abandoning projects (and populations) that don’t grow or behave efficiently.
There is no denying that rural communities in Atlantic Canada are losing population. Service delivery is difficult in small places, and work of all kinds — paid, unpaid, seasonal, year-round, formal and informal — is hard to get done when your labour force is shrinking and aging. Many young rural people have trouble seeing a future in their community, and leave if they want to pursue certain kinds of education or careers. Communities that face such challenges are struggling. But they are not in death spirals — not yet.
Indeed, the numbers can tell many different stories, depending on the point you’re trying to make. For example, according to the Nova Scotia Federation of Municipalities, around half of the province’s GDP is produced outside Halifax, in predominantly rural areas. This year, the NSFM projects that Annapolis County’s economic growth will outpace that of HRM. The productivity per worker is lower outside our major cities, but the idea that rural communities are on life support, producing nothing and draining resources from everywhere else, is far-fetched. Moreover, these numbers suggest, as the OECD’s new rural policy states: rural is not synonymous with decline.
I could spend the rest of this piece using numbers to tell the story I like. Instead, I offer a counter-argument about values, in the spirit of a more ideologically diverse public discussion about the future of Atlantic Canada.
The myth of extraction for enrichment
My argument is that our region needs to set goals other than economic growth and efficiency. No contemporary, forward-looking society can ignore climate change, a phenomenon the esteemed Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change attributes largely to economic growth for the sake of growth. The more we extract, produce, export, consume and throw away, the worse our climate prospects get. No urban stadium is going to pull us out of that mess. The “growing resistance to resource development” that puzzles Mills in his column is likely a reflection of citizens' increasing awareness of the ecological limits of economic growth.
That resistance might also reflect the first-hand knowledge of many in our region that the rewards of economic development do not typically go to the people who do the work or live next to the resources. Some kinds of economic growth may provide a “job” for the average Joe, but growth in a labour force, output, exports or corporate profits do not automatically, by market forces alone, contribute to Joe’s well-being, not since productivity and average incomes parted ways in the 1970s.
The myth that a coal mine here or aquaculture facility there will rain jobs and wealth on communities has motivated much regional and rural economic development strategy over the last century, and yet we are here today lamenting that the whole region is in decline.
So what should we aim for, if not economic growth and efficiency? Atlantic Canadians already value community ties, knowing and helping neighbours and strangers; enjoying wilderness, clean air and water; eating food grown closer to home; leisure and a distance from the “rat race” of other places; self-sufficiency and self-determination. My research in rural Atlantic communities has connected me with many people rightfully skeptical about “booming” industries because they have come to expect an equal or greater “bust” will follow.
Our public policy and investment can reflect these values and concerns. It’s possible to invest public money in small, nimble, niche-focused businesses like the hundreds already operating in rural communities. Some of these businesses will be seasonal, because we live in a society with seasons. It is possible to aim for slow and steady growth (or even stasis!) instead of chasing lucrative, but temporary, smokestacks.
We can try to insulate our provinces from external shocks by creating the conditions for more small-scale, local food and energy production.
Instead of fighting over the placement of doctors, schools, libraries and so on, communities and governments could invest in mobile rural service delivery. The technologies exist to allow smaller rural schools to provide a wider program to their students — we could ensure that school policy allows and supports it. Business development organizations can offer more resources on how to start and run co-operatives in communities where no lone, wealthy businessperson is going to move in and save the day.
In order to take up any of these possibilities, our public policy and our public discussions must first appreciate that rural and urban lives are interdependent.
Karen Foster is Canada research chair in sustainable rural futures for Atlantic Canada. She is an associate professor, sociology, Dalhousie University. | {
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U.S. officials believe that the chemical weapon used on the Syrian town of Khan Sheikhoun Monday was indeed a nerve agent, quite possibly sarin.
Officials say the manner of the delivery described by victims as well as its timing suggests the use of a nerve agent, as do the symptoms of those affected. Specifically, attackers deliver nerve agents like sarin early in the morning to maximize their impact. The time between early evening and early morning is considered ideal for the dispersal of nerve agents, in that the air temperature is coldest near the ground and there is generally less air turbulence, permitting the agent to "stick" rather than quickly dissipate.
PHOTOS: Rescuers Treat Dozens in Syria Chemical Attack
Khan Sheikhoun was hit by explosions and a chemical agent at 6:30 a.m.
The World Health Organization said Tuesday symptoms seen in the victims are "consistent with exposure to organophosphorus chemicals, a category of chemicals that includes nerve agents." Activists say 100 people are dead, and relief agencies report 400 injuries.
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A U.S. official familiar with the intelligence reporting agreed, suggesting "some sort of nerve agent" had been used, adding that sarin was used in an attack in August 2013 that killed as many as 1,700 Syrian civilians in the town of Ghouta. In that case, the agent was delivered by short-range rockets again early in the morning. A second U.S. official also familiar with the intelligence told NBC News not to rule out a similar method — either rockets or artillery — in Khan Sheikhoun. People on the ground reported aircraft nearby at the time of the explosion.
UN observers said the chemical had come from the Assad regime’s stockpile, and the Arab League and the European Union said the attack was carried out by the Assad regime. The Assad regime and Russia, its principal ally, blamed rebels.
Related: Russia Blames Syria Gassing on Leak From Rebel Chemical Cache
Not long after the Ghouta attack, a U.S. and Russian-brokered agreement called for Syria to eliminate its chemical weapons stocks, including sarin, and as one U.S. official said, "it was largely successful." Vast stocks were shipped out of Syria for destruction throughout 2013 and 2014, but the U.S. intelligence community has long believed, as the official added, that "in the realm of likelihood, something was left over."
"Assad is not a trustworthy interlocutor," he added.
In 2016, the United Nations officially blamed the Syrian government for at least three chemical attacks, including a gas attack via aircraft in Qmenas,Syria in 2015.
The Russian government blamed Monday’s mass casualty event on a leak from a rebel chemical weapons cache that had been hit by a Syrian government airstrike.
The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), charged with enforcing the Chemical Weapons Convention that has been adopted by nearly 200 countries, said Monday its Fact Finding Mission (FFM) is "in the process of gathering and analysing information from all available sources. The FFM will report its findings to the OPCW’s Executive Council and States Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention."
However, the OPCW provided no timeframe. Historically, the FFM has been hamstrung by its inability to get access to the sites of suspected attacks.
Since the 2013 agreement to eliminate the Syrian stockpile, Assad's forces have primarily used chlorine in its attacks on supposed "terrorist targets." The use of chlorine, while not on the banned list of chemical agents, is considered a violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention, which bans the use of any chemical as a weapon. | {
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Dozens of prominent Saudi figures are being held in the Ritz-Carlton in Riyadh. Many names are still secret, but the list is said to comprise at least 11 princes. It is part of an anti-corruption drive by the young Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman.
The BBC's Lyse Doucet was the first journalist to be allowed inside the hotel. She was given access by Saudi authorities. | {
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When virtual reality is done right, we at Ars Technica can't get enough. We loved walking around a room—albeit a small one with cords on our backs—with a HTC Vive headset on our heads and a SteamVR game loaded up. We are proud owners of a few Oculus Rift dev kits, and we are even more excited by the final retail model's redesign—not to mention the forthcoming, impressive "Touch" controllers.
But that's enough experience to also recognize VR at its worst. As a clunky, nascent form of gaming, VR-specific stuff already has enough hurdles, but new entrants to the space also must contend with the sheer barfiness enabled by its biggest failures—especially when real-life motion and joystick taps slam against each other and create vestibular disconnects.
Thus, we put together a video, filmed and edited by our own Jennifer Hahn, that reveals both the worst experiments at this year's Electronic Entertainment Expo and the impressive attempts by other developers to grapple with VR's motion-sickness limits. There's not much footage of any of us on a stationary bicycle while wearing a VR headset, but rest assured, that one made us the barfiest of them all.
Listing image by Jennifer Hahn | {
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On Tuesday, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump appeared to joke that Second Amendment enthusiasts might consider assassinating Hillary Clinton should she win the presidency. “Hillary wants to abolish, essentially abolish, the Second Amendment,” Trump said of his presidential rival. “By the way, and if she gets to pick,” he continued, “if she gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do, folks. Although the Second Amendment people, maybe there is, I don’t know.”
We can interpret this remark in various ways: As a “joke gone bad,” in House Speaker Paul Ryan’s timorous assessment; as a terrible smear against actual gun owners; as a vague but knowing incitement of political violence; or even as stochastic terrorism. (His campaign claims Trump was talking about using “political power,” against Clinton’s nominees, an almost comically implausible interpretation.) However we construe Trump’s latest outrageous utterance, we should give the man some credit. The implication, if taken seriously, is only the very logical conclusion of a Second Amendment interpretation the Republican Party has begun to adopt: that the Constitution grants Americans the right to violently revolt against an oppressive government.
Among far-right gun supporters, it has long been an article of faith that the Second Amendment was designed to protect against tyranny. This “insurrectionist” theory of the amendment, as constitutional scholar Adam Winkler calls it, views the right to bear arms as a safety valve against a despotic government. Under this theory, the Second Amendment doesn’t just guarantee a right to self-defense: It secures a right of the people to violently revolt against an oppressive state.
The National Rifle Association and other gun advocacy groups have peddled the insurrectionist theory for years. In 1994, NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre wrote that “the people have the right, must have the right, to take whatever measures necessary, including force, to abolish oppressive government.” That same year, Bill Bridgewater, former executive director of the National Alliance of Stocking Gun Dealers, asserted that we must protect the right to bear arms because our founding documents require “all citizens to rise up against an oppressive government.” This rhetoric grew ubiquitous enough on the right that then-Sen. John Ashcroft adopted a slightly subtler version of it in 1998, claiming that “a citizenry armed with the right” to “possess firearms” is “less likely to fall victim to a tyrannical central government.” As the Atlantic’s Garrett Epps explained in 2011, the insurrectionist attitude is best captured by this widely shared quote attributed to Thomas Jefferson:
When governments fear the people, there is liberty. When the people fear the government, there is tyranny. The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.
There’s one problem with this alleged Jefferson quote, however: It’s completely made up. (Why, after all, would Jefferson and the framers want to plant a veritable time bomb in the founding charter for their new government?) In fact, the entire insurrectionist theory of the Second Amendment is fabricated; no serious constitutional scholar, including those who support an individual right to bear arms, accepts its validity. Indeed, like so much Second Amendment scholarship, the insurrectionist theory is pure pop originalism: a very modern argument overlaid with old (and sometimes fabricated) quotes to lend it the sheen of constitutional legitimacy.
You certainly won’t find the insurrectionist theory in either of the Supreme Court’s last major decisions interpreting the Second Amendment. These opinions, our best guide to what the Second Amendment means in both theory and practice today, are rooted firmly in the theory of self-defense. In 2008’s District of Columbia v. Heller, the court barred the federal government from banning handguns in the home because “the Second Amendment right” was designed to protect “the inherent right of self-defense.” Two years later, in McDonald v. Chicago, the court forbade states and localities from outlawing firearm ownership (within certain limits) as well, describing gun ownership as a “fundamental right” necessary to preserve “an individual right to self-defense.” McDonald also reiterated Heller’s assertion that “self-defense … was the central component of the right” to bear arms.
Despite this clear language, the ersatz insurrectionist theory has crept into our modern political discourse. Republican Senate candidate Sharron Angle stirred up a small scandal in 2010 when she said Americans might consider “Second Amendment remedies” to control an unchecked Congress. But Angle was only stating concretely what most Americans now appear to believe abstractly: A 2013 Rasmussen poll found that 65 percent of Americans believe “the purpose of the Second Amendment to ensure that people are able to protect themselves from tyranny.”
In retrospect, the firestorm over Angle’s comments feels quaint. Today, prominent Republican politicians routinely promote the insurrectionist theory of the Second Amendment with no qualifications. Before winning a Senate seat in 2014, Iowa Republican Joni Ernst described her belief in “the right to defend myself and my family—whether it’s from an intruder, or whether it’s from the government, should they decide that my rights are no longer important.” In his 2014 book God, Guns, Grits, and Gravy, former Arkansas governor and frequent Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee seemed to endorse an actual “revolution” against “Big Government’s overreach.” During his presidential campaign, Ben Carson described the Second Amendment as a defense against “tyranny,” insisting that it was ratified to “make sure” that “the government remains constrained.”
Republicans deploy this kind of language so frequently that it is rarely even newsworthy anymore. You hear it in speeches and interviews all the time; interviewing a Nebraska Republican lawmaker in 2015, I was startled to hear him proclaim that the purpose of the Second Amendment was to allow an “armed population” to revolt against a democracy that “did not function well.” Echoing this sentiment in April, Texas Republican senator and failed presidential candidate Ted Cruz wrote to his supporters:
The 2nd Amendment to the Constitution isn’t for just protecting hunting rights, and it’s not only to safeguard your right to target practice. It is a Constitutional right to protect your children, your family, your home, our lives, and to serve as the ultimate check against governmental tyranny—for the protection of liberty.
Cruz’s email carried the subject line: “2nd Amendment against tyranny.”
Taken at face value, all of this rhetoric adds up to one very clear belief: If you believe the United States government has grown tyrannical, the Second Amendment protects your right to rebel violently against it, using firearms, to reclaim your liberty. Cruz and his ilk rarely specify precisely what this revolt would look like, but the implication is extraordinarily clear: Armed Americans should shoot enough government officials as is necessary to overthrow perceived oppression. The Cruz-endorsed insurrectionist theory of the Second Amendment, in other words, is basically a tacit permission slip to assassinate political leaders whom one deems to be oppressive.
And that, it seems, is precisely what Trump implied on Tuesday. Should Clinton get elected and appoint ostensibly oppressive Supreme Court justices, the logical conclusion of the insurrectionist theory is that “Second Amendment people” should use their constitutional right to resist tyranny by shooting the president or her judges. One man’s president is another man’s tyrant, and the GOP’s current framing of gun rights quite explicitly licenses an armed revolt against tyrants. Oppression, much like the Second Amendment, is in the eye of the beholder. And Trump has just given his very eager supporters another excuse to view Clinton as a tyrannical oppressor—and given instructions to act accordingly.
Read more from Slate on the 2016 campaign. | {
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On Wednesday afternoon, President Donald Trump and Rudy Giuliani — his one-time campaign adviser and now-lawyer — decided that Giuliani was going to make news about the Stormy Daniels payment in the next 24 hours.
It wasn’t clear if the plan then was for the former mayor of New York City to continue talking to a wide range of reporters on a broad range of topics — from the background of the payment to a breaking story about Michael Cohen to Trump’s firing of James Comey, to whether North Korea was about to release Americans it is holding.
But by Thursday afternoon, when Giuliani undertook his second interview with BuzzFeed News in just over 14 hours, it was clear that Trump’s new outside lawyer in the Russia investigation had taken on a much larger role — helping to manage Trump’s image as well as his legal standing.
As Maggie Haberman of the New York Times put it, “This is a car being driven by Trump and Rudy and the rest are all locked in their seats.”
For his part, Giuliani sounded both at ease — and ready to fight.
In the Thursday interview, Giuliani questioned a then-breaking NBC report that Cohen, Trump’s longtime personal lawyer who is under criminal investigation, was subject to a wiretap. Giuliani said that he had been told the report was “not true” — and NBC's correction two hours later proved Giuliani to be right. There was no wiretap, the network corrected; it was, instead, a pen register — which only provides a log of calls, not their content.
Asked about the heat he’d taken — including from former attorney general Eric Holder — for his Wednesday night comment referring to the April 9 search warrant execution against Cohen as being conducted by “Stormtroopers,” he responded, “Oh really? If the shoe fits, wear it.”
Is Giuliani really comfortable saying this about an investigation by the US attorney for the Southern District of New York — an office he once ran?
“When you crash into an attorney’s office, you’re acting like a Stormtrooper. This is an attorney’s office, not a defendant, an attorney for the president of the United States. I’m sorry, that is — maybe they’d like another word — out-of-control police,” he said. “No, I’m not backing off, no way.”
On Thursday afternoon, Giuliani said that he and Trump had decided Wednesday afternoon to reveal that Trump had repaid Cohen for the $130,000 payment Cohen facilitated to Stormy Daniels in 2016.
“Yeah, we had been together a couple of days ago and talked about it in much more detail, and verified, and verified as much as we could of it,” Giuliani said, adding that he was ready to talk about the repayment with Sean Hannity on Fox News — as ended up happening — on Thursday morning during a scheduled appearance on Fox & Friends.
The news that Trump had repaid Cohen was a surprise to many in the White House, the Washington Post reported — including White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who said at Thursday’s briefing, “The first awareness I had was during the interview last night.”
So, what happened?
“I mean, I’ll call Sarah and find out,” Giuliani said. “But without having any instructions to the contrary it would seem to me that we should not be talking to the White House press secretary. Our client’s the president, you know, Donald Trump, the individual. If the White House counsel is gonna make a statement that’s one thing, but if we are, I think it’d be really strange if we went through [the press office].”
When it was pointed out that the Post reported that basically everyone was caught off guard by Giuliani’s comments about the repayment, Giuliani responded, “Well, not Jay” — a reference to Jay Sekulow, one of Trump’s other outside lawyers on the Russia investigation and the only one who remains from last summer. Giuliani did not counter, however, the reports that no one in the White House — beyond Trump himself — knew about the repayment or that Giuliani was going to go public about it Wednesday night.
That news — as big as it was — was just part of the splash that Giuliani made in his Hannity appearance and in the time since.
He also met up with Corey Lewandowski, Trump’s combative one-time campaign manager who has begun attempting a comeback into Trumpworld and recently appeared with the president at a rally in Michigan, to discuss midterm and reelection politics after the Hannity interview.
There have been wrinkles in this Giuliani phase. In addition to possible legal fallout from his comments — from campaign finance laws to ethics laws — there have been other issues.
Giuliani, like Trump, often goes afield of his planned comments in his wide-ranging interviews — similar to Trump’s recent Fox & Friends call-in appearance. Giuliani walked back two of the most eyebrow-raising comments he’s made over the past 24 hours, including one made to Hannity about Trump’s reasons for firing then-FBI director James Comey and one made Thursday about what he said was the imminent release of three Americans being held by North Korea.
After saying Wednesday that Trump fired Comey because of the fact that the FBI director wouldn’t say publicly that Trump was not under investigation, Giuliani said Thursday, “I think it was based more on my knowledge of what was going on during the campaign. I urged him to fire Comey on day one. I mean, maybe I was thinking more of why I would fire him. I would fire him because he was a lousy FBI director.”
Regarding the Americans in North Korea, he said, “I wasn’t made secretary of state, so I’m not conducting foreign policy. We made that comment in the context of, ‘Will you stop interfering with this guy? He’s got other things to do,’” adding that his comments weren’t based on discussions with Trump but instead “on newspaper accounts.”
Returning to the payment to Daniels, the adult film star whose legal name is Stephanie Clifford, Giuliani added some more details to a repayment timeline that he first laid out to BuzzFeed News late Wednesday.
In Thursday’s briefing, Sanders said of Trump’s knowledge about the payment to Daniels, “[T]his was information that the president didn't know at the time, but eventually learned.”
The “eventually” phrasing left the timeline unclear, which Giuliani only partially cleared up, saying that Trump did not make the repayment because he learned about the original payment.
“I don’t think he put it all together until it was all paid out or mostly paid out,” Giuliani said of Trump, noting that he — Giuliani — wasn’t there at the time.
Although the Daniels payment was only $130,000, Trump’s payments to Cohen — $35,000 a month for a year — added up to more than $400,000. Giuliani previously told BuzzFeed News that the money went to expenses, interest, and taxes — with “enough left over for [Cohen] to profit in [2017].”
On Thursday, Giuliani said that there were additional expenses being reimbursed in that money, although he did not specify what they were, saying only, “Other things, but of a much smaller amount — but enough other things so it was kind of confusing.”
Were there any other payments like the payment to Daniels?
“I have no knowledge of such a thing, no.” | {
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The random ramblings and snippets of culture that I find interesting enough to post and share. *Any views expressed or support given is purely personal opinion. | {
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“One of the big problems we face with cyber is that it hasn’t really been discussed internationally about what is the acceptable use of cyber-powers, where the red lines are and what happens when those red lines are crossed.” Sir John Sawers — Former chief of the British Secret Intelligence Service [MI6]
Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.), the chairman of the US Armed Services Committee, has said he believes Russia’s — alleged — interference in the 2016 presidential election amounted to an act of war. Legal scholars disagree. What defines an act of war in cyberspace? The US Military is currently working out its own definition. Follow us on Twitter: @Intel_Today
Although, there is a broad consensus on what constitutes an “Act of War” and how to define “Cyberspace”, there is no agreement on the definition of an act of war in cyberspace.
[NOTE: “A May 12 2008 ‘for official use only’ memo signed by Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England defines ‘Cyberspace’ as “a global domain within the information environment consisting of the interdependent network of information technology infrastructures, including the Internet, telecommunications networks, computer systems, and embedded processors and controllers.” Wired ]
Can the existing legal framework be applied to cyber conflict? Assuming that it is the case, is the existing framework adequate? Or does it require additional concepts and specific definitions?
Asked during a congressional hearing last year if offensive cyber operations could constitute an act of war, Admiral Atkin — Office of the US Secretary of Defense — answered that an act of war [in the cyber domain] has not yet been defined.
“We are still working towards that definition across the interagency,” said Thomas Atkin. “When determining whether a cyber incident constitutes an armed attack, the U.S. Government considers a number of factors including the nature and extent of injury or death to persons and the destruction of, or damage to, property. Besides effects, other factors may also be relevant to a determination, including the context of the event, the identity of the actor perpetrating the action, the target and its location, and the intent of the actor, among other factors.” RELATED POST: Former MI6 Chief: ‘ Electronic voting presents serious hacking risk.’ RELATED POST: MI6 Alex Younger & BND Bruno Kahl: Russian Hackers Will Target European 2017 Elections
Admiral Atkin also warned that civilians — who support military cyber operations — are not lawful combatants and therefore not legally protected as soldiers.
“During armed conflict, some civilians who support the U.S. armed forces may sit at the keyboard and participate, under the direction of a military commander, in cyberspace operations. The law of war does not prohibit civilians from directly participating in hostilities, such as offensive or defensive cyberspace operations, even when that activity would be a use of force or would involve direct participation in hostilities.” “However, in such cases, a civilian is not a ‘lawful combatant’ and does not enjoy the right of combatant immunity, is subject to direct attack for such time as he or she directly participates in hostilities, and if captured by enemy government forces may be prosecuted for acts prohibited under the captor’s domestic law.”
International Law
Toni Gidwani, a former Department of Defense analyst who now heads up operations research at cyber-security firm “ThreatConnect”, agrees:
“The rules here are not as clean in terms of what’s allowable and what the consequences are.”
According to the US Department of State, cyber activities would constitute a use of force if they were to cause direct physical injury and property damage such as (1) operations that trigger a nuclear plant meltdown; (2) operations that open a dam above a populated area causing destruction; or (3) operations that disable air traffic control resulting in airplane crashes.
“The [US] government has defined an armed attack in cyberspace as one that results in death, injury or significant destruction, as Harold Koh, the State Department’s chief legal adviser, recently put it. Here’s the rule of thumb, as Koh stated it.” “If the physical consequences of a cyberattack work the kind of physical damage that dropping a bomb or firing a missile would, that cyberattack should equally be considered a use of force.” “If an attack reaches those levels, then a nation has a right to act in self-defence.” [Washington Post 2012]
The Tallinn Manual
The Tallinn Manual 2.0 is an updated reference for lawyers around the world on how International Law applies to cyberspace.The new manual was published by Cambridge University Press in March 2017.
Michael Schmitt is the chairman of the U.S. Naval War College’s International Law Department and director of a project that analyzes how International Law applies to cyber operations.
Schmitt — also a law professor at the University of Exeter in Britain — led the legal team that compiled the manual.
Microsoft weighs in
On February 14 2017, Microsoft President Brad Smith pressed the world’s governments to form an international body to protect civilians from state-sponsored hacking.
“Countries need to develop and abide by global rules for cyber attacks similar to those established for armed conflict at the 1949 Geneva Convention that followed World War Two. Technology companies need to preserve trust and stability online by pledging neutrality in cyber conflict. We need a Digital Geneva Convention that will commit governments to implement the norms needed to protect civilians on the internet in times of peace.”
Cyber warfare: Legal experts and programmers search for solutions
“In war, anything connected to a computer network can be targeted from anywhere in the world, according to experts attending a recent conference on cyber warfare in Moscow. That includes civilian objects, so many countries are looking at how to protect civilians from cyber attacks. And one of the solutions is to comply with IHL in cyberspace.”
Is Cyberwarfare a Serious Problem? Richard Clarke (2010)
“Author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Against All Enemies, former presidential advisor and counter-terrorism expert Richard A. Clarke sounds a timely and chilling warning about America’s vulnerability in a terrifying new international conflict—Cyber War! Every concerned American should read this startling and explosive book that offers an insider’s view of White House ‘Situation Room’ operations and carries the reader to the frontlines of our cyber defense. Cyber War exposes a virulent threat to our nation’s security. This is no X-Files fantasy or conspiracy theory madness—this is real.”
REFERENCES
The Tallinn Manual — WIKIPEDIA
Russia’s apparent meddling in U.S. election is not an act of war, cyber expert says — Washington Post
Online voting could leave British elections vulnerable to hacking, former MI6 head warns – Independent
By November, Russian hackers could target voting machines
Russian Hacking and the U.S. Election: Against International Law?
International Law in Cyberspace — US Department of State
‘Digital Geneva Convention’ needed to deter nation-state hacking: Microsoft president — REUTERS
Is “Cyberwar” War? — Secrecy News
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Acts of War in Cyberspace | {
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Henry Baker’s second tour of duty as a Rutgers football assistant was a short one, but he’s not going far
The Paterson native is expected to join the Giants' coaching staff as an assistant defensive backs coach, a person with knowledge of the hire told NJ Advance Media. The hire was first reported by Football Scoop; Baker is expected to replace Deshea Townsend, who recently took a job with the Bears.
Baker, who previously served a minority coaching internship with the Giants, is on the move again less than two months after he was re-hired as Rutgers' cornerbacks coach and pass game coordinator. Baker coached at North Carolina last season; he had previously served as Rutgers' cornerbacks coach in 2017.
Baker had signed a two-year contract paying him a base salary of $275,000 annually. Baker will owe Rutgers a $30,000 buyout fee in order to break the deal, which only became official on Jan. 2 of this year, according to contract details obtained by NJ Advance Media following an open records request.
Baker’s departure means head coach Chris Ash now has two openings to fill on his staff with about a month to go before the start of spring practice. Baker had replaced Cory Robinson on staff. Robinson, a Baltimore native, left Rutgers earlier this week after one season to take a job on new Maryland coach Mike Locksley’s staff, his old boss.
Rutgers' next cornerbacks coach will be its fourth different assistant to handle the position under Ash. Aaron Henry was an assistant defensive backs coach in 2016, but he focused on the corners while Bill Busch focused on the safeties. The next position coach will inherit a room with one returning starter - freshman Avery Young - as well as redshirt sophomore Tre Avery, who missed almost all of this past season due to injury but is expected to be a favorite to win the other starting job.
James Kratch may be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @JamesKratch. Find NJ.com Rutgers Football on Facebook. | {
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Ronaldinho Gaúcho esta se envolvendo em confusão atrás de confusão nos últimos dias. Gaúcho e seu irmão, Roberto de Assis, foram presos de forma preventiva nesse ultimo sábado no Paraguai, acusados de usar passaportes falsos para entrar no país.
Advogados já se movimentaram, e os irmãos atualmente estão pendentes, podendo cumprir prisão domiciliar. A treta é tão funda, que até a empresária Dalia López, que havia convidado os irmãos para eventos está foragida, sob suspeita de ter confeccionado os documentos falsos.
Mas essa é apenas uma das confusões em que o ex-jogador da seleção brasileira se enfiou. Uma das empresas de Ronaldinho Gaúcho, a 18k RONALDINHO, está sob suspeita, e o Instituto Brasileiro de Consumo afirma que a empresa não passa de uma pirâmide financeira extremamente efetiva, que conquista vitimas por meio de propostas atrativas e fraudulentas.
A promessa de um retorno de até 400% enche os olhos, e a empresa de criptomoedas também oferecia retornos e ganhos com a indicação de novos afiliados.
Ronaldinho Gaúcho: Trambiqueiro de Marca Maior
A empresa do craque é tão suspeita por vários motivos. Primeiramente, ninguém faz contratos com ela, nem mesmo os novos investidores. A empresa até tem CNPJ, mas não tem endereço de sede ou qualquer coisa nesse sentido, tendo apenas um telefone usado para “suporte”.
Segundo o Instituto Brasileiro de Consumo, a empresa de Gaúcho é completamente amadora, não tendo atitudes de uma multinacional no ramo das criptomoedas. É por conta disso que é tem tornado-se tão complicado saber em quem confiar no mundo bitcoin.
Quando o assunto é criptomoedas, as coisas podem ficar um pouco confusas, afinal, muitas vezes esse tipo de moeda encontra-se em uma zona completamente cinza da legislação de diversos países, que ainda não adaptaram-se para receber com amplitude esse tipo de investimento.
Isso acaba gerando um desconforto generalizado, mas com o tempo a legislação vai ir se adaptando, principalmente quando o assunto em questão são as famosas fake news, que podem fazer o valor das criptomoedas oscilar severamente.
Para manter-se informado, tendo a sua disposição conteúdo constante e de qualidade, não deixe de acompanhar nosso site. Aproveite e faça parte da nossa página de criptomoedas no Twitter. | {
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Cashless transactions have gone up at petrol pumps since government's ban on 500 and 1000 rupee notes.
Highlights Petrol pumps dealers' association had said won't accept cards
Move came after banks announced fee on card transactions
Cashless transactions have gone up at petrol pumps since notes ban
Petrol pumps across the country have decided to postpone till at least January 13 their protest against the banks' decision to levy an extra charge on credit and debit card transactions. The late evening turnaround came after the government stepped in. The petrol dealers had announced earlier that starting midnight, they would not accept the debit and credit cards of banks that would levy the extra charge.The government, sources said, has assured the dealers that the merchant discount rate or MDR fee won't be applied till January 13. The intervention came after the petroleum dealers' association had written to Union finance minister Arun Jaitley, informing him about the sudden decision by the banks to levy the transaction charge and their resolution to refuse card payments."Retail outlet owners and consumers should not take any heat of any kind of surcharge. Government is suggested to negotiate between oil marketing companies and bankers because it's a business preposition. The issue will be resolve very soon. Oil marketing company is giving some subsidy," said Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.The decision by fuel dealers could have hit the consumers as well the government's efforts to push cashless transactions amid a nationwide cash shortage following the scrapping of Rs. 500 and 1,000 rupee notes."We want to help the government in the digital and cashless drive. Our margins are already less. We want them to compensate us," Ajay Bansal, chief of All-India Petroleum Dealers' Association, had said.he had named three banks - HDFC, ICICI and Axis Banks -- among those which had levied the extra charge.Cashless transactions have gone up at petrol pumps since the government's demonetisation move announced on November 8. To promote cash-less transactions, the government had waived the Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) on fuel purchase post demonetisation for consumers. But after the expiry of the 50-day window, the banks have decided to levy MDR on petrol pump owners.In their letter to Mr Jaitley, the All India Petroleum Dealers' Association said since there has been no word of passing the charge to consumers, the dealers will sustain a loss.
The pumps have been notified that 1% charge will be levied on all credit card transactions and between 0.25% and 1% on all debit card transactions from January 9, 2017. The banks have quoted a circular issued by the Reserve Bank on December 16 as the reason for the extra charges, the letter said. It went on to add, "Banks are using this as an excuse to improve their bottom line through transactions at fuel stations."In a statement to NDTV, ICICI Bank however said it wasn't among the banks that were going to charge transaction fees for card swipes from petrol pumps. "We are not charging any transaction fee on the card payment from tomorrow," a company spokesperson said. | {
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New guidelines for WA schools say they should include “gender-neutral toilet options” to “establish a more inclusive environment” for gender-diverse students.
And schools planning Year 12 balls are being encouraged to rip up strict dress code policies so they do not discriminate against transgender and gender-diverse students.
The recommendations are contained in resources provided to schools and staff by Inclusive Education WA, which was rebranded from the controversial Safe Schools program.
It is funded by the Education Department to make schools inclusive for same-sex attracted, intersex and gender-diverse students.
Run by the WA Aids Council, its aim is to reduce homophobic and transphobic bullying in schools by providing support for gender-diverse students, running gender diversity training for teachers and offering lesson plans for students.
The resources urge schools to “consider providing gender-neutral toilet options, which should be accessible to any student who wishes to use them and will help to establish a more inclusive environment for transgender and gender diverse students”.
Guidelines on hosting inclusive school balls suggest strict dress code policies could discriminate against or exclude gender-diverse students and urge planners to allow students “to express their identity in whatever way makes them comfortable within reason”.
The Education Department said it did not have a policy of providing specific gender-neutral toilets in new schools.
“In new schools we provide universal access toilets and adult access toilets which allow schools flexibility for students,” a spokeswoman said.
Universal and adult access toilets include facilities for people with disabilities.
A Catholic Education WA spokeswoman said its schools aimed to have toilets designated for females and males, as well as toilets that were available for general use.
Education Minister Sue Ellery refused to comment.
Australian Christian Lobby State director and former MLA Peter Abetz said gender neutral toilets needed to have individual entrances, so that boys and girls were not mixing in the same unsupervised toilet area. | {
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An Uber executive suggested a plan for discrediting critical journalists, according to a report from Buzzfeed News. The tidbit was rather unwisely shared at a gathering organized by journalist Michael Wolff. Emil Michael, the senior VP of business, told a table of New York’s elite that Uber wanted to hire a team of investigators to dig up dirt on reporters.
Buzzfeed described it as a revenge plan of sorts, saying “They’d look into ‘your personal lives, your families,’ and give the media a taste of its own medicine.” Michael proposed spending a million dollars on such a program, hiring four researchers and four journalists to conduct the digging.
Specifically, Michael wanted to go after Pandodaily’s Sarah Lacy, who had recently written an article about deleting the Uber app from her phone because of the company’s recent sexist responses. From Buzzfeed’s explanation:
At the dinner, Michael expressed outrage at Lacy’s column and said that women are far more likely to get assaulted by taxi drivers than Uber drivers. He said that he thought Lacy should be held “personally responsible” for any woman who followed her lead in deleting Uber and was then sexually assaulted. Then he returned to the opposition research plan. Uber’s dirt-diggers, Michael said, could expose Lacy. They could, in particular, prove a particular and very specific claim about her personal life.
The news is horrifying. Even if Michael was just joking, it’s a joke with serious teeth.
Uber has extensive data on its customers, from their credit card numbers to real-time locations. With the power of that information, it would have an easy upper hand at tracking reporters — and almost anyone using its service, really — and unveiling details of their personal lives. The idea of them attacking journalists in a Machiavellian political scheme is downright creepy. It also says a lot about the company’s ethical issues and take-no-prisoner approach to business.
After publishing this story initially, an Uber spokesperson contacted me and said, “We have not, do not and will not investigate journalists. Those remarks have no basis in the reality of our approach.”
As a reporter who has done a lot of critical reporting on Uber, including one of the earliest investigations into its background check practices (Sarah Lacy was my editor on that story), I’m shaken. I’ve deleted the Uber app from my phone.
Although I may have to reinstall it in the future to report on product developments since ridesharing is part of my beat, Uber won’t be receiving any of my personal business anymore.
After this story ran, Michael released the following statement:
The remarks attributed to me at a private dinner – borne out of frustration during an informal debate over what I feel is sensationalistic media coverage of the company I am proud to work for – do not reflect my actual views and have no relation to the company’s views or approach. They were wrong no matter the circumstance and I regret them.
This story has been updated with Uber and Wolff’s comment. | {
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The suspect believed to be the notorious Golden State Killer — who was wanted in a dozen murders and nearly 50 rapes from the late 1970s to the mid-1980s — was arrested in California, officials said Wednesday.
Joseph James DeAngelo, 72, was arrested Tuesday afternoon at his Citrus Heights home, located 16 miles northeast of Sacramento, after a DNA sample matched that of the Golden State Killer, officials said at a news conference.
County records show DeAngelo is being held at the Sacramento County Main Jail and is reportedly on suicide watch.
DeAngelo has been charged with eight counts of murder in Sacramento, Orange and Ventura counties. Officials said prosecutors will seek the death penalty against the former police officer.
Sacramento County District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert said that DNA helped investigators identify DeAngelo and it led to the case being solved in the last six days.
"We knew we were looking for a needle in a haystack, but we also knew that needle was there," Schubert said, noting that despite thousands of tips throughout the years, DeAngelo's name hadn't been on authorities' radar until last week. "We found the needle in the haystack and it was right here in Sacramento."
Sacramento County Sheriff Scott Jones referred to the genetic material as "discarded DNA," but authorities refused to give specifics about how it was collected or matched to the suspect.
The Golden State Killer, who was arrested on suspicion of committing eight killings in Sacramento and Ventura counties, is believed to be responsible for at least 12 murders, 45 rapes and 120 home burglaries throughout California.
The cold-case killer is believed to have raped 37 people around Sacramento and Central Valley and killed two between 1976 and 1978, according to The Sacramento Bee. Officials believed he moved to the Bay Area and Southern California from there.
DeAngelo worked as an officer with the Exeter Police Department from 1973 until 1976. He was fired from the Auburn Police Department in 1979 after he was arrested for stealing a can of dog repellant and a hammer from a drug store, according to Auburn Journal articles from the time.
Jane Carson-Sandler, who is believed to have been raped by the Golden State Killer, also known as the "East Area Rapist," told South Carolina’s The Island Packet on Wednesday she was contacted by authorities about his possible arrest.
"I just found out this morning," she told the newspaper. "I'm overwhelmed with joy. I've been crying, sobbing."
Interest in the cold case was renewed following the release of the late author Michelle McNamara’s crime novel, “I’ll Be Gone In The Dark.”
McNamara’s husband, actor Patton Oswalt, and her friend, Billy Jensen, published the book after her death. It reached No. 1 on The New York Times’ best-seller list last month.
Sacramento County Sheriff Jones on Wednesday credited McNamara's book for keeping the Golden State Killer case public, but noted that "no information extracted from that book ... directly led to the apprehension" of DeAngelo.
Oswalt countered on Twitter, saying that her book "did" help the case, but said that his late wife "didn't care about getting any shine on herself. She cared about the #GoldenStateKiller being behind bars and the victims getting some relief."
The Associated Press contributed to this report. | {
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PENRITH young gun Nathan Cleary has claimed an impressive record in his side’s thrilling 26-22 win on Sunday which ended Canberra’s 2017 finals hopes.
Heading into the game, Cleary needed just eight points to break Manly legend Graham Eadie’s 43-year-old record to become the youngest player in premiership history to score 200 points in a season.
The 19-year-old did it in classy fashion at GIO Stadium, scoring a try and kicking five goals as the Panthers hung on for the win.
MATCH CENTRE: Raiders v Panthers
Round 20
The Green Machine rallied in the second half after 10-point deficit at halftime and took the lead at the three-quarter mark, but a 73rd minute try to Panthers rookie Tyrone May landed the killer blow for the visitors.
The result means the Panthers have cemented a spot inside the top eight, while the Raiders will now have to wait until next year to get another shot at playing finals football.
HOW IT WENT DOWN
The Raiders got their day off to a horror start when a Joseph Tapine error led to the Panthers scoring first points through Waqa Blake.
Minutes later they were under the pump again after Nick Cotric dropped a bomb, and the Panthers extended their lead in the following set thanks to a Cleary penalty goal.
The Green Machine came to life following a penalty and Cotric soon redeemed himself when he dived over in the corner after some hot potato footy from Blake Austin and Jack Wighton.
Nick Cotric of the Raiders celebrates after scoring a try. Source: AAP
In the 25th minute Blake showed up Jarrod Croker to race down the sideline and put Cleary over for his record-breaking 200th point.
Live stream the 2017 NRL Telstra Premiership on FOX SPORTS. Get your free 2-week FOXTEL NOW trial and start watching in minutes. SIGN UP NOW!
The Raiders weren’t done however, and with Dave Taylor injected into the game, they narrowed the gap after a stunning offload from the big man saw Josh Papalii crash in for a meat pie.
Moments before the break the Panthers made it 20-10 following two huge runs from Josh Mansour.
The men in green came out firing in the second half and scored first points courtesy of a strong run from Jack Wighton.
The Raiders fullback was back in the action in the 54th minute after scooping up a grubber and racing down field only to be caught by James Tamou and Reagan Campbell-Gillard. But the home side took full advantage of the field position and hit the lead after a Tapine try and Croker goal.
Was Blake of the Panthers (L) celebrates after scoring a try. Source: AAP
The Panthers almost immediately snatched back the lead but Corey Harawira-Naera coughed up the ball near the Raiders’ line.
Suddenly the Green Machine rolled down to the Panthers’ tryline after a stunning 40/20 kick from Aidan Sezer.
The Raiders bunkered themselves down that end of the field for the next couple of sets but weren’t able to make the most of the opportunity.
May continued his impressive debut season in the 73rd minute when he darted from dummy half to score next to the posts and give his side the lead once again.
The final moments of the match were frantic, but the visitors were able to hang on for a well-deserved victory.
PENRITH 26 (W Blake N Cleary J Mansour T May tries N Cleary 5 goals) bt CANBERRA 22 (N Cotric J Papalii J Tapine J Wighton tries J Croker 3 goals) at GIO Stadium. Referee: Alan Shortall, Ashley Klein. Crowd: 14,818.
LIVE SCORES, UPDATES, SUPERCOACH STATS IN MATCH CENTRE | {
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Motorcycle Maintenance: The craze for Motorcycles remains unabated despite the growing popularity of cars these days. There are many reasons for it. Among other things, a motorcycle offers speed and convenience. And more importantly, it comes across at a much cheaper price than a four-wheeler. With that said, it is also important to make sure that you keep track of the condition of your motorcycle from time to time. This is one of the best practices of owning a Motorcycle and it pays dividends in the long run. While proper Motorcycle Maintenance is the key to promote the longevity of a vehicle, there are also ways in which it helps you keep your two-wheeler up and running.
Wondering why you should invest your time and money in Motorcycle Maintenance and what you should include in your Motorcycle Maintenance Checklist? Read on to know more about it.
Why Motorcycle Maintenance is Important?
Each season brings new challenges and complications for vehicles. A motorcycle is not an exception to this rule. Maintenance is all about monitoring the condition of your motorcycle from time to time. By keeping an eye out on our motorcycle in a timely manner, you can boost its performance and lower the expenses on its repairs.
Apart from saving money, you can also make it a lot safer for yourself to ride your Motorcycle on roads by following a proper schedule for its routine check-up. Thus, for the sake of your own safety and convenience, it is imperative that you prepare a Motorcycle Maintenance Checklist in advance and act in accordance with it to keep your Motorcycle up and running.
Do the above reasons sound good enough for you to start paying attention to the maintenance of your Motorcycle? If yes, then follow the Motorcycle Maintenance Tips for beginners listed below.
The 10 Best Tips for Motorcycle Maintenance
1. Keep your Motorcycle Clean
What do you do to keep your body clean? You take a shower daily. Similarly, it is also important to keep your Motorcycle clean on a daily basis. This is your best bet to keep your Motorcycle in a mint condition. Before proceeding with your idea to clean your two-wheeler, make certain that you have covered the silencer, H.T. coil, and the ignition switch unit properly. It is a good idea to utilize plastic sheets to cover these components.
Clean your Motorcycle using a MicroFibre cloth. Because it is available at a cheaper price in the market, it will save you a lot of money. Consider buying at least a dozen units of these fiber clothes so you can have them handy for regular cleaning.
Never leave your Motorcycle in the sun. Direct exposure to sunlight can damage the shiny appearance of your vehicle and make it look dull.
2. Check Tires Pressure and Condition
Do you check the condition of the tires of your Motorcycle regularly? If not, you should develop the habit of taking a look at the condition of both your Motorcycle and the air pressure of its tires. For best results, follow the recommendations of your Motorcycle manufacturer.
Beware of possible scrapes and cuts! These undesirable elements can cause the tires of your motorcycle to blow up at any point in time. Check your tire treads at least once every seven days. Also, verify the alignment and wheel balance.
3. Clean the Air Filter Thoroughly
Depending on the weather conditions in an area, a Motorcycle can either get clogged up in a matter of a few days or months. No matter how good the weather condition of your place is, the wise thing to do is to clean the air filter of your Motorcycle in a timely manner. Those who use their Motorcycle in dusty conditions should elevate the cleaning frequency without fail.
Refer to the manual and change the air filter of your motorcycle by following the instructions given in it. Keep the air filter clean at recommended intervals to be on the safe side.
4. Change Engine oil at Regular Intervals
Have you ever wondered why your Motorcycle runs smoothly in the beginning but slows down gradually with the passage of time? This can be attributed to the engine oil. If you wish to continue the smooth operation of your two-wheeler, it is imperative that you check the level of engine oil. Make point of maintaining the correct level of engine oil to get your desired Motorcycle riding experience.
As you use the Motorcycle more frequently, carbon deposits start building up in the oil filter. This thickens up the engine oil and creates drag in the internal components of the engine. An oil change becomes the need of the hour at the subsequent stages. By changing the oil of the engine and the oil filter in the bike, you will not only save money on fuel but will also be able to maximize the lifespan of your vehicle.
5. Keep the Drive Chain and Sprocket Clean and Lubricated
One of the preconditions for preventing your motorcycle’s chain from breaking down is to not only clean it but also lubricate it daily. You will need three things to accomplish the task: paraffin, a soft brush and a piece of dirt-free cloth. The idea should be to keep dust and dirt from accumulating in the chain. After cleaning the chain with paraffin, wipe it with a dry and clean cloth.
Some Motorcycle owners turn to water instead of using paraffin to clean their vehicle. This is a wrong practice which can prove to be detrimental to your vehicle at the subsequent stages. Experts prohibit the use of water as a liquid for cleaning the chain because it causes the chain to corrode at the subsequent stages.
As far as the chain is concerned, make sure it has the right adjustment. Without right adjustment and free play, your Motorcycle will not be able to achieve the optimal level of power delivery. Replace sprockets if you have already covered a distance of about 40,000 kilometers with your Motorcycle.
6. Inspect Brakes before Riding
An issue with the brakes of your Motorcycle can lead to a severe accident on road. Keeping this in mind, it is important to maintain proper space between the brakes. It should neither be too tight nor too loose. If you are not sure how tight or loose your brakes should be, ask yourself about the manner in which you intend to ride your Motorcycle.
If you are someone who prefers to ride the Motorcycle at top speed, loose brakes will not allow you to stop the movement of your Motorcycle at once. However, this does not mean that you should tighten the brakes in such a way that it affects the spacing between them and the wheels. Do you hear a screeching sound when your Motorcycle is on the move? It could be due to faulty brake pads. Replace the brack pads during motorcycle maintenance before going out the next time.
7. Check the Spark Plug
Spark plugs literally control the movement of your motorcycle by producing electric sparks. These electric sparks produce energy by igniting the fuel-air mixture. Be careful while dealing with the spark plugs of your motorcycle as they come with a shorter lifespan and have a tendency to get damaged quickly. In case you have already exhausted the lifespan of the spark plug think about replacing it as such a unit is vulnerable to malfunctioning.
Engine misfiring, starting trouble, maximum fuel consumption with minimum output and lack of speed are some of the downsides of using your Motorcycle in conjunction with faulty and obsolete spark plugs. Also, do not forget to look out for vibrations and uneven idling as these also pertain to an issue with one or all the spark plugs of your vehicle.
8. Always Keep the Battery Charged
What happens when your smartphone runs out of charge? It ceases to function anymore. The same applies to a Motorcycle as well. This highlights the importance of charging your battery in time. As far as possible, try to have your battery charged so it doesn’t run out of charge completely.
In order to accomplish this task in the right way, you need to keep a clear head about two things: the type of battery used in your Motorcycle and the type of charger you need to charge it. Refer to the manual. Better yet, consult a technician from one of the service centers of your Motorcycle manufacturer for the right information or suggestions.
9. Ensure all the Lights Work Properly
As a Motorcycle owner or rider, you are legally obliged to install front and rear lights on your vehicle. It is also the sure-fire way to avoid the possibility of meeting with an accident in low light conditions or at night. While the front light is important for the visibility of a rider, the rear light is important for the other Vehicles to spot you in darkness. This is one of the reasons why the rear lights are covered in red and orange covers.
Ideally, you should ascertain the fact that the lights on both sides of your Motorcycle are working properly before hitting a road. The inclusion of this tip in your Motorcycle Maintenance and putting it into practice will not only save your life but also the lives of other commuters in the street.
10. Avoid Running into Potholes
Potholes are a menace to Motorcyclists. Not only do they result in a sudden shock to a person who rides a Motorcycle, but they can also prove to be damaging to the rims. While it can be next to impossible to bypass them all the time, you can take some viable steps on your end to contain the dangers posed by potholes.
Keep your tires well pumped up and use a bright front light. If you wish to avoid pesky potholes, avoid riding your motorcycle at top speed so you can slow it down as and when you see on the road. Do not forget to keep your head up and avoid giving in to the demands of irate drivers. Stand your ground and choose the commonest line on the road.
Final thoughts on Motorcycle Maintenance
The prospect of owning a Motorcycle doesn’t end with its purchase; there is more to it. Motorcycle Maintaining it is equally important to prevent it from breaking down before its scheduled lifespan. Make a point of putting the above-mentioned points of Motorcycle Maintenance Checklist into practice, and you will never get into any kind of trouble while going outdoors on your Motorcycle. | {
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Hey Factory Fans. If you haven’t seen this hilarious video from Eric Powell, creator of the Goon, you should watch it now. It’s awesome. DJ Coffman had a great response as well. You can see the video and read the response both here. If you’re a comic guy, like yours truly, they are both worth your time.
I agree with 99% of what both said. It’s what I’ve been saying for years. The destruction of Print or the Direct Market or the “Era of Comics” we are leaving provides us with a unique opportunity to shape the era we are entering. That moment is here, right now and it’s rapidly slipping by. Here’s my suggestions for a plan:
For the Retailers: Understand that you are in trouble. Your entire business is going to crumble beneath you unless you change with the times right now. Monthly pamphlets will soon be a thing of the past the moment large comic book publishers realize they are no longer economically viable. This doesn’t mean you have to stop selling monthly comics in your store today, but you should be prepared for the future when monthlies are only a portion of your sales and for when no new monthlies will enter your store.
Rethink your business model: When monthlies stop you will need to be doing trades and act more like a bookstore or switch to collectibles shop and act more like an antique store. The first might require a store front, the second, probably not. You are either going to have to downsize or transition your sales to more trades, games, toys or whatever. An online shop and doing conventions may be your only alternative. Your customers are more likely to follow you if you are prepared to make this jump rather than finding you in the comic book store weeping the day you read Marvel and DC aren’t going to print anymore.
Push Creator-Owned Comics: I’m not talking Image (although they have many fine comics) I’m talking guys who you can cut a deal with directly. When Scud: The Disposable Assassin came out, I called the guys at Fireman Press directly and ordered some for the store I worked for at the time. They went the extra mile and sent me a poster and I sold out of comics. My customers enjoyed it because it was different.
When monthlies collapse, you don’t want all your eggs in the Marvel/DC basket. You want your store to have a rep for interesting comics and things to read, so when the monthlies die, most of your customers won’t assume you’ll be out of stock next week. Plus, small publishers are likely to fill in the gap of print to a small degree for some time. Most weren’t making much money anyway and since most stores didn’t carry their product, they’ll be happy to sell some to you.
Also, print’s customers are shrinking, webcomic readers are growing. Let that growing fan base know you’re going to stock printed collections of all the webcomics. Sure, they can order them online, direct from the creator, but you provide the extra convenience and immediacy of having the collections on hand. I know, you think this is shooting yourself in the foot, but it’s not. Shooting yourself in the foot is going down with the monthly comics ship when it sinks. Webcomic creators don’t want to spend their time boxing and shipping comics to each individual fan. They’d rather ship large boxes of 10 and 20 copies to you.
Work with Creators: Have a signing in your store and promote it. Over the years, store owners have refused to have me show up to their stores for free signing. (I even bring my own signs.) They are just too lazy to do it even though it provides a free bonus to their customers. Worse were the ones that agreed then didn’t tell anyone I was coming. I mean, no one. I showed up to a comic book store in North Jersey (after a 90 minute drive) only to have the clerk look at me and go, “Oh, was that today?” The one thing your storefront can do is provide a meeting place, a nexus point for fans and creators to interact. That is a reason for customers to come to your store, to see what’s happening each week. If you don’t run events (for free!) you’re just cutting off your nose to spite your face. Even if the comic sucks, even if it’s a webcomic with no print comic available, the value is in the event. Your customers know your store is a place where comic stuff happens. That way, they won’t just sit in front of their computer all day looking at webcomics. They’ll have a reason to come to the store. If your store is dead and lifeless, fans might as well get their comics via computer.
Educate Your Customers: It’s your business to know the Industry, so know it. Don’t just let your customers blow their money on overpriced crossovers you know are going to end badly. If your customers are grumbling about the comic series they are buying, give them other options.
A guy I worked for would routinely hold months of comics for subscribers in the store that had long checked out of comics. I advised that we “ween” the overloaded customer off some titles, but he wouldn’t hear of it. Eventually the subscription was over a year behind, the customer refused to come into the store and we got stuck with 200 comics we couldn’t sell.
I had an Avengers customer that was hardcore. He had every Avengers issue published, but complained it was no longer exciting for him. I eventually got him to try new comics. He finally stopped buying Avengers. What was the point? It wasn’t making him happy. By broadening his horizons, I kept a customer and I looked like the guy who knew what was happening in the world of comics.
Just because you turn your customers onto Penny Arcade or Sluggy Freelance doesn’t mean they’re going to stop buying Spiderman. They are completely different genres and mediums. Do you stop watching sci-fi television because you discovered a great action movie? Of course not. You need to be the guru of comics. That’s half the reason your customers will come into the store.
To my Creator Friends: Webcomics are the future, so stop wallowing in your paper and ink bunkers, planning to be the last hold out, get yourself a scanner and let’s do this:
Get a Website: You need one. DJ Coffman outlined the reason why, so I won’t go over them again. Learn the basics of HTML and Word Press. It’s a pain in the ass, I know. (Believe me, I know.) Get a webmaster friend to help you do the really hard stuff and keep his number handy for when your website suddenly disappears. It happens. Don’t panic.
And if you don’t think print is dead, think on this: Wizard Magazine is gone. Its circulation was once around 400K and it regularly outsold comics in the US by a wide margin. If they can’t stay in print, why do you think you can?
Superheroes Aren’t New: If you don’t have anything new to contribute to the superhero genre, then please, don’t do a superhero comic. If you’re just recreating your childhood memories, that’s fine. Keep it to your computer and fan fiction blogs where it belongs. An alien flying around in a cape saving babies has been done. A vigilante using his millions to fight crime has also been done. Do your research and don’t reinvent the wheel or I will send Tony Destructo to your house to beat you to death with a copy of Marvel Masterworks.
It’s About the Fans: Let’s make this new era in comics about the fans. Everything you do should be to make them happy. You don’t want to follow your fans’ directions creatively (as most will dare you to destroy your own universe just to see if you’ll do it), but you do want to make comics as convenient as possible for them.
Your website should be the central nexus point for information about you and your comic. Also, assume that when you post something, you are posting it for a person who just discovered your site. A “new readers” button can save you a lot of trouble if your comic has been on the web a few years. Explain everything in plain English and have an easy site to navigate. You can test this by finding someone that’s never been to your site and ask them to go to it. If they are confused, you may need to redesign it.
Fuck Gimmicks: You can stick those variant covers, chromium covers and hologram covers straight up your ass. Webcomics may someday create the electronic equivalent. If that happens, I will be the first in line to say, stick those collectibles up your virtual electronic ass. Gimmicks are corporate bullshit. If you want to sell me an idea, great. If you want to sell the same comic twice, go fuck yourself.
Merchandise is not a gimmick, so that’s okay. In fact, you may find that merchandise is the meat of your sales. There is nothing wrong with plushies, T-shirts and whatnot. Merchandise tends to be useful items with your characters and designs.
Collectibles and gimmicks are what destroyed print comic books the moment the Industry had money to actually broaden its appeal. If you do collectibles and gimmicks with your comic, I will personally send Tony Destructo to your house to force feed you a limited edition bust of Spawn’s head.
Be Professional, Especially in Public: Professionals dress nice, are well-groomed, polite and informed people. They have patience and should be attentive. If you’re going to sit at a convention and ignore people and sketch, why go? Don’t badmouth your fans, your creative team or your competitors. That kind of negativity might get you noticed in the short term, but in the long term petty rivalries hurt you more than they help.
Just like the retailers, you need to educate your customers. Explain to them what a webcomic is and how print comics work. Some of the fans don’t know and they may be too embarrassed to ask. Don’t whine about the Industry, fans are not fellow creators. Be positive. If you can’t be happy in what you’re doing, then why would fans be happy in purchasing your comic?
Do the Comic and the Business: You want to know why so many creators got screwed on the business end of things? Most of them don’t want to do the boring business stuff they should do. Read your contracts and don’t sign them until you understand them. Make sure everything you want is in writing. Do not trust the explanation of a contract from the guy that actually wrote it. He wrote the contract for him, not you.
If you expect to live in a bubble of carefree creativity, then expect that you will be treated like pampered cattle until the guy making the money takes you to slaughter. There’s nothing wrong with work for hire if you go into it with your eyes open. Don’t give your work for hire publisher your best ideas. Remember, you’re there for the money to fuel your creator-owned projects. It’s all about the money for you in work for hire, so push for a raise, crank out the work and don’t let your employers overwork you.
Above all, don’t do a work for hire employer any favors. Unless he invests you in the project with a serious percentage of the royalties, you should stay as loyal as your paycheck and not a penny more. Remember, he’ll replace you or fire you in a heartbeat if it serves his needs. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t act professional, just understand the business relationship.
Get Your Press Shit Together: You need a press kit for your creation: a business card, a bio, an explanation of your comic and pictures of you and the comic. It’s not rocket science, it’s a fucking press kit. It will need to be updated regularly, but have a default one ready to go at a moment’s notice so you can send it out when you need it.
Spend a few hours a week contacting your local media outlets to see if they will do a story about you and your comic. The “Local Man Makes Comic” story is one that media outlets run all the time. If you hate doing this, too bad, it’s part of your business. You need to get the word out about your comic. When you’re famous or flush with cash, you can scale back or have someone else do it.
Newbies, Mind the Etiquette: When you decide to make the jump from fan to creator, the rules are different. Creators must answer their fans first and questions of new creators second. So if you’re asking for advice at a con, step aside when a fan walks to the table, you’re hurting my sales. Also, if I give you some free advice, buy a fucking comic book you cheapskate. It’s the least you can do.
Be patient. We all have ideas and yours might be great, but it takes time to develop your ideas and put together a comic or a webcomic. Being pushy and demanding is a sure way to get you blacklisted in the Comics Community. It’s a very small community where everyone knows each other, so be polite and very respectful. Nothing annoys veteran comic creators like a new guy trying to throw his weight around.
You’ve got to prove yourself and that will take a while. One of the things that has to happen is that you have to stay a creator for at least a year. So many people jump into this business and then disappear in a year when they find it’s too much work or not what they wanted to do. And it takes a few years to really be accepted into more of the inner circles of comic book creators. Don’t barge in, we’re watching. If you survive your first year someone will finally say to you at the end of a con, “Hey, dude. We’re going to dinner. Wanna come?”
Learn the ropes. One of the great ways to do that is by volunteering to help another creator. Be someone’s assistant for the day. Load and unload his car, run errands during the con and generally be helpful.
Help Your Fellow Creator: We need to create a community that helps one another, just like the rap community. In rap, if you’re famous, you help others out by rapping on a fellow rapper’s song. It’s added value for the fans, more exposure for the rappers and more money for the rappers.
Webcomics already do this kind of crossover, but we need more. Print comics couldn’t do this because the big corporate entities just wouldn’t help their competition. The bigger you get, the more you need to do it. If you can pluck some poor obscure webcomic and put it to the forefront fans will thank you, the creator will certainly thank you and you’ll be owed a favor should you need some help down the road. Fame is fleeting, so be kind on your way up. You’ll need it on the way back down.
Help the Community: The Community of comics: Fans, Creators, Retailers, etc. needs to be a positive, helpful one. We have to acknowledge talented people and shut the fuck up when you see a newbie who is not. There is no reason to tear down a new guy because his comic sucks. Say something constructive, not destructive and snide. Maybe he doesn’t know that his comic is just like Ctrl+Alt+Del. Nicely tell the new creator, “Look, I think this is way too similar to another comic. Here, check it out this link.” Would it kill you to send it in a private message instead of bombarding his comment bar with “You suck! You ripped this from Ctrl+Alt+Del!” With a little tweaking, it might be good. The Walking Dead starts similarly to 28 Days and fans like both.
Acknowledge Writers as Well as Artists: Print comics have been “stuck” in a mode where artists rule and writers drool for much of the last 30 years or so. This is probably a result of corporate comics and art-driven sales. However, there are plenty of comics that are well-written, but the art is only so-so. This is especially true of webcomics where the bar for art is much lower.
Writers need to be elevated in the creator-owned comics community (says the writer). I can’t really do it because I am a writer. Artists need to reach across the aisle and say, “Hey, this is my writer and he’s awesome.” Writers are vital because while the art will get the fans through the door, it’s the writing that will keep them there.
I’m not talking about the famous writers of Marvel and DC. Obviously Brian Bendis and Warren Ellis and a handful of others don’t have the problem of recognition in the comics community. I’m talking about people at the creator-owned level. Comics as a whole needs better writers, but we can’t attract them until we start acknowledging the ones we have.
And yes, there are some artist/writers who are magnificent to be sure. Unfortunately, there are plenty of really good artists who suck at writing a story. You know who you are. It can’t hurt an artist/creator to hire a writer as a writer/creator would hire an artist.
This is probably a broader topic for a later article. More at some future date.
To My Friends in Comic Book Journalism: You guys present the “face” of comics and we really need to work better together. My suggestions:
Be Professional: Journalists report news first, not their opinions. Your opinion is not fact. You might hate Marvel and DC Comics, but lots of people don’t. Don’t whine, rant and editorialize unless you clearly mark it as such. And if you do, please limit your rants to something you’re really passionate about.
Be prepared to explain yourself and what you do. Creators need to know who you are, what you’re doing, what medium you’re doing it in and how many people you reach. If you’re doing a podcast no one listens to because you just started, just tell the creator. He’ll probably do the interview anyway. Dress nice, be groomed, don’t act like a fanboy and don’t assume the creator is going to give you free swag. Above all, don’t claim to be a journalist just to get free swag and skip into conventions for free.
Cover the Comics and the Creator: News stories are not just about things, they are ultimately about people. Sure, the comic you’re talking about is awesome, but you need to also find out what’s awesome about the creator.
Do Your Research: If you’re going to cover comics, you have to do some research. Don’t just ask basic questions of the creator like “What’s your comic about?”. Go to the creator’s site and check it out! And when you write the article, include the research information as a wind up: “Tony DiGerolamo is a writer for Bongo Comics, the creator of Super Frat and the co-creator of The Webcomic Factory.” There, was that so hard? Two searches with Google can get you almost anything.
Quite frankly, if you can’t be bothered to spend a couple of hours researching your subject, then you’re not a journalist.
Don’t Just Cover Your Friends: Nepotism in comics journalism is so rampant, I hardly need to explain it. If you’re going to run a site and post nothing but stories about your good friends in comics, then please call your site “My Good Friends in Comics” not “Comic Book Website That Covers All Comics Equally”.
And here’s a newsflash, those “friends” are not your friends. They are using you to get exposure, so wake up and start acting like a professional. You need to follow a story, not a trend. You’re getting invited to those parties after the comic book convention because those involved think you’re going to mention them on your site, not because you’re amazingly handsome.
Be a Journalist or Talent: Make up your mind. If you want to cover news in comics, cover it. If you want to make comics, make them. Stop trying to do both when you really only want to do one. And, if you do both make a very careful distinction in your comics columns about who you know, who you are reviewing and when you have a conflict of interest. I do it all the time in my comics review column for KODT and I stay away from reviewing my friends’ comics. I also acknowledge who I know when I review something.
I know of at least one comics “pro” who reviewed his own comic in a column once. Look, its one thing to pimp your stuff, but it’s another to use the faux credibility of a comic book “journalist” to further your career as a creator.
Seek Out Creator-Owned Comics: Comic creators tend to be an introverted lot. They are locked to their drawing table, dreaming the big dreams. Your job is to find the ones that no one has found yet, so look for them. Just once I’d like to get an email that said, “Hey, I found your site and like to do a piece on you” instead of scouring and emailing dozens of sites trying to find the email of a journalist who will interview me.
Get off your lazy ass and start looking for new talent. Anyone can email the top ten players in comics and ask for an interview. It’s your job to find out about new things too.
To my Friends in the Fan Community: You guys have been through a lot and you’ve been burned more times than I can count by big publishers. I have no doubt that you are sick of articles like these because they always end with blaming you for the Comics Industry’s problems to some degree. You shouldn’t be blamed at all. You’re the customer and you’re always right.
That being said, comic fans are often a passionate lot and I know many of you would like to help. Here are some suggestions:
Read What You Want: It’s nice that you support indie creators and creator-owned comics, but don’t force yourself to buy something out of guilt. Keep an open mind when you see a comic that looks different, but buy it because you’ll read it, don’t buy it because you feel sorry for the creator. You’re not doing the community a favor by buying an awful comic you don’t really want.
Don’t Be Embarrassed by Comics: Comic books have a bad rep in the US, but don’t let it throw you. If you can confidently say to someone, “Sure, I read comics, they’re good,” that will do way more to convince your friend to check them out than saying stuff like “Um, yeah, I like the art” or “Hey, this is also a movie!”
If you want to change your friends’ perception of comics, be an advocate, but not a crusader. For some people, the direct approach never works, but they’ll come around once they see everyone reading them. Don’t back down when someone talks about you being a comic fan, but also don’t get all up in their face about it.
And if you’re embarrassed by your comic purchases, maybe you’re buying the wrong comics. I liked Spiderman too, but it’s over for me. I’ve moved on to more mature fare. Like my customer that kept buying Avengers, if you’re just buying to “keep your run” there’s something wrong.
Acknowledge the Line: The great thing about the comics industry is that the retailers, fans and creators get to interact. If you’re a fan and you cross the line to retailer, comic book journalist or creator, understand that you’ve got to learn a new set of rules (see the things I outlined before). If you don’t, being a fan is great. As creators, we bend over backwards for you, but please understand the line between you and us.
If you stay a fan understand that as creators we are vulnerable. We put ourselves and our work out there for you to sample and enjoy. That means, tossing back our latest comic with a casual sneer and saying, “Dude, what happened? You used to be good,” isn’t appropriate. If it’s your buddy and you’re sitting in a room together, that’s different, but a fan vs. creator public spat is not cool. If you don’t like something, shut your pie hole and move along. You’re not doing anyone a favor by blathering your opinion in a public space. It’s rude and it’s not fair to the creator who put himself on public display.
Conversely, fawning all over a creator in such a sickening sweet way that you give everyone at the con diabetes is also inappropriate. We know you’re excited and we’re glad, but we’re not going to hang out. Creators are working at a convention and we’re trying to see as many customers as possible, so please try to understand. Be patient, as we are busy, and be polite to your fellow fans. They want to see and talk to creators as well.
Be Nice to Fellow Fans: Just because another fan hates the comics you like and likes the comics you hate doesn’t mean he’s a bad person, he just has different tastes. Be respectful, polite, positive and friendly. We’re all fans, there’s no sense in putting down one another.
Shower, bathe and groom. Don’t roll out of bed and come to a convention reeking of rotten Cheetohs and dried Mountain Dew.
Watch where you’re walking. If you stop at a con booth, move to the side so people can still get by. Be aware of your giant backpack or costume or don’t come to the con with one on. And if you have a costume and people want to take a picture, move to an area away from the action. Don’t cause a logjam in the middle of the con.
Don’t finger the merchandise. Wash your hands if you do. Don’t eat over the merchandise. Get off your cellphone or go off into a corner to make your call.
Talk to people. Say “Hello”. Help educate your fellow fan. Explain to new fans how things work.
Be nice on message boards. Don’t be an anonymous asshole. Share your links. Praise what you like and shut your pie hole about what you don’t. No one cares about your fanboy rants. If you want someone to care, cross the line into comic book journalism and then earn enough respect that people will care. Because if you’re a comic book journalist, you should have at least done some research.
It’s About You as a Fan, Not You as an Individual: Creators are all about their fans. We work for you. But we’re not about you as an individual because we don’t know you. It’s not personal, so don’t take it as an insult. If you forget your book bag at my table at a con, I will keep an eye out for you and flag you down if I see you. I would do that for anyone that stopped at my table. If we make eye contact outside the con after it’s over, don’t ask for a ride. It’s weird. I don’t know you well enough to put you inside my car. It doesn’t mean you can’t make friends with a creator, but don’t make assumptions, we’re working. Waitresses are nice too, it doesn’t mean they want to go to the movies with you.
Spread the Word: One of the great things you can do as a fan is spread the word about comics, webcoimcs, stores and websites you like. Post a link in a message board or on sites like Reddit, StumbleUpon, Facebook, Yelp, Twitter or whatever. Your personal recommendation can help creators get hits and retailers get sales. If you discuss a comic, try to be positive about it and don’t get caught up in another’s negativity.
Stop Buying Comics You Don’t Like: If you are a self-hating fanboy that complains about every comic that comes out, here’s a thought, “Why are you reading comics?” Get lost. Got buy something you like or shut up you miserable fuck.
Stop Complaining, Vote with Your Wallet: Is Superman not living up to your expectations? Stop buying it. Do you hate the newest Spiderman artist? Stop buying it. Do you really wish the original Robin would return to Batman and can’t stand the new one? Stop buying it. Don’t like your comics store and they way they do business? Stop shopping there. Did you find that a website covering comics covers nothing but fluff? Unbookmark it.
If you are only buying a comic hoping that it will get better or going to a comic book store that has bad service, that’s like going to a restaurant with terrible service and food hoping it will get better. Why would it? You still keep buying. When sales go down, companies make changes. They have to.
Just because you’re part of the fan community doesn’t mean you’re obligated to buy anything. We won’t kick you out of the club. Not buying the comic that’s pissing you off gives you more money to try something new. Not going to a comic book store with a terrible record means you may find one that’s better.
Start a Fan Club: If you want to be part of the comics scene, but still maintain your fan status start a fan club. Retailers like them because it’s another reason to have customers in the store. Creators like them because you will almost never get a negative reaction when you make an appearance at a fan club. As a fan, you get extra attention and as a retailer or creator, we have a concentrated place to push our wares. Win-win-win.
To my Friends that organize Comic Book Conventions: The next future years are going to be tough. We are transitioning into something new and you will need to change your business model as well. My suggestions:
Promote: I’ve gone to a surprising number of conventions where the organizers did little or no promotion. I realize organizing the con is a tremendous headache, but if no one shows it’s an even bigger headache financially. Social networking, websites, message boards and using fan clubs are just some of the ways. The more grassroots your con is, the more volunteers you can get.
Media outlets are important so contact them. TV people love the costumes because they are a good visual. They love celebrity guests even more. Once you get them in, prepare a list of your most “camera ready” guests, including guys like yours truly. (I used to host a TV show and I do improv comedy, so I talk clearly, look presentable and I’m funny on camera.) That requires that you know about your guests ahead of time. You don’t want to volunteer some troll-like creator who will mumble through the interview.
Promotion requires prep work ahead of time. It doesn’t hurt to flyer the surrounding area where you con will be held a few weeks ahead of time. Get the comic book stores involved. If you have a staff, have someone in charge of just promotion.
Create Visuals: Get someone to take pictures and video of your con if you plan to have it again. You need these positive visuals on your site for next year.
Keep the Door Cheap: The more people, the better. If you’re going to ding fans $50 a pop, there’d better be some cool events or a few free comics. Something! If you drain the fans of money, they won’t have anything by the time they reach the rest of us back in Artists’ Alley.
Publishers are usually overloaded with back stock, especially these days, take advantage of that. Ask them for a box and give it away to fans. You won’t get them if you don’t ask.
Have Panels About Things That Fans Want: I can promote in any panel. I don’t need a “Publisher Promotional Panel” and if you call it that, no one will come. They, will, however, come to “How to Do Webcomics” or “How to Make Money in Comics”. Fans are not interested in sitting through a one-hour commercial unless there is a prize at the end or movie clips.
Don’t have too many panels. Make the panels proportionate to the number of fans that will show up. Remember, they have to go to the convention too. And it is pointless to schedule panels late on the last day.
Big Guests Should be in the Back: Your big guests should always be the longest walk. No one is going to come all the way to a con and not see your biggest guests, so make them at least walk past your little ones.
I went to one con where the organizers placed three big guests right off the escalator. It was a disaster. The room jammed up and no one came to the rest of the convention.
Conventions Can’t Be All About Money: Look, I know you have to make the door, but if there’s no fun and you shake every fan until all the money falls out of his pockets, they won’t come back. You have to book fun events. The bigger the convention, the more fun free stuff you need.
Fan clubs can provide free stuff: people in costumes to take pictures with, props for fans to play with and interesting, fan-based panels. Games are always good because they just need space and it gives fans something to do. Contests are a must, whether they be for costumes or art or even doing a 24 hour comic.
Webcomics are the Future: The creator for Questionable Content was at the Emerald City Con in 2010. His line wrapped around his booth and went out the door. And, while other creators, even big name Marvel and DC guys had large lines that eventually died down, his was busy all day, every day. I guess that’s what happen when a quarter of million or so people visit your site every day.
Now is the time to be nice to webcomic creators. Now, while they still need you. The guys from Penny Arcade don’t need to come to your con. They have their own con and it’s quite huge and I wouldn’t blame them if they never set foot in a comic book convention again.
We are creators and we remember the people who helped us and we especially remember the organizers who didn’t. In five years, the entire playing field of comics is likely to change. Get a foothold in the future now before some entrepreneur buries you with a webcomic convention of his own.
Finally, we all need to work together. Creators, journalists, fans, retailers and con organizers. Assume the positive and not the negative, because we are all comic fans. (Like maybe assume that I am a well intentioned guy by posting this, even though you may disagree with my suggestions.) We can either be a community, like the rap community, and say to ourselves, “There is room enough for everyone in this boat. Join us on the journey.” Or, we can be like a mini-Wall Street, consumed by competition and petty rivalries, spending precious time tearing each other down.
Either way, it will be a struggle. I say, let’s be positive. Who out there would like to be our friend in this journey? | {
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Driven into a corrupted, digital city by a mysterious foe, the Beloved Dust set up to rescue the inhabitants of the rehabilitation center called Contrition’s Figure. Tender Sky and ⸢Signet⸣ chase the iconoclasts* as they heads towards skyscraper (and a mysterious, living cloud above). Sho Salon and Fourteen Fifteen, meanwhile, contend with streets packed with furious simulacra as they seek the source of a strange song.
Watch for traffic!
This week on Twilight Mirage: The Sound of Strings
The Living Library of Memorious // VOLUME 205E:
Entities: Alien (Unconfirmed): Biological (Unconfirmed): Antagonistic (Confirmed): The Iconoclasts
The beings commonly called the Iconoclasts are responsible for the deaths of multiple third generation divines. Because communication has been limited, evidence inconsistent, and motivations unclear, the Library has officially placed the Iconoclasts in the “entities” category, pending additional information that might recategorize them as an “organizatisea. Run to it, or run dry, but all will run. We are the river, and it is the sea. Run to it or run dry, but all will run. We are the river, and it is the sea. Run to it or run dry, but all will run. We are the river, and it is the sea. Run to it or run dry, but all will run. We are the river, and it is the sea. Run to it or run dry, but all will run. We are the river, and it is the sea. Run to it or run dry, but all will run. We are the river, and it is the sea. Run to it or run dry, but all will run. We are the river, and it is the sea. Run to it or run dry, but all will run. We are the river, and it is the sea. Run to it or run dry, but all will run. We are the ri
Hosted by Austin Walker (@austin_walker)
Featuring Ali Acampora (@ali_west), Janine Hawkins (@bleatingheart) and Jack de Quidt (@notquitereal)
Produced by Ali Acampora (@ali_west)
Cover Art by Craig Sheldon (@shoddyrobot)
Episode description by Austin Walker
Music by Jack de Quidt
A transcription is available for this episode here.
A full list of completed transcriptions is available here. Our transcriptions are provided by a fan-organized paid transcription project. If you'd like to join, you can get more information at https://twitter.com/transcript_fatt. Thank you to all of our transcribers!! | {
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Chart of the day: How Hollywood became hooked on the 'jump scare'
Updated
Are we becoming harder to scare or are movie makers getting lazier?
We've all seen the "jump scare" cliche: the unexpected figure in bathroom mirrors or the movement behind a drafty curtain that turns out to be a cat.
The trope consists of an abrupt shift in image or movement, usually accompanied with sudden, booming audio. Its sole intention is to physically startle an audience.
Critics see its overuse in modern horror as a measure of lazy filmmaking. Master of suspense Alfred Hitchcock wasn't a fan. "There is no terror in the bang, only in the anticipation of it," he pontificated.
Data collected from the Where's The Jump? website shows the average jump scare per film in this decade has tripled since the 1960s. While there are celebrated exceptions to the rule, like Toni Collette's latest movie, Hereditary, the number of movies employing frequent cheap scares has also increased decade-on-decade.
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Topics: horror-films, film-movies, thriller-films, drama
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Author's Note:
Summer (the season) is here, and finals are over. So tell me what you thought of this battle here.
Also, I did another one-shot. Its about as happy as most of the others, called "Fading Shadows." Some Weiss and Blake stuff.
Nora's feet pounded beneath her, and her mind readied itself for the fight she was sure she was about to face. Nothing would catch her off-guard. She was sure that Pyrrha was behind her, although she couldn't hear any footsteps. Perhaps her friend was simply letting her scout ahead.
The plume of smoke in the distance grew taller with each passing second, and she became more and more sure that whatever she had felt was indeed a demonic power. She couldn't let something like that stay in the city. Her senses seemed to raise to new heights as she ran, as brighter hues lit up the buildings and strange scents filled the air.
An unpleasant, acrid feeling seemed to be radiating from her goal, not just polluting the air, but the light and the sounds as well. Sickly colors shone off of walls towards her, and harsh sounds of battle rattled her ear drums. She followed both, hoping that she would find their sources before long.
Her hope was answered when she turned a corner, and found nearly a whole city block ablaze. Several charred corpses laid on the sides of the street, a few still smoldering. What grabbed Nora's attention though, was the scene at the middle of the smoky haze. She recognized the strange, unnerving presence of the undead, but there was something else, too. Something she had never seen.
A man, clothed mostly in black, and wearing a white mask that Nora thought looked something like a White Fang mask, was locked in combat with several undead. He had grappled the weapon of one of the lifeless soldiers, who Nora noticed looked a lot like Hunters, and was vying for control of the thing. While it didn't seem that the scythe-wielder's strength was any match for her opponent, the other undead did not simply stand by and watch. An instant before the weapon was torn from the Huntress's hands, a dagger was driven into the man's side, making him let go and shout.
As he shouted, what seemed like a solid wave of fire surrounded him, and expanded out to throw the undead fighter away. The scythe wielder leapt back to escape the effect of the wave, but the buildings were not so lucky. Flames scraped along the sides of the buildings, setting anything that was not yet already on fire ablaze.
Nora let her pace slow to a halt, watching the man as she felt another wave of demonic power. He was the one. He wasn't impacted the same way she had been, obviously, something was very different. It was like the power the man received was from a much larger demon. Her demon, Tiny, had grown feeding off of her energy. She got the feeling that this man was the opposite.
That just meant that she had to kill him fast. She started to run again, setting her sights on the man and gaining an inhuman level of focus. Time seemed to slow, and she became aware of every slight movement that the man made. Even through his clothes, the tensing and relaxing of muscles was clear.
She passed one of the undead Hunters as the wave of flame started to dissipate, and was partially aware that they shouted something after her along the lines of, "Get back!"
That probably wasn't the whole thing, but she didn't care. They were obviously having a hard time of taking him down, so she would help. As she drew closer, her fingers unfurled, fanning out to form a claw-like position. She wasn't sure if that was a good way to charge into battle, but she didn't have Magnhild to assist her. She would have to be her own weapon, unless she could find some random piece of rubble to substitute for her beloved hammer.
The man's eyes flicked to her just a second before she threw her swing, and he snarled like an animal at her. Despite his aggressive behavior, he seemed puzzled. Perhaps the switch from undead opponents to living ones was prominent enough to confuse him.
Whatever the reason, he stopped moving, and Nora's sharp nails raked across his face, taking a fair amount of skin with them. She also felt the hot material of his mask touch her fingers, but her skin resisted burning. It seemed that a layer of extreme heat surrounded him, which would've been a problem for someone else. Nora's body had been made largely immune to heat though, and she smiled, showing off her razor like teeth.
The man's response was nearly instant. He snapped out of whatever hesitation had stopped him before, and like he hadn't even felt her attack, threw an arm in a wide arc to knock her away.
He moved much faster than Nora anticipated, and his fist came within half an inch of her head. Again, she felt heat radiating off of him, but this time she paid it no mind. Her instinct told her to go in for another strike, but the part of her that stayed somewhat reserved told her that with the speed had had already shown, trying her luck wouldn't be a good idea.
Instinct won out, and she arched her back, bringing her lower to the ground and reaching out towards his middle. She saw the pieces of flesh that she had taken from his face, and glanced up briefly to see that the gashes she had caused were already starting to heal over.
Her hand got closer to his middle, and if she landed the hit, she would be able to damage a large set of muscles, making him much easier to fight. Unfortunately she never got the chance, because his knee came forward, and collided with her face with roughly the force of a speeding truck. All of her forward momentum stopped, and she felt her body begin to move in the opposite direction. Pain erupted in the front of her skull, and she felt a few of her features shift very slightly.
Her body skidded across the scorched blacktop, but she didn't stop moving. She threw her legs out, and started to roll. It took some quick thinking, but shew as able to flip back to her feet, and skidded a few more feet before she stopped sliding. Her eyes went from the man to her surroundings. Obviously relying on her natural weapons alone wasn't going to suffice for the battle. A pile of blackened concrete had fallen next to her, and several long lengths of steel rebar were protruding from it, bent in a variety of positions.
She picked one of the straightest lengths she could find, and pulled it out of the pile without hesitation. A few other chunks shifted to the side as she pulled, and when she freed the bar, she found that a piece of concrete roughly the size of her head had come with it. Maybe that would be good, though. The closer to Magnhild the better.
She found that she could handle the weight of the improvised weapon with ease. It wasn't quite weightless, but it was nowhere near as encumbering as it would have been for someone else.
She didn't have time to admire her strength, as her opponent was done waiting. He was charging at her again, fire building up around him like some kind of shell. A loud scream was coming from his throat, and his face was twisted into one of pure rage.
If the strike hit her, she was sure that she would have to be scraped off of the pavement with power tools, and that it was impossible to deflect enough force to make trying to block the attack possible. The only thing that would save her from damage was dodging, and for that, she would have to wait until the last second to make sure he didn't adjust for her movement. If she managed to do it right, it could even open him up for a strike.
His approach was fast though, and she was going to have to be exact. Like a deer in the headlights of a train, she stood, waiting. The man came within arm's reach, and made a grab for Nora's throat. She tried to pull her whole body to the side, bringing the rebar up, but the hand followed her. He was simply too fast.
His gloved fingers closed around her throat, and she felt her feet leave the ground. If she tried to breathe, her chest would find that pulling air in was impossible. She grabbed his wrist with her free hand, keeping a tight grip on the rebar with the other, and tired her best to pry it away, clawing at what she could.
Her nails pushed into muscle, but the man only seemed to smirk. Nora started to get desperate, and lifted the rebar. It was unlikely that she could get a hit off without him defending himself, but she had to try.
A sound like a gunshot came from behind him, and was followed by what sounded like chain unraveling. Nora's gaze went from the face of her attacker to behind him, and she saw what was coming a second before it hit.
The curved scythe blade slammed into the man's back, and just before it stopped moving, Nora saw the sharp edge gleam from the light of the fires behind her. He stumbled forward, and dropped Nora in surprise. It looked like the blade had gone several inches into the man's flesh, but if that had actually done any damage, he didn't show it. He turned to face his new attacker, and Nora took the opportunity to hit, bringing the rebar bludgeon in a circular motion, back, over her head, and then crashing down on his.
The concrete made a dull thud as it made solid contact, and Nora felt the rebar in her hands bend from the force that she put through it. The black and grey rock at the end seemed to falter slightly, cracking slightly and shedding several less attached chips and segments.
This was one attack that her opponent couldn't shrug off. He stumbled forward, and was clearly dazed from the impact. Nora wanted to push the advantage, and to attack again, but the undead fighters moved with a coordination that seemed to suggest it would be better to stay out of their way. It was hard to hold herself back, but managed to resist the urge of her more aggressive side.
The four undead converged on the man, all moving at fast rates so that they would reach him before he recovered. He sensed the danger he was in, but wasn't able to respond quickly enough. By the time he had pulled his head back up and saw his attackers, they were upon him.
Nora struggled to follow what happened next. A dagger was pushed into his stomach, an arrow sprouted from his shoulder, a long blade sliced the tendons on the backs of his legs, and, most devastatingly, the sharp point of the scythe erupted from his back, impaling him completely. His limbs went limp, and the only thing keeping him from crumpling was the scythe suspending him.
Vivid memories of Jaune's sword sprouting from her own chest returned to her mind, and she flinched, remembering the feeling. Cold metal, intrusive and sharp. It was easy to dismiss sympathy for the man though. He had tried hard to hurt her, so he deserved it right back. He wasn't dead, she could tell that much. There was still a strong demonic presence emitting from him.
His apparent blackout didn't last long, as soon he was pushing against the scythe weakly, trying to free himself. The arrow in his shoulder looked like it was preventing movement in the arm it was closest to, and his legs dangled uselessly below him, unable to move. The only function that he seemed to retain was speech, which was reduced to a low gurgle from the blood that welled in his lungs.
"Let me go. I'll destroy you all."
The undead woman with the scythe examined the man closer for a second, then turned to one of the others nearby. "He's already healing, look." She indicated the area, then looked around. "How many civilians were we able to pull?"
The Hunter was quick to respond, saying, "We got most of them out before things got too bad. The fire could easily spread, though. It'd be wise to…" his voice trailed off as several Bullheads soared above them and people started to spew water from hoses positioned in the open hull.
The woman smiled and said, "I guess they were already standing by. Let's hope they have something for this." She gave the scythe a shake, making the man stuck on it grit his teeth and moan. The Hunter nodded, and started to shuffle away. The woman then turned to look at Nora, and she was surprised by how familiar the woman looked. There was something about her face that distracted Nora. Her skin color, hair, clothes, even scythe.
Instead of waiting for Nora to say something, she smiled and said "Hello! You look pretty tired. You did a good job out there, though. Are you a Huntress?"
Nora would've like to say yes, but she wasn't sure anymore. Instead, she shrugged her shoulders and gave an indecisive, "Maybe? It's complicated. I want to be, that's for-"
A voice from the way Nora had come cried out, and she turned to find Pyrrha rounding the corner, breathing heavily, her face red. "Nora! You can't just run off like that! What…" Her eyes drifted over the scene in front of her, and she stopped, shocked.
Nora gave her friend a gleeful wave, and said, "Look, we got him! I told you there was a demon!" She indicated the incapacitated man with a vague motion, and Pyrrha continued to approach. Nora could still see her gaze roaming around, examining the damage to the buildings. She also found the corpses on the ground, and paled when she looked back to Nora.
Her approach stopped, and she looked like she had been completely floored. Her eyes kept moving over the things in front of her in a way that made Nora start to worry. She started to sprint towards her friend, and as she got closer, Pyrrha's eyes went back to her. "Nora, did you do this? Please don't tell me…"
Nora tilted her head to the side, puzzled, and said, "No, he did." She pointed back at the man. "That's the guy with the demon. I knew there was one, and I found him. I don't know who he is really, he had a weird looking mask, but I helped take him down!"
"Adam Taurus." The woman who held the man on her scythe started to walk towards them, water starting to cascade down from the Bullheads around her, dousing the fires. "He used to be a leader of the White Fang, before all of this started. Apparently he broke out of prison to go on this little spree. It's a good thing we were able to catch up with him when I did." She stopped a few feet away, smiled, and held put a hand to Pyrrha. "Hello. You're a friend of hers, right?" She nodded her head in the direction of Nora, then said, "She was excellent in the fight. I didn't think someone would be able to move that fast. You're a Huntress, aren't you?"
Pyrrha looked at her, somewhat shocked. This woman was talking to her so nonchalantly, offering a handshake with one hand, and holding a semiconscious fugitive with the other. She didn't know what to do, so she put her hand out and shook. "Well, yes, I'm going to Beacon. One of my teammates got injured recently, so me and the others were at the hospital when the sirens started to go off. Nora said that she could feel a demon in the city, and I have to admit, I was a bit skeptical. I'm sorry, but who are you?"
She smiled again, and said, "My name is Summer. It's a pleasure to meet you, Pyrrha."
Pyrrha took her hand, and was briefly surprised by how cold it was. She remembered the other people who's skin had been that cold, and in combination with the other people who seemed to be working with her, lingering around, she determined that the woman must've been undead. It was disconcerting to realize, but she tried to keep from letting it show.
Before anyone could say anything else, Adam started to move again. His fists were clenching, and his head rolled from side to side. He looked like he was emitting a soundless scream, the fire in his chest not letting him stay still.
His jaw worked, and he started to mutter in the same gurgling voice he'd used before. Pyrrha was only able to catch a few words of his murmuring, but they made a shiver run up her spine. "…not going back…"
She started to lean closer, but before anything else became audible, Nora stepped forward and placed a hand between her and the man, suddenly a deathly serious look on her face. "Get away from him."
Both Pyrrha and Summer raised their eyebrows, and looked at Nora, puzzled. Nora seemed to grow more upset though, even starting to push Pyrrha away. Pyrrha tried to ask what was going on, saying, "Wait, what? What's going on? Is he still dangerous?"
Nora gave her one mighty shove that sent her to the ground, and said, "Please, trust me, go away."
Pyrrha didn't wasn't to, but a sense of heat was starting to build up around Adam, and something definitely felt off. She figured that it was probably wise to listen to her friend, and started to move away. Adam's voice started to grow in volume, but it lost all wording, turning into merely increasingly loud gurgles. Summer started to hold the scythe away from her, and Nora turned to her, saying, "Get rid of him! Throw him away!"
A harsh glow started to come from Adam's insides, as though he had been filled with a new kind of energy. That seemed to be enough to convince Summer, who raised her scythe and pressed a small button on its handle. The blade that Adam was stuck on exploded off, chain following it as it bore Adam down the street. When it hit the ground again, she gave the handle a heavy pull. The blade was yanked from Adam's chest, and even from the distance they were at they could still hear his scream.
Nora tugged on the hood Summer wore, and said, "You need to get away too. I don't know what he's doing, but it's bad."
Summer looked between the two, then nodded. She was probably right anyways. If she was the same Nora that Summer had been told about, than she was also the one who had escaped from demonic possession. That would explain her physical traits, as well as her seemingly intense ability to sense demonic power.
Summer followed as she was led away, letting Nora decide what distance was probably safe. As she walked, she looked back over her shoulder to find that Adam was throwing off much more light now, enough to make seeing him difficult.
Then the scream reached a crescendo, and a powerful blast knocked Summer off her feet. Her face met the road, and she gave a small thanks for her inability to feel pain. Her ears were full first of the air rushing past her, then of the sounds of buildings crumbling. She pushed herself back up off the ground with her arms, and looked behind her again.
Red energy hung in the air, making strange patterns that wafted lazily around. It looked like it was residual from whatever had just happened, but she didn't waste time puzzling over it. Instead, she got back to her feet, and pulled her scythe with her. If this demon wanted to go another round, she would just have to oblige. Obviously there was no other way to settle the conflict.
The Bullheads that had been hovering above, dousing the flames that threatened to spread to the rest of the city, sputtered and fell as their engines incapable of keeping them aloft anymore. They plummeted back towards the fire they had controlled, sending up great plumes of ash and dust as they impacted.
Almost in the center of this, Adam was back on his feet, a brand new snarl on his face as he walked towards Summer. At first she had to blink, making sure that her eyes were not playing tricks on her, but she was able to confirm that he was, indeed, on fire. Flame didn't just cover his body, but was left in the places his feet touched the ground as well, drawing bubbling tar from the surface of the blacktop.
Behind her, she heard Nora get back to her feet as well, and give off a kind of growl that might be expected of a defensive beast, not a young girl. Further back than that, she heard Pyrrha's armor scrape across the ground slightly as she stood. She would want to help, no doubt, but Adam had already proved far too dangerous for children.
"Get out of here!" She barked over her shoulder. "We can handle this, just go!"
She didn't know how true that was. Without aid directly from Naze, this was going to be exceedingly difficult, and perhaps even impossible. But she had to try. She reached out with her mind, getting the positions of her allies. All had been thrown into the rubble by the blast Adam had conjured, but most had been able to escape major damage. The man who had been torn in two had already been forced to retreat, so he was out of the picture. She tried to formulate some find of plan she could use, but nothing came. She was out of ideas.
Her first order was for those trapped beneath the rubble to un-trap themselves as fast as possible. Then, although there was nearly no chance she would be able to best him, she started to step forwards. Maybe she only had to buy time. Maybe someone else had an Ace up their sleeve.
Adam let out a snort as the woman stepped forward again. She was persistent, but she was also hopeless. She was dead, too, he had determined through the fight. Hate started to leak from his mouth, though he was barely conscious of it. "Dirty, stinking, rotten, weak little human! Do you think cheating death makes me afraid?"
Her eyes narrowed, and she continued to approach him. "Do you think empty bravado frightens me? If you wish to scare the dead, you'll have to try harder than that!"
The fire around him intensified, proportional to his rage. How dare she talk back to him like that? He was clearly superior. She could not so much as hold a candle to his might, yet she insulted him.
His walk turned into a charge in the blink of an eye, and hellfire spiraled around him, his master's fury joining with his own. Together, they would annihilate the girl, and do what had to be done. Perhaps Blake had been wrong, and humans needed to be first to go. If they were as much trouble as this one was being, he would change his mind.
He was in front of her in a second, and a strike wasn't far behind. He lashed his arm out towards her, a hit that would splatter her across the rubble if it connected. Unfortunately, she jumped back, evading at the last second. The flame that crackled around him didn't grant her a free pass, though. It jumped off from his body, and lapped at the edges of her robes, incinerating them entirely. He knew that they would take care of her feeble flesh just as easily,
He didn't let her have any rest, throwing another vicious swing at her head. She moved faster than anyone Adam had seen before, but that wasn't going to save her skin. He was going to flay her, and see if she really couldn't feel pain. If she couldn't, he would cast her aside like the used up trash she was. That's all a dead human was anyways.
She dodged this strike as well, dodging under the swing far enough that she wasn't touched by the fire. He brought his arm down in hopes of catching her, but again she simply moved out of the way.
Adam roared, overcome with rage. Even in this state, though, he was not reduced to a stupid beast. At least, not completely. The disturbance of several chunks of concrete attracted his attention, and he glanced to the side to assess how much of a threat it was.
Another Hunter, also undead, had stood, and had a bow in their hands, string drawn, arrow notched. Adam glared for a moment, then started to turn his attention back to his current foe. Someone at such a distance didn't pose any threat, especially someone as pathetic as that.
The bow string gave a thump as it snapped back into position, throwing the arrow through the air. As it flew, the dust-laced tip ignited into brilliant color, the explosive tip primed and ready. Adam didn't flinch as the projectile approached, and a small smile came across as it closed the final stretch of distance. A few feet from his face, the projectile twisted and cracked, collapsing as its body was reduced to nothing but ash.
The black soot remains pelted harmlessly against his chest, and he turned back to Summer. If it was some kind of ambush she had planned, it wouldn't work.
Summer's eyes were wide in surprise, but she didn't look like she was beat. Before he could make to hit her again, she dashed away, taking to the nearby ruins that had recently been a residential building. Adam was only a step behind her the whole way, he wasn't about to allow his prey to escape him.
Concrete was crushed under his heel as he stormed after her, everything near him catching fire in seconds. Summer scrambled away from him, but he was gaining ground. The jagged shards of concrete slowed her progress through the rubble significantly, but she still struggled on. If she couldn't beat him, she wouldn't have a body to come back to when everything was said and done.
Several more arrows, or rather, remains of arrows pelted against his back, but he paid them no mind. Summer was the first to deserve his ire, and she would feel it, whether she was dead or not.
As she neared the top of the pile, she looked back over her shoulder again. At first she thought she imagined it, but the image endured as she stared. Ruby, along with her friends, had come. Why were they here? She had told them to get back inside, and stay there.
She couldn't keep herself from reacting. "Ruby! Yang! Get out of here!"
Adam noted the desperation in her voice, and knew that he was about to gain an upper hand on his opponent. What he found when he looked, though, was something far, far worse.
His shout was far louder than anything he had said so far, it would have likely caused windows to shatter, if there were any close by that hadn't already.
"Schnee!"
Weiss froze, a stab of terror piercing her heart. What did that person, if it could still be called that, want with her? It all clicked at once, making horrible sense. The mask they wore wasn't just random, they were a real White Fang member.
Her blood turned to ice as they started to charge at her, and her body refused to move. The man running towards her was little more than a glowing streak. She tried to move, but found that her body had stopped responding entirely. All she could do was to gawk.
Yang gave her a strong shove, snapping her out of the daze she was in. Yang shouted, "Go!"
She did. She started to run as fast as she could, and didn't look back. She knew better than to look back. That would slow her down, and she couldn't afford that. She turned the corner they had come around, and came back into the rest of the city. She hoped that no one would be hurt by her running, but there was nothing that she could do about that now. The best thing that she could do was run as fast as she could, so that the man wouldn't have the opportunity to hurt anyone.
She heard footsteps start to grow closer behind her, and hurriedly turned down an alleyway, hoping that would divert her, or at least give her a few more seconds of running before she had her insides made into her outsides, and her bones made into another mask.
Those thoughts alone were enough to make her feet pump a little faster, and she put a new wind into her sprint. She made a nimble leap over a scattered array of trash bins, and heard them be knocked over almost immediately after.
Another ear-splitting cry of, "Schnee!" almost made her stop running, but she resisted the urge to stop, feeling a burn on her back. "You and you kin have done more damage to us than anyone ever has! I'll wear your skin, you little bitch!"
Glyphs appeared on the ground in front of her, and made her run faster than ever before. Unfortunately, she was running out of alleyway to run through, and didn't quite want her skin to be taken. She needed it. And she especially didn't want someone him to wear it. Not that anyone wearing it would be alright, of course.
She hoped that what she was about to do would work, praying to any being that might make it so, and placed more glyphs on the wall. Maybe she didn't need to be as fast as Ruby for something like that to work.
She reached the end of the line, and put a foot on the wall, unsure of how to angle herself. Luckily, it didn't matter too much, as the spinning rune seemed to pull her down onto the wall, anchoring her. They flung her forward, which was now up, and it was all that she could do to keep her feet under her. She reached the top of the wall before her brain had time to adjust to the shift in what was up and what was down, and she fell rather unceremoniously onto her front.
Her brain was frantic enough that it was able to resist getting dazed, and immediately started to get up. If she didn't, a horrible fate awaited her. She scrambled back to her feet, and started to run again. Then she was forced to stop. She had run out of roof, and the drop was about five stories long. She hesitated on the edge, then heard a heavy crash behind her. She turned, just in time to receive a foot to the belly.
Her vision blurred, and she felt wind blowing through her hair. It also became much harder to breathe, though she wasn't sure why. Everything felt fuzzy, and she thought she felt something starting to leak out of her mouth.
When Weiss hit the ground, her teammates could tell that she was probably out cold. Her body bounced slightly when it hit the concrete. On the upside, though, it seemed that she hadn't been hit long enough to burn her. At least, not in any way that they could see. All three started to run towards their friend, readying their weapons. They had tried to keep up with the chase, but it had all gone too fast. It was lucky that Weiss had fallen where they could see her at all.
They could see Adam, standing on the edge of the roof that he had just kicked Weiss off of, a grimace of hatred on his face as he looked down at her. They ran as fast as they could, Ruby dashing forward with her Semblance, and came to a stop in front of Weiss, just as Adam leapt from his position. She held Crescent Rose up as Adam pulled a fist back, neither opponent intending to sway their course.
Unfortunately for Ruby, Adam was the mightier fighter, and Ruby didn't stand the whisper of a chance. She was swept aside as it she was nothing, a single kick sending her spinning through the air. She hit the ground again flat, skidded for a while, and then lay still.
Yang felt fury like she never had before. This man had hurt her friend, and now her very sister. He was going to pay. Dearly.
She kicked off the ground and placed her metal fist square on the side of Adam's face, but was surprised when this had little to no effect. Adam barely reacted, but threw an arm out to the side, not even looking at her. It collided with her chest, and sent her flying even further than Ruby. There was no way that she would be able to stop him now.
Blake was the only one who could hope to save Weiss now. She hoped that Adam would stop when he saw her, like he did before. Maybe her presence would be able to calm him down, and she could explain that Weiss was her friend, and not like the other Schnees. She had empathized with the faunus, and didn't think of them in the same way that her father did.
Adam raised his hands above his head, balling them into fists, readying himself to bring them down on Weiss's head. A blow like that would kill her easily, especially if it was Adam striking the blow.
She didn't draw Gambol Shroud as she got closer. Unlike the others, she knew that a weapon would do no good. She would have to rely on Adam to stop, she just had to make it clear he needed to.
Her voice rang out, different tone seeming to slice through Adam's yell in a strange way. She couldn't tell if he heard her or not, but she shouted all the same, "Adam, wait! Don't-"
She placed herself between Weiss and Adam, putting her hands up defensibly, just as his hands started to come down. The angry snarl on Adam's face wavered briefly, and Blake thought for a moment that her plan had worked, before…
Crack.
The sound that Blake's body made as it folded under his fists was loud, and she immediately slumped to the ground, her consciousness gone.
Adam watched her fall, dumbstruck for a moment. That was Blake. His friend, the one he loved, the one that he had promised he would never hurt. She meant more to him than anything else, and he had just felt her bones snap and break under his arms.
He looked down at his hands, struggling to keep his thoughts ordered. Why had he done that? There was time to stop, more than enough to get her out of the way before continuing. Why had he not done that?
And perhaps, more importantly, why had she placed herself in danger at all for the filthy spawn of the Schnee house? It wasn't possible that she didn't know who this girl was, they were both extremely familiar with all the relatives of the family.
He should not have done that. He should have stopped. But he hadn't. His anger had blinded him, and he had not even tried to brush it aside. His anger started to grow, but not at anything that he could fight. His anger grew at himself. He should have stopped, but he didn't. Now Blake was possibly dead, and he was the only one to blame.
He felt the asphalt hit his knees, and was vaguely aware of the tears that started to fill his eyes, but his hands went to his ears when he heard the voice of his master again, shouting loud enough to distract him from every other thought. "Are you becoming soft already? Cowardly? Should I have picked another to carry my power? Perhaps I will! If you do not get back to killing, I'll destroy you!"
Adam didn't want to kill anymore, but the rage boiling inside him said otherwise. Blake obviously didn't want him doing either. At least, not in the city. He recalled what she had said about others, people possessed by demons in Menagerie. The whole city had fallen, and the continent was following closely behind. That was something it was easy to get angry about. Maybe that would be best. It would be the best way to respect Blake, at least.
He wanted to check if she was still alive, but he knew better than to reach out towards her. It didn't look like she had been burned by his flame, but he wasn't going to chance it. Instead, he pushed himself back to his feet and looked around. The girl, Ruby, was starting to stir, and the undead Yang was starting to get close again. It was clear she intended to protect her friends, but he didn't intend to harm them anymore. Blake wouldn't have liked that.
He shook his head, trying to clear it, and looked for the Hunters. They were standing nearby, Summer approaching with an angry expression. He had hurt her child too. She was a human, yes, but there were bigger problems. Faunus were being made into slaves for Cinder, and he wouldn't allow that. Anything else was secondary now, all he wanted was to make those demons pay.
He eyed the south, the direction that Menagerie was from Vale. He would swim across the ocean if he had to, as long as he got to kill some demons. They deserved that much, and he would happy to give it to them. They couldn't simply make nearly the whole faunus race subservient and expect to go consequence-free.
The blonde haired undead drew within striking distance again, but Adam jerked to the side, so that her fist only struck air. He wanted to say something, to apologize for what had happened, but he couldn't. Instead, he started to sprint in the opposite direction, to the south. He didn't know if he was going to find some other kind of transport or simply run the whole way, but he didn't care too much. Voices called out from behind him, demanding his return, but he paid them no heed.
Yang watched as the man fled, shouting obscenities as he went. She wanted to give chase, but the wellbeing of her friends took precedence over her want to beat Adam to a bloody pulp. She had seen Ruby climbing to her feet, so she wasn't too worried about her sister. Blake was still lying on the ground, and Weiss hadn't moved yet. It was them that concerned her most.
She and her mother reached her two downed friends at about the same time, and they immediately set about checking them. Weiss seemed to be having trouble breathing, taking in air lightly and quickly, and Yang thought she could feel an odd bend in her spine, but she didn't want to think too hard about what that could mean. Weiss was alive, and didn't seem to be getting any worse though, and that was what counted.
Her mother was examining Blake, and given the expression on her face, she wasn't looking too good. Yang was hesitant to ask what was wrong, but she did so anyways. "Mom, how's she looking?"
Summer continued to examine Blake for a few more seconds before shaking her head and looking up. "She needs help. Badly. We should get her somewhere as soon as possible. What about Weiss?"
Yang nodded. "About the same. She's breathing strangely, and I think something's wrong with her back. We should really get her somewhere better."
Summer nodded, and carefully took Blake into her arms. Yang could see the odd way that Blake bent in her arms, and suddenly had the terrible thought that her mother might be downplaying the damage her friend had taken. Was she going to be alright? Her eyes were half shut, and she didn't look like she was going to be conscious any time soon.
Ruby was slowly limping her way over to them, a concerned look on her face. "Hey, how are they? Do they need help?"
Yang cupped a hand over her mouth and shouted, "Yeah! We're going to get them to the hospital. Sorry, but there's no time! Pyrrha or Nora can help you get back, we've got to go!"
Ruby sounded somewhat dejected, but responded with a sure voice. "Alright, I'll just wait here then. Be quick!"
Yang managed an awkward wave as she picked Weiss off the ground, then turned to her mother again. She looked hesitant about leaving Ruby, but Yang had the feeling that no worry was necessary. If Adam was going to hurt anyone else, he wouldn't have run off. He wasn't coming back. Not after breaking Blake like he did. Her thoughts about the man were bitter, but at least he was going to be useful. She wanted to stay mad, and she could easily for what he had done, and she would never forgive him, but letting him go was the best thing that she could do. Not only her herself or for her team, but for the whole world as well. She just hoped that Blake's faith he wasn't totally forgone. He was running out of Vale, and her intuition told her he wouldn't come back.
"Come on, he's not going to come back. We need to hurry."
Her mother nodded, and both set off again in the direction of the hospital. | {
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3 Many returnees say that in Pakistan, they have been subject to beatings, detentions by police, and evictions from their homes. The police crackdown began after the December 2014 attack on a school in Peshawar, northwest Pakistan, which killed 150 people, mostly children. The attack was claimed by the Pakistani Taliban. | {
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Mauritania and Haiti have the highest proportions of slaves in the world. Bruno Vincent/Getty
Slavery remains a serious global problem, with 29.6 million people in various states of forced servitude, including sexual exploitation, debt bondage and forced marriage, according to a new report.
Mauritania and Haiti have the highest proportions of slaves, while India, Pakistan and China have some of the highest absolute numbers, the Walk Free Foundation said in its first Global Slavery Index report, published Wednesday. The forms of bondage violate international decrees, including the 1926 Slavery Convention, an international treaty, and the UN Trafficking Protocol.
Native-born slaves are often found in poorer countries, while exploited workers from poorer parts of the world regularly end up in rich countries where they are often trafficked. In India, some native-born slaves never leave their own villages, Walk Free found.
"Today some people are still being born into hereditary slavery, a staggering but harsh reality, particularly in parts of West Africa and South Asia," the report states.
"Other victims are captured or kidnapped before being sold or kept for exploitation, whether through 'marriage,' unpaid labor on fishing boats, or as domestic workers," the report continues. "Others are tricked and lured into situations they cannot escape, with false promises of a good job or an education."
The 10 countries with the highest number of enslaved or exploited workers, according to Walk Free, are: India, China, Pakistan, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Russian Federation, Thailand, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Myanmar and Bangladesh.
But Mauritania, with about 150,000 slaves, retains the highest proportion of enslaved people in the world, with aspects of "chattel slavery" that harken back to the American experience of the institution, where human beings are considered "full property of their masters who exercise total ownership over them and their descendants."
Many slaves in the West African nation were born into classes that have toiled as slaves for generations. | {
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La nueva conducción del Instituto del Cine y Artes Audiovisuales (INCAA), encabezada por Ralph Haiek, anunció el despido de tres directivos del organismo oficial que venían de la gestión kirchnerista, como parte de los cambios motorizados por el gobierno nacional luego del desplazamiento de su ex presidente Alejandro Cacetta.
Los anuncios se hicieron pocas horas después de que unos doscientos directores, actores, productores y estudiantes de cine protestaran en la puerta del INCAA contra el despido de Cacetta y reclamaran la renuncia del ministro de Cultura, Pablo Avelluto, bajo las consignas “Defiendo al cine argentino” y “Apoyo al INCAA”.
Fuentes del INCAA informaron que echaron al gerente de Administración del organismo oficial, Raúl Seguí; al gerente de Relaciones Institucionales, Rómulo Pullol; y al titular de la Unidad de Auditoría Interna, Rolando Oreiro.
El nuevo gerente de Administración será Nicolás Yocca, quien trabajó como directivo de Radio Continental y Radio Mitre, entre otros medios de comunicación.
Además, se conoció la renuncia del rector de la escuela de cine del INCAA (ENERC), Pablo Rovito, en disconformidad con los cambios promovidos por el Gobierno. Las autoridades del INCAA señalaron que Rovito tenía su mandato vencido y que la semana que viene van a llamar a concurso para cubrir su cargo.
La nueva gestión del organismo oficial recibió esta tarde a una delegación de las personas que protestaron en la puerta del INCAA, a quienes les aseguraron que “no se va a tocar el Fondo de Fomento del Cine” y que los cambios apuntan a “transparentar la gestión del organismo oficial”.
La protesta que se hizo en la puerta del organismo oficial contó con la participación de los directores de cine Fernando “Pino” Solanas y Luis Puenzo; los actores Darío Grandinetti, Cristina Banegas, Patricio Contreras y Alejandra Darín, entre otros.
“Vamos a defender al INCAA a capa y espada. Estamos todos unidos en defensa del cine nacional”, dijo el senador nacional Pino Solanas, director de películas como Sur y La Hora de los Hornos. “El cine nacional está en riesgo, porque hay un fondo del que se nutre la industria para existir y para filmar, que está en riesgo de ser intervenido por el Gobierno”, dijo Darío Grandinetti.
Los manifestantes reclamaban que se mantenga el Fondo de Fomento del Cine, con el que se subsidian parcial o totalmente la mayoría de las películas que se producen en el país. Dicho fondo está integrado por el 10% del precio de las entradas de cine y el 25% del impuesto que pagan las empresas audiovisuales al Ente Nacional de Comunicaciones (ENaCom).
Además, numerosos actores participaron de dos videos, bajo el slogan Defiendo Cine Argentino. “No al vaciamiento del Fondo de Fomento Audiovisual”, dijo la actriz Natalia Oreiro, en ese video que se difundió a través de las redes sociales. “El cine en la Argentina se autofinancia, no le saca recursos ni a los jubilados, ni a los maestros, ni a los hospitales”, sostuvo el actor Juan Minujin. “La semana pasada nuestro Instituto de Cine pasó a ser un organismo intervenido. La destitución del presidente del INCAA es una cortina de humo que esconde una operación”, dijo allí la actriz Dolores Fonzi. Y Graciela Borges, añadió: “No a la destrucción del cine argentino”.
También diversas entidades de la industria cinematográfica salieron a respaldar la gestión de Cacetta, quien había sido designado al frente del INCAA por el presidente Mauricio Macri, a propuesta de las entidades del sector.
En cambio, el jefe de Gabinete, Marcos Peña, aseguró que era "una gran mentira" que exista un "plan para destruir al cine nacional. Han intentado durante años que los prejuicios que tenían sobre nosotros se verifiquen en la realidad. Como no pudieron, ahora convocan a resistir supuestos planes ocultos que no existen", dijo Peña ayer, en un mensaje difundido por Facebook. "No hay ningún plan ni intención de eliminar ni modificar el Fondo del Cine, del teatro o de la música", agregó el jefe de Gabinete.
La semana pasada el ministro de Cultura, Pablo Avelluto, le pidió la renuncia al presidente del INCAA, Alejandro Cacetta, luego de presentar siete denuncias contra su gestión en la Oficina Anticorrupción. Allí se acusó a Cacetta de haber contratado a Cinecolor, una empresa que pertenecía a la empresa de la cual era directivo (Patagonik). También Avelluto lo acusó de "falta de compromiso" para atacar focos de corrupción en el INCAA.
La salida de Cacetta se produjo pocas horas después de que el periodista Eduardo Feinmann presentara esas denuncias en el programa Animales Sueltos, que conduce Alejandro Fantino por América TV. Eso fue visto por muchos integrantes de la industria cinematográfica como "una operación mediática del gobierno" para enlodar a Cacetta.
La nueva gestión encabezada por Haiek, que era el vicepresidente del INCAA, planea llevar adelante un sistema de transparencia activa, que está diseñando con la Oficina Anticorrupción y el Ministerio de Cultura. El objetivo es que se pueda acceder, desde Internet, a toda la información relativa a compras y licitaciones, contrataciones y otorgamiento de subsidios, para transparentar la gestión y que se sepa cuánto dinero se entrega, a quién y para hacer qué películas.
Sin embargo, varios referentes de la industria cinematográfica temen que el desplazamiento de Cacetta sea un paso dado para desfinanciar al cine argentino, que es uno de los más prolíficos de la región y durante el año pasado estrenó 173 películas de producción nacional.
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Democrats may be taking most of the heat for dossier-gate these days, but we now know it was #nevertrump neoconservatives, not the left, who got the ball rolling on the shady acquisition of dirt on Donald Trump.
Before the Hillary Clinton presidential campaign and the Democratic party sought the now-infamous Trump dossier from the Russians (through three cut-outs), the engagement of the now-equally infamous Fusion GPS organization had already commenced. The DC-based commercial research and strategic intelligence firm began its involvement with the 2016 election when they were hired by the online publication, the Washington Free Beacon.
So who runs the Free Beacon? In a word, neoconservatives. The organization was bankrolled by anti-Trump neocon billionaire Paul Singer. It began in 2012 as a project of the Center for American Freedom, whose board included one Bill Kristol, publisher of The Weekly Standard and leader of the #nevertrump movement who tried and repeatedly failed to low-bridge Donald Trump and find an alternative around whom conservatives could rally. After promising a candidate he described as “an impressive one, with a strong team and a real chance,” Kristol came forward with…David French, an obscure writer for National Review. French ultimately declined the invitation to run, but Kristol continued to pound Trump as ferociously as any Democrat. Trump, predictably, called Kristol a loser.
With Democrats now trying to duck the blame for spending over three million dollars for the Trump dossier by claiming Republicans started it, the Free Beacon entered the spotlight and quickly issued a disclaimer denying any role in the acquisition of the dossier and the inclusion of British spy Christopher Steele into the process:
“…during the 2016 election cycle we retained Fusion GPS to provide research on multiple candidates in the Republican presidential primary, just as we retained other firms to assist in our research into Hillary Clinton. All of the work that Fusion GPS provided to the Free Beacon was based on public sources, and none of the work product that the Free Beacon received appears in the Steele dossier. The Free Beacon had no knowledge of or connection to the Steele dossier, did not pay for the dossier, and never had contact with, knowledge of, or provided payment for any work performed by Christopher Steele.”
Nowhere in their effort to explain away their involvement in the Fusion GPS investigation does the Free Beacon mention any other Republican candidates they paid to investigate. So we are left with the choice of either accepting their explanation or imputing to them the same motive as the Democrats: to stop Donald Trump at any cost. That makes for an easy choice.
Given their vitriolic attacks on Trump from the moment he became a serious candidate, and the continuing contempt shown for him by Mr. Kristol, we have good reason to suspect the neocons at the Free Beacon did not merely place Trump on a long list of targets to routinely investigate.
To say this whole thing is repulsive would be an understatement. Veteran columnist Pat Buchanan summed things up nicely:
“…thus we have Free Beacon neocons, never-Trump Republicans, the Hillary Clinton campaign, the DNC, a British spy and comrades in Russian intelligence, and perhaps the FBI, all working with secret money and seedy individuals to destroy a candidate they could not defeat in a free election.”
Give Bill Kristol and his neocon brethren credit for one thing: persistence. Kristol may have shot himself in the foot as the face of the neocon resistance to Trump, looked like a fool, and earned the sore loser label placed on him by the president, but he carries on with his long, slow march to undermine the Trump presidency. And it seems not to matter one bit to him and his fellow travelers that Trump has provided a striking contrast to a Hillary Clinton presidency, which promised to represent everything Kristol and his gang of failed neoconservatives have for years claimed to oppose.
One might have thought that after the Iraq War, the fall of Libya, and all the other military adventures they so heavily supported which turned into disasters, the neocons might rightfully recede into the woodwork in disgrace. Instead, they have not only refused to admit they were wrong and continued in an active state of denial, but actively conspired to take down the presidential candidate of their own party.
Their behavior is eerily similar to that of leftists after the fall of the Soviet Union who refused to admit their complicity in the spread of murderous Communism. Perhaps, like the Soviets, neocons will themselves soon be relegated to the ash heap of history. | {
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Sydney land prices fell 6.3 per cent in the December quarter – their first fall in two years and nearly three times the decline of the overall residential land market.
The fall in prices in the NSW capital, which outstripped the 2.3 per cent overall decline, put Sydney's median lot price at $450,000 – still the most expensive in the country, the latest HIA-CoreLogic Residential Land Report said.
"The first quarterly decline of Sydney land prices in two years reflects a culmination of several policies aimed at stemming demand for new residential development in the city," said CoreLogic commercial research analyst Eliza Owen.
Sydney's median lot price is still the most expensive in the country despite a fall in the December quarter. Rob Homer
"Combined with Australian limitations on foreign investment handed down in the 2016-17 budget, domestic banks are less willing to lend to individuals who source their income from overseas."
But the report, which also criticised the quality of state land market data for lacking detail, showed the further divergence between the country's regionalised housing markets. Melbourne's average lot price rose 10 per cent to a new high of $330,000 over the quarter, echoing a separate report by project marketers Red23 that put the city's median lot price at almost $350,000 after a gain of nearly $100,000 – or 39 per cent – in 12 months. | {
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A new Utawarerumono RPG is in development in addition to today’s newly announced action game Utawarerumono Zan, the latest issue of Weekly Famitsu reveals.
The scenario for the game, which is described as an RPG for people who like to enjoy stories, is being written by Tsutomu Washimi. It will be a game that further expands upon the world of the series.
According to Aquaplus president Naoya Shimokawa, Utawarerumono Zan is only one part of the new Utawarerumono project getting started. He also added that there are still many episodes that have not been written, such as the “Episode 0” story set before the first game, or the story between the first and second games. This time, he hopes to delve into the world with the trilogy in mind.
Thanks, Ryokutya2089. | {
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How Futures Trading Changed Bitcoin Prices
From Bitcoin’s inception in 2009 through mid-2017, its price remained under $4,000. In the second half of 2017, it climbed dramatically to nearly $20,000, but descended rapidly starting in mid-December. The peak price coincided with the introduction of bitcoin futures trading on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. The rapid run-up and subsequent fall in the price after the introduction of futures does not appear to be a coincidence. Rather, it is consistent with trading behavior that typically accompanies the introduction of futures markets for an asset.
Bitcoin is a “cryptocurrency”—a digital currency that is not backed by any tangible or intangible assets of intrinsic value. After its launch in January 2009, the dollar price of a bitcoin remained under $1,150 until February 22, 2017, when it increased exponentially for about 10 months, as shown in Figure 1. This explosive growth ended on December 17, 2017, when bitcoin reached its peak price of $19,511. Notably these dynamics aren’t driven by overall market fluctuations, as shown by comparison with the Standard & Poor’s 500 stock index.
Figure 1
Bitcoin prices and S&P 500 stock index Source: Bloomberg.
The peak bitcoin price coincided with the day bitcoin futures started trading on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME). In this Economic Letter, we argue that these price dynamics are consistent with the rise and collapse of the home financing market in the 2000s, as explained in Fostel and Geanakoplos (2012). They suggested that the mortgage boom was driven by financial innovations in securitization and groupings of bonds that attracted optimistic investors; the subsequent bust was driven by the creation of instruments that allowed pessimistic investors to bet against the housing market. Similarly, the advent of blockchain introduced a new financial instrument, bitcoin, which optimistic investors bid up, until the launch of bitcoin futures allowed pessimists to enter the market, which contributed to the reversal of the bitcoin price dynamics.
What is Bitcoin?
Bitcoin with a capital B is a decentralized network that relies on a peer-to-peer system, rather than banks or credit card companies, to verify transactions using the digital currency known as bitcoin with a lowercase b. The first bitcoin was “mined” in 2009 after the anonymous person or group named Satoshi Nakamoto published a proof of concept for a currency that uses cryptography, rather than reliable third parties (Nakamoto 2008). Blockchain, the underlying infrastructure and ledger of bitcoin, provides a secure platform for two parties to do business with one another (Chiu and Koeppl 2017 and Berentsen and Schar 2018).
Bitcoin miners contribute computing resources to verify bitcoin transactions and hence maintain blockchain. They are compensated for sharing their computing resources with new bitcoins. The total numbers of bitcoins to be mined has been arbitrarily set at 21 million. When this volume is reached—estimates suggest in 2140—miners will be compensated by transaction fees rather than new bitcoins (Nian and Chuen 2016).
Bitcoin price dynamics from the end of 2017 to early 2018
When discussing the price of a currency or an asset like bitcoin, it is useful to separate transactional demand, which arises from using bitcoins in transactions such as purchases of goods and services, from speculative demand, which arises when people are buying bitcoins in the hope that their value will increase. Speculative demand is basically a bet on the price of the underlying asset or currency increasing, because the investor does not need the asset itself. For most currencies and assets, investors have ways to bet on the increase or decline in their value using a variety of financial instruments based on the asset or a currency, so-called financial derivatives.
Before December 2017, there was no market for bitcoin derivatives. This meant that it was extremely difficult, if not impossible, to bet on the decline in bitcoin price. Such bets usually take the form of short selling, that is selling an asset before buying it, forward or future contracts, swaps, or a combination. Betting on the increase in bitcoin price was easy—one just had to buy it. Speculative demand for bitcoin came only from optimists, investors who were willing to bet money that the price was going to go up. And until December 17, those investors were right: As with a self-fulfilling prophecy, optimists’ demand pushed the price of bitcoin up, energizing more people to join in and keep pushing up the price. The pessimists, however, had no mechanism available to put money behind their belief that the bitcoin price would collapse. So they were left to wait for their “I told you so” moment.
This one-sided speculative demand came to an end when the futures for bitcoin started trading on the CME on December 17. Although the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) had opened a futures market a week earlier on December 10, trading was thin until the CME joined the market. Indeed, the average daily trading volume the month after the CME issued futures was approximately six times larger than when only the CBOE offered these derivatives.
With the introduction of bitcoin futures, pessimists could bet on a bitcoin price decline, buying and selling contracts with a lower delivery price in the future than the spot price. For example, they could sell a promise to deliver a bitcoin in a month’s time at a lower price than the current spot price and hope to buy a bitcoin during the month at an even lower price to make a profit. With offers of future bitcoin deliveries at a lower price coming through, the order flow necessarily put downward pressure on the spot price as well. For all investors who were in the market to buy bitcoins for either transactional or speculative reasons and were willing to wait a month, this was a good deal. The new investment opportunity led to a fall in demand in the spot bitcoin market and therefore a drop in price. With falling prices, pessimists started to make money on their bets, fueling further short selling and further downward pressure on prices.
Figure 2 shows the three largest bitcoin price declines in 2017. We scale the three series so that the peak values are equal to 100 on the peak event days. Hence, each point on the figure can be interpreted as a percent of the peak value. The horizontal axis represents the number of days before and after the peak dates. The price decline following the issuance of bitcoin futures on the CME (red line) is clearly larger than in the previous two reversals. Additionally, the two earlier decreases in prices returned to pre-crash levels in about a month. As of late April, the bitcoin price had not returned to its pre-futures peak.
Figure 2
Comparison of three largest bitcoin price declines in 2017 Source: Bloomberg, authors’ calculations.
This is not the first time that markets observed a turning point following the introduction of a new instrument, as Fostel and Geanakoplos (2012) show for the more complex mortgage-backed securities market. The mechanism they describe hinges on the same driving force of optimistic and pessimistic traders.
Why, then, did the price of bitcoin fall somewhat gradually rather than collapse overnight? The answer to this is difficult. It could be that pessimistic investors lack the attention, willingness, or ability to enter the market on the first day or week of trading. Consistent with this assertion, the total volume of transactions in the CME futures market started very low, with an average trading volume of contracts promising to deliver approximately 12,000 bitcoins during the first week of trading, relative to the estimated spot market turnover of 200,000 bitcoins.
Is there a fundamental price of bitcoin?
So where is the price of bitcoin going? This is a very difficult question, and we do not pretend to be able to forecast bitcoin prices, nor will we offer any guesses. Instead, we outline a few factors that may affect the fundamental price of bitcoin, which is where we would expect the price to go in the long run, once speculative demand by optimists and pessimists balances out.
The supply of bitcoins is determined by the volume of bitcoin currently in circulation and the additional volume to be mined. The decision to mine a bitcoin depends on the cost and benefit from mining. Hayes (2015) estimated a bitcoin mining cost in 2015 of around $250, which was close to the bitcoin price at the time. More generally, however, the mining cost of bitcoin should not affect its value any more than the cost of printing regular currency affects its value—basically not at all.
Given that there is no actual asset that backs the value of bitcoin and it doesn’t provide a natural hedge as insurance against sharp moves in any other asset’s value, what will eventually determine the “fundamental” price of bitcoin is transactional demand relative to supply. We know that bitcoin is used as a means of exchange in a number of markets. The amount of bitcoins needed for these markets to function constitutes transactional demand. The supply growth of bitcoin is becoming more limited as the mining price increases. If transactional demand grows faster than supply, we would expect the price to grow.
Transactional demand in turn depends on a number of factors. One is the availability of substitutes. If a different cryptocurrency becomes more widely used as a means of exchange in the markets currently dominated by bitcoin, demand for bitcoin may drop precipitously because these tend to be winner-takes-all markets. Second, if traditional financial institutions become more willing to accept bitcoin as collateral, a means of payment, or a direct investment, demand may increase substantially. Finally, official recognition and regulatory acceptance of bitcoin as a means of payments would increase its circulation, while regulatory constraints or introduction of transaction fees may reduce it.
Conclusions
We suggest that the rapid rise of the price of bitcoin and its decline following issuance of futures on the CME is consistent with pricing dynamics suggested elsewhere in financial theory and with previously observed trading behavior. Namely, optimists bid up the price before financial instruments are available to short the market (Fostel and Geanakoplos 2012). Once derivatives markets become sufficiently deep, short-selling pressure from pessimists leads to a sharp decline in value. While we understand some of the factors that play a role in determining the long-run price of bitcoin, our understanding of the transactional benefits of bitcoin is too imprecise to quantify this long-run price. But as speculative dynamics disappear from the bitcoin market, the transactional benefits are likely to be the factor that will drive valuation.
Galina B. Hale is a research advisor in the Economic Research Department of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco.
Arvind Krishnamurthy is John S. Osterweis Professor of Finance at the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
Marianna Kudlyak is a research advisor in the Economic Research Department of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco.
Patrick Shultz is a research associate in the Economic Research Department of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco.
References
Berentsen, Aleksander, and Fabian Schar. 2018. “A Short Introduction to the World of Cryptocurrencies.” Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Review 100(1), pp. 1–16.
Chiu, Jonathan, and Thorsten Koeppl. 2017. “The Economics of Cryptocurrencies—Bitcoin and Beyond.” Queen’s Economics Department Working Paper 1389.
Fostel, Ana, and John Geanakoplos. 2012. “Tranching, CDS, and Asset Prices: How Financial Innovation Can Cause Bubbles and Crashes.” American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics 4(1), pp. 190–225.
Hayes, Adam. 2015. “A Cost of Production Model for Bitcoin.” Working Paper 05/2015, Department of Economics, The New School for Social Research.
Nakamoto, Satoshi. 2008. “Bitcoin: A Peer-To-Peer Electronic Cash System.” Unpublished paper.
Nian, Lam Pak, and David Lee Kuo Chuen. 2016. “Introduction to Bitcoin.” Chapter 1, Handbook of Digital Currency: Bitcoin, Innovation, Financial Instruments, and Big Data, 1st edition, ed. David Lee Kuo Chuen. London: Academic Press. pp. 19–21. | {
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The closure of schools across the UK has left many parents and carers in the sudden, unexpected position of being home-school teachers. Schools are providing support where they can, but there are also still plenty of smartphone and tablet apps that can be used as part of learning.
It may be tricky to get some children to see these devices as good for more than TikTok, Fortnite and (adult) YouTube, but the positive side is that the best learning apps are interesting enough to – perhaps with an initial nudge – engage children. Here are 20 apps that may get parents off to a good start. The “younger children” apps are most suitable for preschool and early primary kids, while the “older children” apps are more for later primary and early secondary age.
For younger children
Go Explore from CBeebies
(Android/Apple/Amazon – free)
The entire range of the BBC’s CBeebies apps will be getting heavy usage in the coming weeks, clearly. They’re all good, but this is the one focused on learning games, from phonics and geography to feelings and self-care, all based on the parent channel’s shows and characters.
Khan Academy Kids
(Android/Apple/Amazon – free)
Khan Academy is a free collection of education courses for all ages, but it has an app specifically for two to seven-year-old children that focuses on maths, reading and social and emotional skills. It has a large and growing archive of learning videos, digital books and simple but engaging exercises.
Montessori Preschool
(Android/Apple/Amazon – subscription)
For very young children who’ll be missing out on some of the formative teaching at preschool this year, this beautifully crafted app could be a great help. From maths and phonics to music and early coding, its colourful exercises never feel dry or dull. It costs £5.49 a month.
Hopster
(Android/Apple/Amazon – subscription)
British company Hopster describes its app as “educational kids’ TV”. What that means is a collection of familiar cartoons and shows including the likes of Sesame Street, Bob the Builder, Thomas the Tank Engine, Fireman Sam and Pingu, accompanied by fun learning games on topics such as maths and phonics. It will even remind kids not to binge on too many episodes in a row. It costs £4.99 a month.
Teach Your Monster to Read
(Android/Apple/Amazon – free)
This usually costs £4.99, but has been made free owing to the school disruption. No matter how you feel after a couple of days of home-schooling, the titular monster isn’t your child. Instead, this gets children to create a monster and then teach it to read – a great way of learning themselves.
World of Peppa Pig
(Android/Apple/Amazon – subscription)
This is one of a growing number of subscription-based children’s apps – seen as a more trustworthy model than in-app purchases and/or ads. Aimed at preschool children, it’s another collection of learning games, but also has videos, picture-making and songs from the TV show. It costs £4.99 a month.
YouTube Kids
(Android/Apple – free)
After a rocky start when some non-child-friendly videos made it through the filters, YouTube has worked hard to make its official children’s app something parents can trust. It includes a dedicated learning category collecting great videos about science, nature, space and other topics.
Mental Maths 5-6
(Apple – £3.99)
It’s been out for a few years, but this is still one of the best maths apps for children that feels genuinely educational. It’s built around a range of maths exercises and progress tests. Separate versions cover children up to the age of 11, and there’s a spelling series, too.
Dr Seuss’s ABC: AR Version
(Android/Apple – £3.99)
“Big A, little a. What begins with A?” Well, augmented reality does, for a start. Dr Seuss’s inimitable alphabet book has been turned into an AR app, with animated characters appearing in the room around your child. The learning aspects include tracing the letters to learn their shapes for (non-AR) writing.
ScratchJr
(Android/Apple/Amazon – free)
Scratch is the programming environment that a lot of children will be familiar with already from school. ScratchJr is an app version designed for five to seven-year-olds, although older children can have fun with it, too. It uses coding blocks to create programs for games, animation, music and other creative tasks.
For older children
King of Maths: Maths Learner
(Android/Apple – free + in-app purchases)
This recently released maths game challenges children in quickfire sums, increasing in difficulty if they keep answering correctly. They write the numbers on the touchscreen with their finger rather than tapping buttons. It’s free to try, with a £3.99 in-app purchase unlocking everything.
Google Arts & Culture
(Android/Apple – free)
Field trips and museum visits may be out of bounds for a while, but Google’s Arts & Culture app at least has virtual tours of more than 1,200 museums and galleries. Children can look and read as well as curate their own lists of favourite artworks to share.
Mimo
(Android/Apple – subscription)
There are a number of great learn-to-code apps out there for children, but Mimo is one in particular that feels most connected to the world of professional programming. At a cost of £8.49 a month, it offers quick but interesting exercises in languages including Python, Java and Swift.
Elevate: Brain Training
(Android/Apple – subscription)
Elevate is one of a clutch of quality brain-training apps (see also: Peak or Lumosity) full of mini-games designed to sharpen your memory, maths skills, focus and other mental skills. Like those other apps, it uses a subscription – £38.99 a year – but with a week’s trial to test it out.
Simply Piano
(Android/Apple – subscription)
If music lessons have gone out of the window, Simply Piano is one of the best app alternatives. It helps children (or adults!) to learn songs and then listens to their playing on any real piano or keyboard to give feedback. Two courses are free, but then it costs £83.99 a year – pricey for an app, but not so much for piano lessons.
Women Who Changed the World
(Android/Apple – £2.99)
This is a history app focused on a range of famous women who “helped us to understand our world better, and to make it a better place to live in”. Rosa Parks, Marie Curie, Malala Yousafzai and Amelia Earhart are among the women profiled through animation and storytelling.
Duolingo
(Android/Apple – free + in-app purchases)
Duolingo isn’t just a fun and popular way to learn languages that children already study at school. It covers more than 30, including Arabic, Hindi, Hebrew and Welsh. It’s well designed, rewarding short daily sessions of practice. It’s free, but in-app purchases remove ads and unlock some extra features.
Kahoot!
(Android/Apple – free/subscription)
Kahoot! isn’t just an app, it’s also a website: a big collection of trivia quizzes created by other users. It’s going to really come into its own as schools close. It’s also a good group-learning experience: one person hosts a game and the others compete on their own devices.
TED
(Android/Apple/Amazon – free)
The TED talks archives are a wonderful repository of brain food for all ages – older children included. Search for history, science, nature – anything – and see what comes up. The talks are not all suitable for children, but many are.
Swift Playgrounds
(Apple – free)
Swift is Apple’s own programming language, and Swift Playgrounds is its app for teaching people how to use it. It’s for adults as well as children, but it’s certainly accessible for the latter, with its lessons presented as coding puzzles that will give people the skills needed to start making their own apps and games. It’s on Apple’s iPad, but not (yet) its iPhone. | {
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Jon Stewart Andrew Hawkins
A Wednesday segment on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart focused on Cleveland police in the wake of the shooting of 12-year-old Tamir Rice, and the union president demanding a Cleveland Browns player apologize for wearing a shirt that read "Justice for Tamir Rice."
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Daily Show's Jon Stewart took on Cleveland police after its union president demanded a Cleveland Browns player apologize for wearing a T-shirt calling for "Justice for Tamir Rice."
Cleveland police have made national headlines since the Nov. 22 shooting of 12-year-old Tamir Rice, when Timothy Loehmann fired two shots within seconds of pulling up outside Cudell Recreation Center.
Police said they thought Tamir reached for what they were told was a real gun, but turned out to be an airsoft gun that fired plastic pellets.
The Daily Show segment, which aired Wednesday night, showed photographs of Kyrie Irving, LeBron James and other athletes wearing the "I can't breathe" T-shirt, the words Eric Garner said as New York police officer Daniel Pantaleo choked him to the ground.
Amid those photos was Andrew Hawkins' wearing the "Justice for Tamir Rice and John Crawford III" shirt before the Cleveland Browns game against Indianapolis Colts Sunday. Crawford was shot by police in a suburban Dayton Walmart while holding a BB gun.
The shirt drew a harsh response from outgoing Cleveland Police Patrolman's Association president Jeffrey Follmer, who demanded an apology from Hawkins and the Browns and said football players should "stick to what they know best."
After taking a "random cheap shot" at the Browns ("Wait, stick to what they know best? Football? We're talking about the Cleveland Browns here, right?") Stewart played clips from news coverage of the Justice Department's Dec. 4 release of a 58-page report that found Cleveland police engage in a pattern and practice of excessive force, and that the department does not hold accountable officers who use unjustified force.
"I guess the only difference is when football players use excessive force, they get penalized," Stewart said.
Stewart then showed clips pointing out that Cleveland police never asked to see Loehmann's personnel file from Independence police, which showed he was in the process of being fired for emotional immaturity and inability to follow orders.
He ended the segment with Hawkins explaining why he wasn't going to apologize.
"To me, justice means the innocent should be found innocent, it means those who do wrong should get their due punishment. Ultimately it means fair treatment," he said. "So a call for justice shouldn't offend or disrespect anybody. A call for justice shouldn't warrant an apology."
The Daily Show
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Comedian Louis C.K. spent a good deal of time Monday night expressing his frustration with the Common Core State Standards, the education guidelines that have been adopted in more than 40 states, on Twitter. C.K., who has two young daughters, tweeted out example questions from their tests to show just how absurd he believed the new standards to be.
My kids used to love math. Now it makes them cry. Thanks standardized testing and common core! — Louis C.K. (@louisck) April 28, 2014
A huge amount of my third graders time is spent preparing for and answering questions like this. pic.twitter.com/WU5tEo8JRO — Louis C.K. (@louisck) April 28, 2014
This is one of my favorites. Also for third graders. Who is writig these? And why? pic.twitter.com/xUBVIxE6WU — Louis C.K. (@louisck) April 28, 2014
Look at 4 of part a. And the point isn't that it's too hard. Just read #4. Please. pic.twitter.com/5bnUlaXG5b — Louis C.K. (@louisck) April 28, 2014
Here’s how he’s helping his kids deal wit the frustration:
"Why night you want each picture to stand for more than 1 balloon?"
Yet again I must tell my kid "don't answer it. It's a bad question" — Louis C.K. (@louisck) April 28, 2014
Soon, C.K. moved on to sharing his thoughts on learning and education in general, including his defense of the New York public school system:
Sorry. I sit with my kids as they so their HW they devour knowledge. When it's hard they step up. Their teachers are great — Louis C.K. (@louisck) April 28, 2014
But it's changed in recent years. It's all about these tests. It feels like a dark time. And nothing is going in anymore. — Louis C.K. (@louisck) April 28, 2014
It's this massive stressball that hangs over the whole school. The kids teachers trying to adapt to these badly written notions. — Louis C.K. (@louisck) April 28, 2014
these questions btw were not written by her teacher. they were on a standardized test. written by pearson or whoever the hell — Louis C.K. (@louisck) April 29, 2014
Okay I'm done. This is just one dumb, fat parent's POV. I'm pissed because I love NYC public schools. mice, lice and all. — Louis C.K. (@louisck) April 29, 2014
Before he signed off, while even more people than usual were paying attention to his feed, C.K. got in a plug for the new season of his show Louie, which premieres on Monday, May 5th:
Ok last thing: LOUIE comes back on FX Mondays at 10pm starting May 5th. 2 episodes every night for 7 weeks. Okay bye gang. — Louis C.K. (@louisck) April 29, 2014
The Common Core standards have become a punching bag primarily for those on the right recently, with possible 2016 GOP candidate Jeb Bush standing alone in his support of the initiative. Meanwhile, the Obama Administration’s education secretary Arne Duncan has been one of its biggest champions.
[h/t POLITICO]
[Photo via Twitter]
— —
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Morillo, Prydz, Fleming, Saiz, Beyer, Knight, Cattaneo, Fitch and/or Prok… An impressive list of surnames to have on anyone’s cell-phone speed-dial after only 5 years of pushing their studio work to record labels. We catch up with Jeremy Ölander.
Sweden is such a hot-bed for musical talent and home to some of the biggest artists in the world. But how is the underground scene there? Plus why do you think your country producing so many great artists?
I’d say until just a few years ago the Swedish underground scene in general and Stockholm in particular was really small, while still thriving and in a healthy state. There have been sold out shows and great bookings for as long as I can remember. Difference now is that the frequency of shows is a lot higher and the size of venues is a lot bigger. A lot of the people that got into dance music via the more accessible artists 4-5 years ago are now into the Adam Beyers of the world and that has pushed the demand in a very nice direction.
I think it’s a good thing, but at the moment there’s not too much space in-between the underground Techno acts and the super commercial ones. I would love to have more variety in terms of more Progressive and Tech guys coming over, but there might not be a big enough following for that stuff yet. I’m hopeful though and feel like there’s a revival of the true Progressive sounds looming.
Where are your favourite places to play in the world and why?
Japan comes to mind instantly. It’s such an inspiring place to travel to and the crowd is really into my type of sound and how I play. The energy is really something else! The crowds can make an empty room feel like it’s over capacity. As far as the country itself, I really love the unique combination of old tradition and the super modern and advanced. There is nothing quite like it.
Another place is The Cat & The Dog in Tel Aviv, Israel. I go there to play quite a lot and over the years it has become one of the shows that I look forward to the most. I’ve made a lot of friends there, like Guy Mantzur, Sahar Z and those guys, and the crowd is very educated and going there is synonymous with a really great time!
Do you still like to attend gigs when you’re not playing? If so, do you prefer to do it as a clubber? Or do you like to stay behind-the-scenes
For sure! If I’m home, off and someone that I really want to see play is in town I go. I always prefer to stand in the crowd whenever I go out. That’s where you really get to experience the vibe, not backstage.
With such a busy schedule, how are you managing your time between DJ tours and the studio workload? Are you finding you want to have more time in the studio? Have you found a way to solve this problem whilst on tour?
I started out producing on my laptop only using HD-25s at first so I’m kind of used to it. When I’m the road, most of the time these days I only get an idea down as a rough sketch in Logic, but it happens that if I stay at place for a few days in-between shows or something I can finish the whole thing.
Even though I’m getting better at this aspect of producing on the road, I’m not a big fan of micro-sessions. Just picking up my computer, starting work on something and only be able to go for 1 or 2 hours. I need time to get into the vibe.
Are there any artists you would like to do a collaboration with or perhaps do a back to back with in the DJ box?
That’s a tough one. For one thing, I really prefer to work on my own. I’ve tried working with others in the past but haven’t enjoyed the process as much.
There are a lot of artists that I really admire and look up to, but I don’t necessarily want to collaborate with them. If I could pick anyone, dead or alive, Michael Jackson is one I would’ve done anything to sit in the studio with.
Can you share with us the biggest nightmare you’ve had on tour? Or tell us the craziest thing that’s happened to you – something you’ll always remember / or that always makes you laugh.
I never really get over the fact that people can be so excited to meet me in person. It never stops feeling surreal and it’s always a humbling experience.
It’s really hard to pin-point one crazy thing stands out specifically because there’s pretty much weird stuff happening all the time in this line of work. One time I flew to the most northern and remote place in Finland, had a Russian driver that didn’t speak any English pick me up and then drive me for 5 hours into what felt like the middle of nowhere in Russia for a show. It was a pretty awkward drive…
Oh yeah, another time this guy offered to give me his watch to play one of my older records.
What does your studio setup look like? What’s your favourite piece of gear (or plugin) that you’re always using?
Sure! It’s a very basic. A Macbook Pro with maxed out RAM, a pretty shitty sound-card that I bought because it looked cool and a couple of Genelec 8030A monitors. I just recently got a MIDI-keyboard and an external display. It was a nice and very welcome change for sure. I like to keep it simple and don’t think I’m going to be adding anything new anytime soon. Never been too much of a gear slut even though I did get the Maschine from Native Instruments a while ago. Honestly speaking I haven’t used it too much yet.
What has been the most unique or unusual remix request you’ve ever had? Or assuming you took the job, what was the outcome?
I’ve never really received any too weird requests that I can think of.
For remixes in general I tend to gravitate to towards non-dance music tracks that have an element that really strikes a chord with me and gives birth to an idea. For instance, the most recent one I’ve done that just got finished is for a new Danish major label act called Mendoza. She has a really great and unique voice that kind of reminds me of Amy Winehouse’s. It really got me.
What’s the track you’re most proud of and why? Can you share the meaning it has to you?
“Chronic” is one of them. It’s one of three tracks of off my debut Pryda Friends EP. It was the first record to put me on Eric’s radar and it represents a point in my development as a producer where I felt I really started to improve. After finishing it I got that special feeling that I had learnt a great deal during the production process. I think others that also make music can relate to that. I guess you learn from every project, but after ‘Chronic’ I just felt it really strongly.
Who are your personal heroes in music? The people who most inspire you? Be it DJs, producers etc…
Eric Prydz is definitely one of my heroes and someone I’ve looked up to since day one. Having him at an arms length whenever I need to ask something or just bounce ideas around is a blessing.
John Digweed is another one who I’ve always admired. His whole approach to the art and his way of programming a set is something that I really respect. I think he’s one of the best, if not the best to ever do it. His personality and the way he’s managed to stay so humble throughout all these years and the amazing success he’s seen is something I really respect and think the younger generations should take note of.
Given your personal successes, what advice would you give a young studio-artist or part-time DJ as to how to build their reputation in the scene? Can you share any do’s or don’ts?
Work hard, often, push yourself and stay true to who you are. Don’t stare yourself blind on the charts and try to mimic what others are doing or what’s hot right now. That’s something I feel a lot of people are doing right now but I guess it’s to be expected considering the exposure the scene has gotten with the whole EDM craze. With an approach like that you’ll always end up being a follower. Copying someone is one thing, finding inspiration in other people’s work is something else entirely.
Patience is a big thing too. Take things one step at a time and try to embrace the process of “climbing the ladder” and paying your dues. Most importantly, above anything else, remember to have fun. That’s the reason you should do it in the first place.
What’s your favourite way to relax outside of music? Do you have any hobbies? Are you in to sports? Do you support teams?
I watch a lot of TV shows and go to the movies often. I’m a real buff. Just saw Godzilla the other day and really enjoyed House of Cards. It’s a great way for me to get inspired, tune out and immerse myself in someone’s else’s reality.
Hanging out with my friends is also inspiring to me. Whenever I hit a wall when I work I just drop everything and do something else. Forcing things have never worked. Later when things start coming back to me, I usually catch myself writing notes for ideas and rough sketches for particular structures that I think might work on my phone, run home and get back to it.
As for sports, I like watching football, but mostly because it’s a good time with friends. I support Djurgardens IF. A local team from Stockholm.
What are you passionate about? Are there any things in the world you’re not happy about – where you feel more should be taking a stand? For example we saw you posting about animal cruelty the other day. Is there anything else?
I’m a big animal lover and animal cruelty is something that really angers and saddens me. When I was younger I would fantasize about hunting down all the poachers on my own and kicking their ass. As I’ve gotten older I’ve come to realize that there are more constructive ways of making a change than resorting to violence. I think if I ever get a really big following, I will definitely try to use my profile for a good cause to improve life for animals on earth.
Finally, can you tell us about what you’ve got coming up in the way of gigs and music releases?
This summer is looking great and it’s going to be my busiest one yet and I feel it’s testament to that a lot more people, especially in America, are opening up to my kind of sound. I’ll be spending a lot of time in America doing a club tour in addition to the festivals. I’ll also be playing Ibiza, Africa, and head back in India for a mini-tour in July.
I’ve been working a lot on new stuff in the past months and we’re just finalizing a release schedule for everything and anyone out there that likes my stuff can expect new Dhillon as well as Jeremy Olander originals, some remixes and maybe even a collaboration, which is rare for me. | {
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See also: Spectre Training
Contents show]
Mass Effect Edit
Unity Edit
This is one of the most important talents in the game. It is only available to Shepard after Spectre Training, and, unless you've specialised as a Medic, Unity is the only way to revive fallen squadmates mid-fight. During long battles, if Unity isn't maxed out you may need to quickly follow it up with Shield Boost, Barrier, or Immunity talents plus medi-gel to keep your squadmates from being killed again.
Unity Edit
Restores dead squad members with 15% health and 40% shields.
Recharge time: 150 sec. Accuracy cost: 45%
Advanced Unity Edit
Restores dead squad members with 20% health and 60% shields.
Recharge time: 120 sec. Accuracy cost: 45%
Master Unity Edit
Restores dead squad members with 30% health and 100% shields.
Recharge time: 90 sec. Accuracy cost: 45%
Mass Effect 2 Edit
is a power in Mass Effect 2 that utilizes medi-gel to revive and heal fallen squadmates. One medi-gel is used per revived squadmate, unless both squad mates are out and you have only one medi-gel; in this case, one medi-gel will revive both squad mates. Shepard starts with the capacity to carry three medi-gels, which can be increased up to nine with maximum upgrades . Researching Emergency Shielding and Trauma Module allows fallen squadmates to rejoin combat with full shields and full health and also restores Shepard to full shields and health. Unity shares the same cooldown timer as the other powers.
Medi-gel can be administered while Shepard is under fire, and (depending on upgrades) it is capable of restoring Shepard to full health and shields even through moderate damage taken during the restore effect, making Unity a valuable "panic" button. This can be done on the move as well, but it should be noted that Unity has a delayed activation and only starts restoring health after a short animation. If Shepard is hit during the casting delay/animation period by certain enemy attacks or powers that cause staggers or stuns, the medi-gel will be interrupted before it goes into effect. Once the effect successfully begins it can't be interrupted. | {
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Directors Anthony and Joe Russo have proven themselves to be amongst the best filmmakers the MCU has to offer with their past two efforts for the franchise: namely, 2014’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier and 2016’s Captain America: Civil War. The movies were distinct from others in the series because, among other things, they mostly steered away from the usual lighter-hearted tone of the MCU.
Now they’re helming a fully-fledged Avengers flick in the shape of Infinity War and as such, the duo have altered the tone somewhat. Joe’s promised that the upcoming event movie will actually be a lot funnier than their previous Marvel productions, just as is appropriate because it’s not part of the Captain America series.
“I think that tone is an under-appreciated aspect of filmmaking. In fact, one of the most critical aspects is managing tone, and this film in particular, when egos like this clash between these superheroes there’s bound to be humor. A lot of the characters in this universe diffuse tension with humor, so we knew the movie was going to be very funny. It’s very different than Winter Soldier and Captain America: Civil War in that regard because the tone of Cap movies is a little bit more serious. Cap is a little more straight-laced and intense, and the world he was in in both of those movies required he behave that way.”
Russo has a point there. The Winter Soldier, in particular, cultivated a very different, much more serious and mature, tone from its predecessor, 2011’s The First Avenger, which was more of an old-fashioned adventure movie. Civil War, meanwhile, was in some ways lighter due to the presence of “comic relief” characters like Spider-Man and Ant-Man, but the subject matter of the Avengers splitting in two mostly suppressed the usual team-up yucks.
Glorious Infinity War Poster Unites An Entire Universe...Sans Hawkeye 1 of 11
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In Infinity War, however, the film will follow in the tonal footsteps of Joss Whedon’s two previous quip-happy Avengers movies a bit more. Despite the major threat of Thanos’ quest to wipe out half the universe, there’s always going to be a lot of laughs when the likes of Iron Man, Star-Lord, Thor and many, many others trade banter. In fact, Russo revealed that there was so much great interplay from the actors that it proved difficult to edit down.
“And in this film, you’ve got a lot of ya know really unique personalities clashing so we knew we were going to lean into the humor. The way that we balance it in the script phase and on set with the actors is we do a lot of improvisation. We have a lot of very funny people on the set, so typically we wait for the first take or two we’ll have them stick to script and then we let them go off script and probably shoot five or six more takes off script, and then you get in the edit room with all that footage and you spend hours and hours combing through it until you find the right combination that balances the tone and gets the humor across but keeps the stakes moving forward.”
We’ve already seen a selection of comedic moments between the heroes thanks to the trailers and clips released so far. Some highlights include Spider-Man and Doctor Strange “using their made-up names” and Star-Lord feeling threatened by Thor‘s superior muscles. And in just over a week, we’ll get to see what other laughs Avengers: Infinity War contains when it hits theaters on April 27th. | {
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This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
SALT LAKE CITY — Jon Huntsman Sr. recently said in an interview that he doesn’t consider tithing as philanthropic giving and that people should be more willing to donate to charities.
Huntsman, 77, was featured in Forbes on June 23, where he talked about his membership in The Giving Pledge. The Giving Pledge was founded to encourage billionaires to donate half of their wealth to charity and includes other famous philanthropists like Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett.
Huntsman has given away $1.5 billion — or about 80 percent of his total wealth — to various causes and charities, according to Forbes. However, that total does not include his tithing of 10 percent of his income that he has given to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Tithing money typically goes to fund the costs of building LDS temples, churches and supporting missionaries, according to mormon.org.
Huntsman said he doesn’t include his tithing as charitable giving.
“My philanthropy is not borne out of my faith,” he told Forbes. “They require 10 percent tithing. I don’t consider that to be philanthropy and I don’t consider it to be part of my philanthropic giving. I consider it as club dues. People who put money in the church basket and people who go to church and pay the pastor: that isn’t real philanthropy, that’s just like you belong to a country club.”
Forbes reported that Huntsman is one of 19 living people who have donated more than $1 billion each to charity. Huntsman made the bulk of his wealth through his chemical products company, Huntsman Corporation. He also started and funded the Utah Huntsman Cancer Institute after losing his mother, father, grandmother, stepmother and brother to cancer and battling it himself.
Huntsman said giving to charity is very fulfilling for him.
“It’s a high, a real feeling of excitement and exhilaration to be able to help people,” he told Forbes. “It’s hard to explain why. It’s not something other members of my family have done; it’s not something that’s inherited. It’s just something that for me is very important.”
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Hassan Rouhani, Iran’s moderate president who is seeking re-election, faces a boisterous race after heavyweight conservative figures critical of his landmark nuclear agreement with the west put themselves up to challenge him.
Registration for candidates in Iran’s presidential elections next month ended on Saturday, with a record number of 1,636 people putting their names on the list, including 137 women. On Friday, Rouhani took his ID card, a few passport-sized photos and other paperwork to the interior ministry in Tehran’s Fatemi Street to register to run for a second term. His four predecessors have all served two conservative terms.
Ebrahim Raisi, a close ally of the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, whose bid for presidency has upended the race, also registered on Friday. The former hardline president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Tehran’s mayor, Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, are among a handful of other serious candidates running.
The list of presidential hopefuls has been sent to the guardian council, a powerful body of jurists and clerics, which began a five-day vetting process on Sunday. A limited number of candidates are usually allowed through. Critics say the council has arbitrarily blocked many high-profile politicians in recent years, going beyond its constitutional responsibilities.
This year, all eyes are on the council to see if it will approve Ahmadinejad, who registered despite advice by Khamenei not to. The campaign period starts on 28 April and ends one day before the vote, which is scheduled for 19 May.
Ali Ansari, a professor of Iranian history at the University of St Andrews, said Raisi’s surprising decision to run has been “the fly in the ointment” in what could have been a relatively straightforward, albeit challenging, race for Rouhani to win a second term. Raisi’s rise to prominence over the past year has intrigued many commentators who speculate that he is being touted as a frontrunner to succeed Khamenei, a higher position than that of the president.
“I think definitely it has complicated the race,” Ansari said. “I think the fact that Raisi is coming, unless he steps aside, it looks very unlikely to me that the nezam [ruling system] would allow Raisi to be humiliated in an election. He hasn’t come to lose. He is an up-and-coming player in the system and in the last six months he’s basically come from nowhere.”
There are also concerns about Rouhani’s possible disqualification. That explains why his first deputy, Eshaq Jahangiri, a figure close to the reformists, also registered to run on Saturday. “I’m here to supplement Rouhani,” he said, meaning that his bid for the presidency was tactical and that he would drop out if Rouhani is allowed to run.
“Rouhani is not in as strong a position as we think he is, because he delivered the JCPOA [nuclear deal]. JCPOA in Iran is not seen as a giant triumph, and for me the problem is the way Rouhani sold it,” Ansari said.
“He has stablised the economy, but I think he made a number of very exaggerated claims, and he is now paying the price in the popular mood. But in an open election I think people would vote for Rouhani . Rouhani is the best of a bad choice, but at the same time I don’t think he’s as clear a winner as some people in the west would like to think.”
Although women have registered, all female nominees have previously been blocked from running. Azam Talaghani, a former MP and the daughter of a prominent revolutionary ayatollah, is among the women who have put their names on the list to test whether the authorities would allow women to run. | {
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This is Photojournalist Fred G. Haseney with his eye on scientology. For today’s blog, I’m not reporting from the Pacific Area Command Base (“PAC Base” or “Big Blue”), the so-called “church” of scientology’s West Coast headquarters, in Los Angeles. I’m writing to you, instead, from my residence. I thank my lucky stars that I still have a roof over my head because scientology would rather shut me up or see me without a place to live.
Why? What happened? What are the specifics? Who did what? Who is the “who” behind it all?
On Monday, May 2, 2016, a day after someone from scientology called the police on me during a silent protest on L. Ron Hubbard Way (“LRH Way”) at PAC Base, someone showed up where I live, and spoke to the person in charge. This is how her business card reads:
Church of Scientology in Los Angeles
Janet Weiland
Vice-President
1308 L. Ron Hubbard Way
Los Angeles, CA 90027
I have her phone, cell and email address, too.
Ms. Weiland tried to exercise scientology’s muscles to get the manager at my residence to do something about me. They told her, however, that they have no control over me; if she or scientology has a problem with me, then they’ll have to deal with me directly. It’s my understanding that in the discussion, Ms. Weiland revealed the fact that the police had been called about my taking pictures on LRH Way while there were children in the vicinity. I actually didn’t take any pictures of children along LRH Way knowing full well that I can’t publish them. It’s well known where I live that scientology is a cult. Thanks be to God that I still have a place to call home.
Keep in mind that I found out about Ms. Weiland’s visit today, Wednesday, May 4, 2016. Nobody pulled me in for a meeting nor did anyone take me aside to find out about Ms. Weiland’s allegations. I’m afraid to report that Ms. Weiland, the Office of Special Affairs and scientology were ineffective in their attempts to discredit me and dishonor my name.
The bigger picture here is that someone has been following me. Someone who I’m “friends” with on Facebook may not be who I think he or she is, and has searched my FB page for information about where I live. Ms. Weiland’s actions prove that a silent protest in which a little magnetic sign adhered to the side of a car slowly and quietly circling PAC Base can make scientology rear its ugly head. All we want, Ms. Weiland, is for loved ones in scientology to call those they’ve left behind: their parents, their children, their extended family, their significant other, their work associates, their bosses, all the people they’ve left behind, all in the name of “clearing the planet.”
Whatever it is that scientology is afraid of doesn’t matter. All that matters is something we’re doing is getting under their skin. We are the good guys here. We are not hiding anything. We stand for justice and, of course, things like “the American Way” (since were talking about Los Angeles). But scientology is an international fraternity that moves their Sea Org slaves around like pieces on a chessboard. We don’t stand for just Americans; we stand for the rights of the disconnected, the declared and the excommunicated worldwide.
Notice that Ms. Weiland’s address doesn’t read “Church of Scientology OF Los Angeles,” because if it did, it would be the Los Angeles Organization (“LA Org”), located at 4810 W. Sunset Blvd. The Advanced Organization of Los Angeles (“AOLA”), is located at 1306 LRH Way, at the southeast corner of LRH Way and Fountain. All even-numbered addresses in Los Angeles are on the south or east side of the streets; all odd-numbered addresses are on the north or west side of the streets. If you were to walk behind AOLA, through their parking, you’d reach what most likely is the street address where Ms. Weiland can be found, at 1308 LRH Way.
Who is Janet Weiland?
Photo Caption: From the Xenu Directory, in a web site address that contains the phrase “osababes,” I found a photo of a “Janet Weiland.” “OSABabes” must refer to “babes,” or the pretty women of “OSA,” meaning scientology’s Office of Special Affairs. The same person who supplied this photo also supplied a photo of Gerry Armstrong’s wedding, complete with a full-length, much younger “Janet Weiland,” but that photo is no longer available at that website.
Who is Janet Weiland?
Photo Caption: Google images provided a photo of a “Janet Weiland” in an issue of Freedom Magazine. This issue appears to be from 2001. The photo (left to right) is the President of the Church of Scientology International (at the time), Heber C. Jentzsch; the Vice-President of the Church of Scientology International, Janet Weiland; the chief of the Los Angeles Police Department (from 1997 to 2002), Bernard Parks.
Who is Janet Weiland?
Photo Caption: At Linked In, a “Janet Weiland” describes her job as “Public Affairs at Church of Scientology International,” from 1987 to the present (29 years).
Who is Janet Weiland?
Photo Caption: From the Scientology Newsroom, we find a photo of a “Janet Weiland,” scientology’s Public Affairs representative sharing information with others on drug education provided by the so-called “church.” That same “Janet Weiland” stood proudly at the scientology tent set up at the Parliament of the World Religions, held October 2015, at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. (I got into scientology, by the way, through their Mission of Salt Lake City, in 1977.) “People would line up or call ahead,” Ms. Weiland declared, “to reserve a place at the Volunteer Ministers tent to receive a scientology assist.”
Who is Janet Weiland?
Photo Caption: At the Encyclopedia Dramatica, we learn that a “Janet Weiland” used to be legend Tory “Magoo” Christman’s boss at OSA.
In closing, Janet Weiland’s interest in me has only fueled my interest in her. Suddenly, I feel so alive. I’m a Very Important Person (“VIP”) to scientology now. When do I meet Tom Cruise and John Travolta? Take me to your fearless leader, David “Let Him Die” Miscavige (so he can autograph the picture of himself on his daddy’s soon-to-be bestselling book cover).
Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. “Do not fear their threats; do not be frightened.” —The New Testament of The Holy Bible, 1 Peter 3:13-14.
All images (unless noted otherwise) © 2015—2016 Fred G. Haseney. All rights reserved.
I’d like to gratefully acknowledge a friend for providing editorial and proofreading chores. | {
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Benjamin Weinthal is a European affairs correspondent for
and a fellow with the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.
NEW YORK – There will be no shortage of rifts and sharp disagreements between Europe and Israel in 2013. During 2012 the EU and Israel clashed over construction of settlements, outlawing Hezbollah within the 27-member EU, Iran sanctions, and the Palestine Liberation Organization’s UN bid for statehood.With respect to Europe’s support of a Palestinian state at the UN and its opposition to settlement construction, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has embraced a variation of former French president Jacques Chirac’s attitude toward the US. Chirac famously voiced his anti-Americanism, saying “I have one principle regarding foreign policy. I look at what the Americans are doing and I do the opposite. Then I am sure to be right.” Of course, Chirac’s hostility to the United States encompassed Israel.Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has done the opposite with regard to Europe. His blunt comment last week, “What the UN says doesn’t interest me,” could apply to the Europeans, including Israel’s main EU partner, Germany, which abandoned him during the November 29 General Assembly vote on the PLO upgrade to non-member state status. Netanyahu directed his salty rejoinder to the UN’s (and the EU’s) permanent pastime: opposing apartment construction in the West Bank and east Jerusalem.Tommy Steiner, a senior research fellow at the Institute for Policy and Strategy at the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya, wrote to The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday, “It appears Europe’s near-obsession with the peace process and the settlements stems from a belief that it has nothing to offer in addressing the other, more pressing challenges. While I personally believe that the resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is urgent and important for Israel’s national security, the European fixation on settlements has not only failed to yield any beneficial outcomes, it has been counterproductive.”For Steiner, Europe’s blind spots consist of failing to confront the rise of an imperialistic Iran in the Middle East, and the growth of terror and crime networks in Sinai and in a post-Bashar Assad Syria.“As an Israeli who actually believes in the European project and in anchoring Israel in the West and enhancing EU-Israel relations, one can only hope that EU officialdom would acquire a more realistic, in-depth and broad understanding of the Middle East and the principal forces shaping the region,” said Steiner.Mark Dubowitz, the executive director of the Washington- based Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told the Post that “2013 will be the year when the United States, Israel and Europe will be forced to decide if economic and diplomatic pressure are sufficient to stop Iran’s pursuit of atomic weapons. If European leaders want to avoid Iran reaching the critical capability that will make an Iranian nuke inevitable, or the military strikes that soon will be the only option to forestall this, they have to go far beyond the status quo.“Canada has set an example for Europe by designating Iran as a state sponsor of terrorism, adding the Quds Force to its list of terrorist organizations, sanctioning the IRGC in its entirety, expelling all Iranian diplomats from Ottawa, and shuttering its own embassy in Tehran,” noted Dubowitz, an authority on international sanctions targeting Iran’s nuclear program and on human rights violations.European governments, particularly Berlin, have showed no appetite to list Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terror entity. US President George W. Bush sanctioned the IRGC as a terrorist organization in 2007. The IRGC supervises Iran’s illicit nuclear weapons program and coordinates global terror operations, including efforts to wipe out Syria’s pro-reform opposition. According to some estimates, the IRGC is believed to control as much as 75 percent of Iran’s economy.Bilateral annual EU-Iran trade hovers around 25 billion euros. Powerful EU company interests combined with pro-business politicians have impeded any talk of sanctioning the IRGC.Dubowitz advocates: “The EU should announce that, unless Iran meets its international obligations to end its atomic weapons program by the beginning of March, it will designate the IRGC and Hezbollah as terrorist entities, declare Iran as a state sponsor of terrorism, and significantly enhance EU sanctions and nonproliferation regimes by prohibiting all trade with Iran except for humanitarian goods.”He continued, “The EU designation, and sanctioning, of the IRGC and Hezbollah as terrorist organizations would significantly weaken the Middle East actors most likely to acquire sophisticated WMD, and greatly increase the isolation of Iran and pressure on it to halt its illicit atomic weapons program.”The EU has thus far snubbed US President Barack Obama’s counter-terrorism official John Brennan, and members of Congress and the Senate, who have urged the EU to include Hezbollah in its terror list. US and Israeli anti-terrorism intelligence personnel attribute the July suicide bombing of an Israeli tour bus in Bulgaria to Iran and Hezbollah. Five Israelis and a Bulgarian bus driver were murdered in the terror attack.Somewhat surprisingly, the EU supported Israel’s Pillar of Defense war last month against Hamas rocket attacks on civilians in Israel. The EU’s response to Israel’s acts of self-defense directed at Hamas could have been a line from the Cell Block Tango scene from the musical Chicago: “They had it coming!” If another war breaks out between Hamas and Israel in 2013, Hamas’s actions might very well engender the same EU response.With the exception of politicians such as Germany’s Green Party Claudia Roth, who advocates “negotiating with the pragmatic part of Hamas,” most mainstream European politicians seem to have internalized that Hamas is not a peace partner.Though Europe remains mired in a massive financial crisis, European capitals continue to fund NGOs that seek to undercut Israel’s democracy.Prof. Gerald M. Steinberg, the head of NGO Monitor who teaches political science at Bar- Ilan University, wrote the Post, “Europeans also need to practice the values that they preach, particularly with respect to democracy and transparency. The recent confused decision of the European Court of Justice, which allowed the EU to keep all documents and procedures relating to funding of political NGOs as super-sensitive secrets, and the ECJ’s failure to hold a single session to hear oral arguments, highlights the gap between lofty principles and anti-democratic practice. After the Israeli elections in 2013, the conflict over EU secret funding for NGOs promoting political warfare against Israel is likely to intensify.”Steinberg said, “Europe, taken collectively, has a highly schizophrenic, inconsistent and dysfunctional relationship with Israel, and this needs to change fundamentally in 2013 to avoid major damage on both sides. There are situations, such as during the recent Gaza conflict, in which government officials and other serious players fully understand the Israeli context and responses to deadly attacks. But in other cases, such as on admitting that Hezbollah, like Hamas, is an Iranian-backed terror group, Europe is paralyzed and confused.To be taken seriously, the EU and member states will have to make the difficult decisions that have been awkwardly avoided in the past.”The Jerusalem Post | {
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Wahoo! Thank you to my awesome friend JT for this shot of my Supergirl! Taken at Megcaon 2015 in Orlando!!I always wanted to bring this cosplay to Megacon, I'm so glad I finally did!!Photo by Tiger Shot Productions www.facebook.com/tigershotpro?… Here is the same image in his dA! | {
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In a room located inside a central Israeli movie theater complex, kids in flight suits are attending a briefing. Their mission today includes flying south, over the Israeli cities of Ashkelon and Kiryat Gat, a course they will have to chart themselves. Their vessel is a state-of-the-art F16 fighter jet simulator developed by American aerospace manufacturer Lockheed Martin.
Brigadier General (res.) Ilan Boger is giving the brief. As an Israeli Air Force (IAF) pilot and former squadron and airbase commander, he has given countless such briefs and debriefs to professional combat pilots. Now, he commends a group of summer campers at the Squadron, an air force-themed activity center operated by a group of former and current air force personnel.
The Squadron. Photo: Tomi Herpaz
The Squadron is designed to look like a real-life F16 fighter jet squadron, complete with briefing rooms and 10 flight simulators. As part of its summer activity agenda, kids recreate the 1981 Israeli air strike that destroyed an Iraqi nuclear reactor near Baghdad. Dubbed Operation Babylon, the surprise attack has since been inducted into the Israeli military hall of fame.
In another part of Israel, school-age kids on their summer vacation are training in Krav Maga, the martial art form developed by the Israeli security forces. Activities bear names such as “preparation for operational fire” and “counterterrorism 101.” A local paintball company offers daily activities designed based on the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) enlistment process and basic training, moving participants through a military-style obstacle course and teaching them how to fire semi-automatic (paintball) weapons.
But not all army-inspired summer fun is about combat and fending off pretend attacks. Like the real Israeli army, which is mandatory for most Israeli citizens, military-inspired summer camps offer something for everyone. One of the most sought-after military units is the infamous Unit 8200, the Israeli army’s NSA equivalent known to secure its veterans lucrative careers in the Israeli tech sector. Tech-leaning kids can now use their summer vacations to train in thwarting cyberattacks and other skills that could help them secure a place at Unit 8200 and other top cyberwarfare units when they reach enlistment age.
“These summer camps are an expression of the cultural militarism that characterizes Israeli society,” Kobi Michael, a senior research fellow at Tel Aviv University’s Institute of National Security Studies (INSS), told Calcalist in a recent interview. In Israel, the military enjoys great prestige and appreciation, coming up at the top of the list of trusted national institutions, he said, which is why it is so present in Israel’s collective culture.
During the summer months, the Squadron offers a three-week youth leadership workshop, which includes 15 four-hour sessions. Week one starts off with basic aviation lessons: how to take off, control the plane, navigate, land, and perform maneuvers. By the end of the week, the kids have “qualified for solo,” meaning they are ready to operate the flight simulation independently. During week two, participants will learn how to fly in formation and have their first taste of air battles and air strikes. The final week will see them take on advanced tasks: planning and executing a flight, briefing and debriefing.
The Squadron, simulation. Photo: Tomi Herpaz
“The ethos of the fighter pilot is strong in Israeli society, and many kids want to experience it,” Colonel (res.) Ariel Brikman, IAF flight instructor and former airbase and squadron commander, told Calcalist in a recent interview. “It is a really cool experience to fly a real F16 simulator and meet real pilots,” he said. “But it is just a platform through which we get to talk about values and work on skills that would serve them outside the simulator.”
Twelve-year-old Lihi Blitzblau is one of the participants in the Squadron’s program. “I’m the kid who really, really, loves the military,” she told Calcalist. “My dad was in the army for 20 years, and when I heard about the Squadron I was immediately excited,” she said.
“I went to so many regular summer camps, and they are all the same, one day you go to the amusement park, the next day to the pool. There’s never this moment when you say: this is something I haven't seen yet. Here, everything is new,” she said. Plus, she added, it feels really authentic.
“This is not flight school,” Boger told Calcalist. “We are not trying to produce pilots, just to give kids life skills. To know how to look at something you did and say whether it was good or not. To be prepared. That is how they trained us in the air force.” According to Boger, among the values bestowed during the program are how to work as a team, how to ask for help, and paying attention to others. “Working with the simulators just helps shed light on things. We treat the kids at eye level. They are not here to pass the time, they are here to receive values,” he said.
“When I dreamt about this type of place, I thought about teenagers,” Colonel (ret.) Kobi Regev, founder of the Squadron, told Calcalist. “I wanted to teach them about precision, about professionalism, why it is important to work as a team, how to bounce back from failure. Even great pilots experience painful falls, and you need to get over it quickly,” he said.
Colonel (ret.) Kobi Regev. Photo: Orel Cohen
"Stop the attack or I'll remove you from this class,” guide Shahar Ofek warned one of the kids at a cyber summer course in the greater Tel Aviv metropolitan area. The kid had successfully cut off Ofek’s internet connection. More than a sign of youthful misbehavior, this is an indication that the lesson had sunk in. In this course, the objective is to teach kids how to fend off real live hackers.
Harari Computer Studies offers coding and cybersecurity summer courses to children as young as 11. On its website, the company waxes poetic on the importance of cyber studies with phrases like “growing threats” and “security intelligence.”
“Most people think that cyber is like in the movies, you push a few buttons and intercept a missile,” Ofek said. “It isn’t like that at all, it’s a sisyphic process,” he said. “We teach the kids python programming language, which hackers use, and we teach them how to write code and how to use hacking tools. If you know how to hack you know how to protect, and vice versa.”
According to Ofek, each one of the kids participating in the summer program already knows how to block someone from getting online. One of them pulls this trick on him on a daily basis, he said. Another kid broke into his neighbors’ printer and then informed them of its vulnerability. In class, Ofek said he tries to teach them the fine line between a bit of cyber fun and criminal activity. “I teach them how to be white hats, not black hats,” he said.
Across 10 two-hour classes, kids learn web protocols, how to conduct and counter a phishing attack, what are malware, how to use them, and how to write them. They also learn how to carefully trade on the darknet and deep web. Later, they will learn python, with lessons such as writing a network scanner, games, and a machine-learning algorithm for pattern recognition. Kids who want to enhance their studies can add a daily three-hour Java course.
“The content here is at an academic level,” Nurit Harari, a computer science teacher and the owner of Harari Computer School, told Calcalist. For over a decade, she has been teaching courses and summer activities to kids. “Our courses demand strong ability and motivation. You don’t come to play, there’s no pool. We deep-dive into coding, and all the kids here are very goal-oriented, with a desire to serve in a prestigious technological unit in the army or secure a future career in tech.”
Ten-year-old Oded Birenbaum told Calcalist he first became interested in coding a year and a half ago. Teaching himself Python through YouTube videos, he then moved on to Java. For a while, he has been seeking a more organized frame for learning.
“My dream is to be a high-ranking software engineer for Microsoft or Amdocs, and I want to serve in Unit 8200,” he said. “I want to be a white hat, the one who stops the hackers with the black hats. White hats hack, say, for the Mossad, to find out things needed to protect the country, unlike black hats that are interested in criminal things like money or world domination.”
Oded Birenbaum. Photo: Tomi Herpaz
A paintball field near central Israeli town Kfar Saba looks a lot like a typical IDF training camp, complete with camouflage nets. On a recent summer day, 150 summer camp kids arrived here for bootcamp training.
“Get in line, nobody talks, listen up,” shouts a stern paintball guide, likely recalling her days as an IDF squad commander. “Who can list the Israeli security forces?” Finding the kids’ answers—army, police, ambulance—to be incomplete, she tells them about Yasam (Israel Police Special Patrol Unit) and Yamam (Israeli counter-terrorism unit).
“When I ask you a question, you will answer ‘yes ma’am’ or ‘no ma’am,’ is that clear?” she shouts. This newly formed kiddy squad’s first order of business is to go down for five push ups.
Yadin Elbaz is the manager of the paintball field. In a recent interview with Calcalist, he explained that the activity is designed to make kids feel as if they are part of a “special forces” unit. They move throughout the day as if completing various stages of enlistment, are shown order drills, and face a military-style obstacle course.
Older teens come for daily activities in a special set designed for urban warfare: densely-built houses, burned vehicles, and sniper posts.
“Kids who play Fortnight all day look for real life activities that resemble the onscreen experience,” Elbaz said.
Paintball. Photo: Abigail Uzi
While they offer activities designed after real military tasks, like shooting down enemy planes and thwarting a cyber attack, most of these summer programs try to keep military connection as inconspicuous as possible, billing the activities as “youth leadership workshops” or “professional summer classes” for kids, and not as a type of pre-military venture.
Ami Niv’s summer camp in the Israeli town of Hadera is the exception. It offers, according to the ads, Krav Maga training and other combat preparation to kids as young as seventh graders. Among the activities taught are self defense against cold and hot weapons, counterterrorism 101, and something called “aggression training.”
Krav Maga training. Photo: Abigail Uzi
Ami Niv said he developed an educational program that starts early and leads all they way to enlistment age. “Our content represents knowledge that’s necessary to life here. Living in this country means you must be prepared for a terror attack,” he said. “We call our programs ‘training camps’ and kids as young as 12 train in simulations of attack. Our bodies are weapons of self defense, and when necessary—of attack as well.”
“Today kids as young as 13 and 14 become interested in the different military units,” Moshe Yalovich, a Krav Maga instructor at the Ami Niv summer camp, told Calcalist. “It is linked to the gaming world they spend most of their time in, like Fortnight,” he said. “We take it from the screen to the real world, and the parents are happy that their kids get some time off screen.” | {
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Official:
Leverkusen sign Exequiel Palacios By Henrik Petersen
Bayer Leverkusen have announced the signing of Exequiel Palacios.
Exequiel Palacios. Photo: Carlos Figueroa Rojas, CC BY-SA 4.0
Exequiel Palacios will join Bayer Leverkusen from River Plate in January, the Bundesliga club have announced.
The Argentine midfielder joins 'Die Werkself' for a reported transfer fee of €22 million and has put pen to paper on a contract until June 2025.
"Exequiel Palacios is a technically gifted midfielder able to score goals and he has the ability to involve his team-mates. He fits in really well with our team and the way we play," said Bayer Leverkusen boss Rudi Völler, as quoted by the club.
Palacios, a 21-year-old central midfielder, said:
"I'm very happy to be able to play for Bayer 04 Leverkusen, for a club that has been home to a lot of players from South America. Bayer 04 have a good reputation here in Argentina. I'm proud to be part of this ambitious club and I'm looking forward very much to the Bundesliga and European games."
The midfielder has made 77 appearances for River Plate with seven goals and 10 assists to his name.
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With a thrilling, last-lap pass in the first MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES race to feature the new stage format, 2004 NASCAR premier series champion Kurt Busch won Sunday's season-opening DAYTONA 500 on FOX, with 23.3 million viewers tuning in for all or part of the event. An average audience of 12 million watched the race across the FOX broadcast network, FOX Deportes and FOX Sports GO, including 11.92 million on FOX alone.
Key 2017 DAYTONA 500 highlights are below:
• The race averaged 11.922 million viewers on FOX, up +5% over 2016's average audience of 11.357 million, peaking at 14.031 million viewers from 6:15-6:30 PM ET
• The DAYTONA 500 scored a 6.6/15 HH rating, which is flat overall compared to the 2016 edition but delivers positive gains across key male and adult demographics:
Daytona 500 Demographic Year-Over-Year HH Rating vs 2016 Men 18-34 +10% 2.2 vs 2.0 (ties a four-year high) Men 18-49 +9% 3.7 vs 3.4 Men 25-54 +4% 5.2 vs 5.0 Adults 18-34 +13% 1.8 vs 1.6 (ties a four-year high) Adults 18-49 +4% 2.8 vs 2.7 Adults 25-54 +3% 3.9 vs 3.8
• The race projects to rank as the highest-rated and most-watched sports event of the weekend and the highest-rated and most-watched sports event since the Feb. 5 Super Bowl on FOX
• The DAYTONA 500 projects to rank as FOX's highest-rated and most-watched telecast of any kind since Super Bowl Sunday
• The race continues to remain the No. 1 motor sports event in television
• Top-Five Markets: Core NASCAR markets led the way with Greensboro, N.C., finishing first with a 17.5/31, followed by Greenville, S.C. (16.5/28), Indianapolis (14.4/26), Knoxville, Tenn. (12.7/22) and Jacksonville, Fla. (12.4/22). Markets that experienced the largest year-over-year increases include Austin, Texas (+111%), San Diego (+74%), Oklahoma City (+49%) and Norfolk, Va. (+47%). Yesterday's race also saw significant gains in America's biggest markets, including Chicago (+18%), Philadelphia (+32%), Washington, D.C. (+18%) and Atlanta (+20%).
(Fox Sports)
AND:
Despite a new format and a later start time, Daytona 500 ratings could only match last year's near-record low.
The NASCAR Cup Series Daytona 500 delivered a 6.6 rating and 11.9 million viewers on FOX Sunday afternoon, per Nielsen fast-nationals- flat in ratings and up 5% in viewership from last year (6.6, 11.4M) but down 14% and 11% respectively from 2015 (7.7, 13.4M). Those figures could still change when the final nationals are released tomorrow.
Kurt Busch's win, which peaked with 14.0 million viewers from 6:15-6:30 PM ET, tied the second-lowest Daytona 500 rating since the live start-to-finish coverage of the race began in 1979. Only the 2014 race, which was pushed into primetime due to lengthy rain delays and faced the Olympics on NBC, had a lower rating (5.6).
Sunday's race also delivered the third-smallest Daytona 500 audience since 1995 (11.4M), ranking ahead of only last year and 2014 (9.3M) over that span. Figures do not [include] the 40,000 who streamed coverage on Fox Sports GO, a record for NASCAR on the streaming platform, or the Spanish-language audience on Fox Deportes (n/a). Even with those numbers added to the mix, the audience of 12.0 million still ranks as the third-smallest in 22 years.
(Sports Media Watch) | {
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One of my favorite sites is BerkshireHathaway.com - it’s simple, effective, and has been doing its job well since it launched in 1997. Even more remarkable, over the last 20 years, there’s a good chance this site has never had a bug. Why? Because it’s all static. It’s been pretty much the same since it launched over 20 years ago. Turns out sites are pretty simple to build if you have all of your data up front. Unfortunately, most sites now days don’t. To compensate for this, we’ve invented “patterns” for handling fetching external data for our apps. Like most things, these patterns each have tradeoffs that have changed over time. In this post, we’ll break down the pros and cons of three of the most common patterns, Callbacks , Promises , and Async/Await and talk about their significance and progression from a historical context.
Let’s start with the OG of these data fetching patterns, Callbacks.
Callbacks
I’m going to assume you know exactly 0 about callbacks. If I’m assuming wrong, just scroll down a bit.
When I was first learning to program, it helped me to think about functions as machines. These machines can do anything you want them to. They can even accept input and return a value. Each machine has a button on it that you can press when you want the machine to run, ().
function add ( x , y ) { return x + y } add ( 2 , 3 )
Whether I press the button, you press the button, or someone else presses the button doesn’t matter. Whenever the button is pressed, like it or not, the machine is going to run.
function add ( x , y ) { return x + y } const me = add const you = add const someoneElse = add me ( 2 , 3 ) you ( 2 , 3 ) someoneElse ( 2 , 3 )
In the code above we assign the add function to three different variables, me , you , and someoneElse . It’s important to note that the original add and each of the variables we created are pointing to the same spot in memory. They’re literally the exact same thing under different names. So when we invoke me , you , or someoneElse , it’s as if we’re invoking add .
Now, what if we take our add machine and pass it to another machine? Remember, it doesn’t matter who presses the () button, if it’s pressed, it’s going to run.
function add ( x , y ) { return x + y } function addFive ( x , addReference ) { return addReference ( x , 5 ) } addFive ( 10 , add )
Your brain might have got a little weird on this one, nothing new is going on here though. Instead of “pressing the button” on add , we pass add as an argument to addFive , rename it addReference , and then we “press the button” or invoke it.
This highlights some important concepts of the JavaScript language. First, just as you can pass a string or a number as an argument to a function, so too can you pass a reference to a function as an argument. When you do this the function you’re passing as an argument is called a callback function and the function you’re passing the callback function to is called a higher order function.
Because vocabulary is important, here’s the same code with the variables re-named to match the concepts they’re demonstrating.
function add ( x , y ) { return x + y } function higherOrderFunction ( x , callback ) { return callback ( x , 5 ) } higherOrderFunction ( 10 , add )
This pattern should look familiar, it’s everywhere. If you’ve ever used any of the JavaScript Array methods, you’ve used a callback. If you’ve ever used lodash, you’ve used a callback. If you’ve ever used jQuery, you’ve used a callback.
[ 1 , 2 , 3 ] . map ( ( i ) => i + 5 ) _ . filter ( [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ] , ( n ) => n % 2 === 0 ) ; $ ( '#btn' ) . on ( 'click' , ( ) => console . log ( 'Callbacks are everywhere' ) )
In general, there are two popular use cases for callbacks. The first, and what we see in the .map and _.filter examples, is a nice abstraction over transforming one value into another. We say “Hey, here’s an array and a function. Go ahead and get me a new value based on the function I gave you”. The second, and what we see in the jQuery example, is delaying execution of a function until a particular time. “Hey, here’s this function. Go ahead and invoke it whenever the element with an id of btn is clicked.” It’s this second use case that we’re going to focus on, “delaying execution of a function until a particular time”.
Right now we’ve only looked at examples that are synchronous. As we talked about at the beginning of this post, most of the apps we build don’t have all the data they need up front. Instead, they need to fetch external data as the user interacts with the app. We’ve just seen how callbacks can be a great use case for this because, again, they allow you to “delay execution of a function until a particular time”. It doesn’t take much imagination to see how we can adapt that sentence to work with data fetching. Instead of delaying execution of a function until a particular time, we can delay execution of a function until we have the data we need. Here’s probably the most popular example of this, jQuery’s getJSON method.
const id = 'tylermcginnis' $ . getJSON ( { url : ` https://api.github.com/users/ ${ id } ` , success : updateUI , error : showError , } )
We can’t update the UI of our app until we have the user’s data. So what do we do? We say, “Hey, here’s an object. If the request succeeds, go ahead and call success passing it the user’s data. If it doesn’t, go ahead and call error passing it the error object. You don’t need to worry about what each method does, just be sure to call them when you’re supposed to”. This is a perfect demonstration of using a callback for async requests.
At this point, we’ve learned about what callbacks are and how they can be beneficial both in synchronous and asynchronous code. What we haven’t talked yet is the dark side of callbacks. Take a look at this code below. Can you tell what’s happening?
const id = 'tylermcginnis' $ ( "#btn" ) . on ( "click" , ( ) => { $ . getJSON ( { url : ` https://api.github.com/users/ ${ id } ` , success : ( user ) => { $ . getJSON ( { url : getLocationURL ( user . location . split ( ',' ) ) , success ( weather ) { updateUI ( { user , weather : weather . query . results } ) } , error : showError , } ) } , error : showError } ) } )
If it helps, you can play around with the live version here.
Notice we’ve added a few more layers of callbacks. First, we’re saying don’t run the initial AJAX request until the element with an id of btn is clicked. Once the button is clicked, we make the first request. If that request succeeds, we make a second request. If that request succeeds, we invoke the updateUI method passing it the data we got from both requests. Regardless of if you understood the code at first glance or not, objectively it’s much harder to read than the code before. This brings us to the topic of “Callback Hell”.
As humans, we naturally think sequentially. When you have nested callbacks inside of nested callbacks, it forces you out of your natural way of thinking. Bugs happen when there’s a disconnect between how your software is read and how you naturally think.
Like most solutions to software problems, a commonly prescribed approach for making “Callback Hell” easier to consume is to modularize your code.
function getUser ( id , onSuccess , onFailure ) { $ . getJSON ( { url : ` https://api.github.com/users/ ${ id } ` , success : onSuccess , error : onFailure } ) } function getWeather ( user , onSuccess , onFailure ) { $ . getJSON ( { url : getLocationURL ( user . location . split ( ',' ) ) , success : onSuccess , error : onFailure , } ) } $ ( "#btn" ) . on ( "click" , ( ) => { getUser ( "tylermcginnis" , ( user ) => { getWeather ( user , ( weather ) => { updateUI ( { user , weather : weather . query . results } ) } , showError ) } , showError ) } )
If it helps, you can play around with the live version here.
OK, the function names help us understand what’s going on, but is it objectively “better”? Not by much. We’ve put a band-aid over the readability issue of Callback Hell. The problem still exists that we naturally think sequentially and, even with the extra functions, nested callbacks break us out of that sequential way of thinking.
The next issue of callbacks has to do with inversion of control. When you write a callback, you’re assuming that the program you’re giving the callback to is responsible and will call it when (and only when) it’s supposed to. You’re essentially inverting the control of your program over to another program. When you’re dealing with libraries like jQuery, lodash, or even vanilla JavaScript, it’s safe to assume that the callback function will be invoked at the correct time with the correct arguments. However, for many third-party libraries, callback functions are the interface for how you interact with them. It’s entirely plausible that a third party library could, whether on purpose or accidentally, break how they interact with your callback.
function criticalFunction ( ) { } thirdPartyLib ( criticalFunction )
Since you’re not the one calling criticalFunction , you have 0 control over when and with what argument it’s invoked. Most of the time this isn’t an issue, but when it is, it’s a big one.
Promises
Have you ever been to a busy restaurant without a reservation? When this happens, the restaurant needs a way to get back in contact with you when a table opens up. Historically, they’d just take your name and yell it when your table was ready. Then, as naturally occurs, they decided to start getting fancy. One solution was, instead of taking your name, they’d take your number and text you once a table opened up. This allowed you to be out of yelling range but more importantly, it allowed them to target your phone with ads whenever they wanted. Sound familiar? It should! OK, maybe it shouldn’t. It’s a metaphor for callbacks! Giving your number to a restaurant is just like giving a callback function to a third party service. You expect the restaurant to text you when a table opens up, just like you expect the third party service to invoke your function when and how they said they would. Once your number or callback function is in their hands though, you’ve lost all control.
Thankfully, there is another solution that exists. One that, by design, allows you to keep all the control. You’ve probably even experienced it before - it’s that little buzzer thing they give you. You know, this one.
If you’ve never used one before, the idea is simple. Instead of taking your name or number, they give you this device. When the device starts buzzing and glowing, your table is ready. You can still do whatever you’d like as you’re waiting for your table to open up, but now you don’t have to give up anything. In fact, it’s the exact opposite. They have to give you something. There is no inversion of control.
The buzzer will always be in one of three different states - pending , fulfilled , or rejected .
pending is the default, initial state. When they give you the buzzer, it’s in this state.
fulfilled is the state the buzzer is in when it’s flashing and your table is ready.
rejected is the state the buzzer is in when something goes wrong. Maybe the restaurant is about to close or they forgot someone rented out the restaurant for the night.
Again, the important thing to remember is that you, the receiver of the buzzer, have all the control. If the buzzer gets put into fulfilled , you can go to your table. If it gets put into fulfilled and you want to ignore it, cool, you can do that too. If it gets put into rejected , that sucks but you can go somewhere else to eat. If nothing ever happens and it stays in pending , you never get to eat but you’re not actually out anything.
Now that you’re a master of the restaurant buzzer thingy, let’s apply that knowledge to something that matters.
If giving the restaurant your number is like giving them a callback function, receiving the little buzzy thing is like receiving what’s called a “Promise”.
As always, let’s start with why. Why do Promises exist? They exist to make the complexity of making asynchronous requests more manageable. Exactly like the buzzer, a Promise can be in one of three states, pending , fulfilled or rejected . Unlike the buzzer, instead of these states representing the status of a table at a restaurant, they represent the status of an asynchronous request.
If the async request is still ongoing, the Promise will have a status of pending . If the async request was successfully completed, the Promise will change to a status of fulfilled . If the async request failed, the Promise will change to a status of rejected . The buzzer metaphor is pretty spot on, right?
Now that you understand why Promises exist and the different states they can be in, there are three more questions we need to answer.
How do you create a Promise? How do you change the status of a promise? How do you listen for when the status of a promise changes?
1) How do you create a Promise?
This one is pretty straight forward. You create a new instance of Promise .
const promise = new Promise ( )
2) How do you change the status of a promise?
The Promise constructor function takes in a single argument, a (callback) function. This function is going to be passed two arguments, resolve and reject .
resolve - a function that allows you to change the status of the promise to fulfilled
reject - a function that allows you to change the status of the promise to rejected .
In the code below, we use setTimeout to wait 2 seconds and then invoke resolve . This will change the status of the promise to fulfilled .
const promise = new Promise ( ( resolve , reject ) => { setTimeout ( ( ) => { resolve ( ) } , 2000 ) } )
We can see this change in action by logging the promise right after we create it and then again roughly 2 seconds later after resolve has been called.
Notice the promise goes from <pending> to <resolved> .
3) How do you listen for when the status of a promise changes?
In my opinion, this is the most important question. It’s cool we know how to create a promise and change its status, but that’s worthless if we don’t know how to do anything after the status changes.
One thing we haven’t talked about yet is what a promise actually is. When you create a new Promise , you’re really just creating a plain old JavaScript object. This object can invoke two methods, then , and catch . Here’s the key. When the status of the promise changes to fulfilled , the function that was passed to .then will get invoked. When the status of a promise changes to rejected , the function that was passed to .catch will be invoked. What this means is that once you create a promise, you’ll pass the function you want to run if the async request is successful to .then . You’ll pass the function you want to run if the async request fails to .catch .
Let’s take a look at an example. We’ll use setTimeout again to change the status of the promise to fulfilled after two seconds (2000 milliseconds).
function onSuccess ( ) { console . log ( 'Success!' ) } function onError ( ) { console . log ( '💩' ) } const promise = new Promise ( ( resolve , reject ) => { setTimeout ( ( ) => { resolve ( ) } , 2000 ) } ) promise . then ( onSuccess ) promise . catch ( onError )
If you run the code above you’ll notice that roughly 2 seconds later, you’ll see “Success!” in the console. Again the reason this happens is because of two things. First, when we created the promise, we invoked resolve after ~2000 milliseconds - this changed the status of the promise to fulfilled . Second, we passed the onSuccess function to the promises’ .then method. By doing that we told the promise to invoke onSuccess when the status of the promise changed to fulfilled which it did after ~2000 milliseconds.
Now let’s pretend something bad happened and we wanted to change the status of the promise to rejected . Instead of calling resolve , we would call reject .
function onSuccess ( ) { console . log ( 'Success!' ) } function onError ( ) { console . log ( '💩' ) } const promise = new Promise ( ( resolve , reject ) => { setTimeout ( ( ) => { reject ( ) } , 2000 ) } ) promise . then ( onSuccess ) promise . catch ( onError )
Now this time instead of the onSuccess function being invoked, the onError function will be invoked since we called reject .
Now that you know your way around the Promise API, let’s start looking at some real code.
Remember the last async callback example we saw earlier?
function getUser ( id , onSuccess , onFailure ) { $ . getJSON ( { url : ` https://api.github.com/users/ ${ id } ` , success : onSuccess , error : onFailure } ) } function getWeather ( user , onSuccess , onFailure ) { $ . getJSON ( { url : getLocationURL ( user . location . split ( ',' ) ) , success : onSuccess , error : onFailure , } ) } $ ( "#btn" ) . on ( "click" , ( ) => { getUser ( "tylermcginnis" , ( user ) => { getWeather ( user , ( weather ) => { updateUI ( { user , weather : weather . query . results } ) } , showError ) } , showError ) } )
Is there any way we could use the Promise API here instead of using callbacks? What if we wrap our AJAX requests inside of a promise? Then we can simply resolve or reject depending on how the request goes. Let’s start with getUser .
function getUser ( id ) { return new Promise ( ( resolve , reject ) => { $ . getJSON ( { url : ` https://api.github.com/users/ ${ id } ` , success : resolve , error : reject } ) } ) }
Nice. Notice that the parameters of getUser have changed. Instead of receiving id , onSuccess , and onFailure , it just receives id . There’s no more need for those other two callback functions because we’re no longer inverting control. Instead, we use the Promise’s resolve and reject functions. resolve will be invoked if the request was successful, reject will be invoked if there was an error.
Next, let’s refactor getWeather . We’ll follow the same strategy here. Instead of taking in onSuccess and onFailure callback functions, we’ll use resolve and reject .
function getWeather ( user ) { return new Promise ( ( resolve , reject ) => { $ . getJSON ( { url : getLocationURL ( user . location . split ( ',' ) ) , success : resolve , error : reject , } ) } ) }
Looking good. Now the last thing we need to update is our click handler. Remember, here’s the flow we want to take.
Get the user’s information from the Github API. Use the user’s location to get their weather from the Yahoo Weather API. Update the UI with the user’s info and their weather.
Let’s start with #1 - getting the user’s information from the Github API.
$ ( "#btn" ) . on ( "click" , ( ) => { const userPromise = getUser ( 'tylermcginnis' ) userPromise . then ( ( user ) => { } ) userPromise . catch ( showError ) } )
Notice that now instead of getUser taking in two callback functions, it returns us a promise that we can call .then and .catch on. If .then is called, it’ll be called with the user’s information. If .catch is called, it’ll be called with the error.
Next, let’s do #2 - Use the user’s location to get their weather.
$ ( "#btn" ) . on ( "click" , ( ) => { const userPromise = getUser ( 'tylermcginnis' ) userPromise . then ( ( user ) => { const weatherPromise = getWeather ( user ) weatherPromise . then ( ( weather ) => { } ) weatherPromise . catch ( showError ) } ) userPromise . catch ( showError ) } )
Notice we follow the exact same pattern we did in #1 but now we invoke getWeather passing it the user object we got from userPromise .
Finally, #3 - Update the UI with the user’s info and their weather.
$ ( "#btn" ) . on ( "click" , ( ) => { const userPromise = getUser ( 'tylermcginnis' ) userPromise . then ( ( user ) => { const weatherPromise = getWeather ( user ) weatherPromise . then ( ( weather ) => { updateUI ( { user , weather : weather . query . results } ) } ) weatherPromise . catch ( showError ) } ) userPromise . catch ( showError ) } )
Here’s the full code you can play around with.
Our new code is better, but there are still some improvements we can make. Before we can make those improvements though, there are two more features of promises you need to be aware of, chaining and passing arguments from resolve to then .
Chaining
Both .then and .catch will return a new promise. That seems like a small detail but it’s important because it means that promises can be chained.
In the example below, we call getPromise which returns us a promise that will resolve in at least 2000 milliseconds. From there, because .then will return a promise, we can continue to chain our .then s together until we throw a new Error which is caught by the .catch method.
function getPromise ( ) { return new Promise ( ( resolve ) => { setTimeout ( resolve , 2000 ) } ) } function logA ( ) { console . log ( 'A' ) } function logB ( ) { console . log ( 'B' ) } function logCAndThrow ( ) { console . log ( 'C' ) throw new Error ( ) } function catchError ( ) { console . log ( 'Error!' ) } getPromise ( ) . then ( logA ) . then ( logB ) . then ( logCAndThrow ) . catch ( catchError )
Cool, but why is this so important? Remember back in the callback section we talked about one of the downfalls of callbacks being that they force you out of your natural, sequential way of thinking. When you chain promises together, it doesn’t force you out of that natural way of thinking because chained promises are sequential. getPromise runs then logA runs then logB runs then... .
Just so you can see one more example, here’s a common use case when you use the fetch API. fetch will return you a promise that will resolve with the HTTP response. To get the actual JSON, you’ll need to call .json . Because of chaining, we can think about this in a sequential manner.
fetch ( '/api/user.json' ) . then ( ( response ) => response . json ( ) ) . then ( ( user ) => { } )
Now that we know about chaining, let’s refactor our getUser / getWeather code from earlier to use it.
function getUser ( id ) { return new Promise ( ( resolve , reject ) => { $ . getJSON ( { url : ` https://api.github.com/users/ ${ id } ` , success : resolve , error : reject } ) } ) } function getWeather ( user ) { return new Promise ( ( resolve , reject ) => { $ . getJSON ( { url : getLocationURL ( user . location . split ( ',' ) ) , success : resolve , error : reject , } ) } ) } $ ( "#btn" ) . on ( "click" , ( ) => { getUser ( "tylermcginnis" ) . then ( getWeather ) . then ( ( weather ) => { updateUI ( ) } ) . catch ( showError ) } )
It looks much better, but now we’re running into an issue. Can you spot it? In the second .then we want to call updateUI . The problem is we need to pass updateUI both the user and the weather . Currently, how we have it set up, we’re only receiving the weather , not the user . Somehow we need to figure out a way to make it so the promise that getWeather returns is resolved with both the user and the weather .
Here’s the key. resolve is just a function. Any arguments you pass to it will be passed along to the function given to .then . What that means is that inside of getWeather , if we invoke resolve ourself, we can pass to it weather and user . Then, the second .then method in our chain will receive both user and weather as an argument.
function getWeather ( user ) { return new Promise ( ( resolve , reject ) => { $ . getJSON ( { url : getLocationURL ( user . location . split ( ',' ) ) , success ( weather ) { resolve ( { user , weather : weather . query . results } ) } , error : reject , } ) } ) } $ ( "#btn" ) . on ( "click" , ( ) => { getUser ( "tylermcginnis" ) . then ( getWeather ) . then ( ( data ) => { updateUI ( data ) } ) . catch ( showError ) } )
You can play around with the final code here
It’s in our click handler where you really see the power of promises shine compared to callbacks.
getUser ( "tylermcginnis" , ( user ) => { getWeather ( user , ( weather ) => { updateUI ( { user , weather : weather . query . results } ) } , showError ) } , showError ) getUser ( "tylermcginnis" ) . then ( getWeather ) . then ( ( data ) => updateUI ( data ) ) . catch ( showError ) ;
Following that logic feels natural because it’s how we’re used to thinking, sequentially. getUser then getWeather then update the UI with the data .
Now it’s clear that promises drastically increase the readability of our asynchronous code, but is there a way we can make it even better? Assume that you were on the TC39 committee and you had all the power to add new features to the JavaScript language. What steps, if any, would you take to improve this code?
$ ( "#btn" ) . on ( "click" , ( ) => { getUser ( "tylermcginnis" ) . then ( getWeather ) . then ( ( data ) => updateUI ( data ) ) . catch ( showError ) } )
As we’ve discussed, the code reads pretty nicely. Just as our brains work, it’s in a sequential order. One issue that we did run into was that we needed to thread the data ( users ) from the first async request all the way through to the last .then . This wasn’t a big deal, but it made us change up our getWeather function to also pass along users . What if we just wrote our asynchronous code the same way which we write our synchronous code? If we did, that problem would go away entirely and it would still read sequentially. Here’s an idea.
$ ( "#btn" ) . on ( "click" , ( ) => { const user = getUser ( 'tylermcginnis' ) const weather = getWeather ( user ) updateUI ( { user , weather , } ) } )
Well, that would be nice. Our asynchronous code looks exactly like our synchronous code. There’s no extra steps our brain needs to take because we’re already very familiar with this way of thinking. Sadly, this obviously won’t work. As you know, if we were to run the code above, user and weather would both just be promises since that’s what getUser and getWeather return. But remember, we’re on TC39. We have all the power to add any feature to the language we want. As is, this code would be really tricky to make work. We’d have to somehow teach the JavaScript engine to know the difference between asynchronous function invocations and regular, synchronous function invocations on the fly. Let’s add a few keywords to our code to make it easier on the engine.
First, let’s add a keyword to the main function itself. This could clue the engine to the fact that inside of this function, we’re going to have some asynchronous function invocations. Let’s use async for this.
$ ( "#btn" ) . on ( "click" , async ( ) => { const user = getUser ( 'tylermcginnis' ) const weather = getWeather ( user ) updateUI ( { user , weather , } ) } )
Cool. That seems reasonable. Next let’s add another keyword to let the engine know exactly when a function being invoked is asynchronous and is going to return a promise. Let’s use await . As in, “Hey engine. This function is asynchronous and returns a promise. Instead of continuing on like you typically do, go ahead and ‘await’ the eventual value of the promise and return it before continuing”. With both of our new async and await keywords in play, our new code will look like this.
$ ( "#btn" ) . on ( "click" , async ( ) => { const user = await getUser ( 'tylermcginnis' ) const weather = await getWeather ( user . location ) updateUI ( { user , weather , } ) } )
Pretty slick. We’ve invented a reasonable way to have our asynchronous code look and behave as if it were synchronous. Now the next step is to actually convince someone on TC39 that this is a good idea. Lucky for us, as you probably guessed by now, we don’t need to do any convincing because this feature is already part of JavaScript and it’s called Async/Await .
Don’t believe me? Here’s our live code now that we’ve added Async/Await to it. Feel free to play around with it.
async functions return a promise
Now that you’ve seen the benefit of Async/Await, let’s discuss some smaller details that are important to know. First, anytime you add async to a function, that function is going to implicitly return a promise.
async function getPromise ( ) { } const promise = getPromise ( )
Even though getPromise is literally empty, it’ll still return a promise since it was an async function.
If the async function returns a value, that value will also get wrapped in a promise. That means you’ll have to use .then to access it.
async function add ( x , y ) { return x + y } add ( 2 , 3 ) . then ( ( result ) => { console . log ( result ) } )
await without async is bad
If you try to use the await keyword inside of a function that isn’t async , you’ll get an error.
$ ( "#btn" ) . on ( "click" , ( ) => { const user = await getUser ( 'tylermcginnis' ) const weather = await getWeather ( user . location ) updateUI ( { user , weather , } ) } )
Here’s how I think about it. When you add async to a function it does two things. It makes it so the function itself returns (or wraps what gets returned in) a promise and makes it so you can use await inside of it.
Error Handling
You may have noticed we cheated a little bit. In our original code we had a way to catch any errors using .catch . When we switched to Async/Await, we removed that code. With Async/Await, the most common approach is to wrap your code in a try/catch block to be able to catch the error. | {
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Poll: Scots against '˜indyref2' if Britain leaves EU
MOST Scots believe Nicola Sturgeon should not call a second Scottish independence referendum if Scotland is dragged out of the EU against its will, an exclusive poll for Scotland on Sunday suggests.
By The Newsroom Monday, 23rd May 2016, 2:26 pm Updated Monday, 23rd May 2016, 3:27 pm
Most Scots are against the idea of a second referendum, even if the UK votes to leave the EU. Picture: Neil Hanna
The ICM survey found that the electorate’s appetite for a post-Brexit Scottish independence poll is waning, with 48 per cent saying they are against an indyref 2 in those circumstances compared with 44 per cent in favour of going to the country again. When the eight per cent who did not express a view were excluded, the poll found that 52 per cent are against a post-Brexit referendum as opposed to the 48 per cent who are for it.
The poll of 1,000 adults contrasted with findings from a similar survey carried out for Scotland on Sunday in March when the position was reversed. Two months ago a majority of Scots (52 per cent) said they would like to see another independence referendum in the aftermath of Brexit.
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Although the SNP is campaigning to remain in Europe, Sturgeon has said indyref 2 could be triggered if next month’s EU referendum sees Scotland vote to stay, but forced to leave because the rest of the UK decides otherwise.
When people were asked how they would vote in a second referendum, there was more discouraging news for the SNP. The pollsters found that No votes (47 per cent) would outnumber Yes votes (44 per cent).
Removing the eight per cent “don’t knows” from the equation saw support for a No vote reach 51.6 per cent, compared with the 48.4 per cent who said they would support independence
The figures showed a marked reduction in support for post-Brexit Scottish independence from ICM’s March poll, which showed a 53 per cent majority for breaking up the UK when “don’t knows” were excluded.
The findings will come as a blow for Sturgeon, who knows that a second defeat in an independence referendum would probably kill off her party’s independence dream for the foreseeable future.
The declining support for independence came on the back of the SNP’s failure to win an overall majority in the Scottish Parliament elections earlier this month. READ MORE: Support for Remain strengthening in Scotland, new poll shows
The poll also showed that a majority of Scots (51 per cent) believe there should not be another independence referendum within the next five years regardless of the outcome of the EU vote. Thirty-nine per cent took the opposite view and thought there should be one, while 10 per cent didn’t know.
Conservative shadow cabinet secretary for the constitution Adam Tomkins said: “This is an interesting poll and the idea that Scotland’s place in the United Kingdom is in some way dependent on Britain’s membership of the EU is a bizarre concept. With the SNP about to prepare a fresh drive for independence, the Scottish Conservatives will be strong in opposition and stand up for our place in the UK.”
A Labour spokesman said: “All the SNP seem interested in is arguing about what might happen if the UK votes to leave the EU, but this poll shows that, despite what Nicola Sturgeon says, a majority of people across Scotland would still be in favour of remaining part of the UK.”
Other findings of the poll included a narrow majority in favour of keeping Trident, despite the SNP and Scottish Labour wanting rid of the nuclear weapons housed at the Faslane naval base.
The poll showed that 43 per cent of those questioned wanted the missiles kept on the Clyde, compared with 42 per cent who favoured disarmament (14 per cent were undecided).
The SNP has failed to keep its promise to replace council tax, but most Scots (52 per cent) believe this should be replaced by a fairer system.
That was opposed by 37 per cent who thought the existing system was fair and 11 per cent who didn’t know.
Fifty-one per cent were against fracking.
Sturgeon has signalled that her education reforms could see schools come out of local authority control. Slightly more people (32 per cent) opposed this than supported it (29 per cent).
On tax there was support for raising the top rate of income tax to 50 pence – a proposal put forward by Labour during the Scottish election. While Labour’s other policy of raising income tax by a penny in other bands received slightly more support than opposition. | {
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安倍総理
3月10日の「籠池独演会見」によって、「森友ドラマ」には、突如エンディングロールが流れ始めた。しかし、このドラマのスピンオフ（派生作品）とでも言うべき、もうひとつの疑惑に幕が引かれたわけではない。
＊＊＊
「森友学園と同じような事例がある」
3月8日の衆院文部科学委員会で、民進党の福島伸享（のぶゆき）代議士はこう追及した。スピンオフが国会でも話題となり、今後の野党の「質問編成」がこちらのドラマに移っていくことを予感させた瞬間だった――。
「第2の森友学園問題」。巷（ちまた）でこう呼ばれているのが、学校法人「加計（かけ）学園」（岡山市）に関する疑惑だ。同学園運営の岡山理科大学が愛媛県今治市で獣医学部を新設するにあたり、37億円相当の公有地の無償譲渡が行われるのに加え、96億円もの補助金を拠出する予算案が、3月3日の同市議会で可決されたのである。
この「おいしい」事業を手にした同学園の加計孝太郎理事長（65）が、安倍晋三総理（62）と米国留学時代からの40年来の旧友で、彼が昭恵夫人とも近しいことは本誌（「週刊新潮」）3月16日号で報じた通りだ。
安倍総理曰く「まさに腹心の友」である加計氏の運営する大学が、無償譲渡および多額の補助金を受けると聞けば、キナ臭さが漂うのは当然とも言えよう。
そもそも、加計学園の獣医学部新設の前提は、2015年12月、国家戦略特区に今治市が指定されるのが決まったことにあるのだが、
「翌年4月から、文部科学省の役人ふたりが加計学園に天下りしています」
と、福島氏は説明する。
「そのひとりの木曽功氏（元文部省高等教育局私学部私学行政課長）は、安倍内閣で内閣官房参与を務めていた安倍総理のお友だちと言えます」 | {
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You wouldn’t believe some of the stuff customers complain about. I’ve been sworn at because the prices are up 10p from last week. The buns are burnt, the fries are cold, the chicken is greasy, and they can’t find the bacon on their burger. In the six years I’ve worked for this fast-food chain, I’m pretty sure I’ve heard and seen almost everything. I’ve pulled important documents out of bin bags, found porn magazines in the toilets, and witnessed numerous food fights involving pickles and onions.
I initially applied to work here because I was 16 and needed to fund my mobile phone credit habit. What started out as a Saturday job has continued as part-time work as I complete my degree. Much the same as for others my age, affording a student lifestyle is difficult, and I couldn’t survive without the money I make serving up snacks.
My expectations of the job were about the same as the reality. It’s a repetitive existence, and this is the biggest downside. Constantly serving up the same meal over and over again while wearing an ill-fitting uniform is tedious. But there are a lot of perks and not just the ones that you’d think. Yes, I get free food on my break and a significant discount when off the clock, but my company also organises group events such as bowling and paintballing so we can let off some steam. There are also opportunities for training, apprenticeships and even extra GCSEs, so you can climb the ladder if you wish.
Speaking of the food, everyone assumes I’d be sick of it by now. But to me all food is delicious, no matter how many times I’ve eaten it before, and there’s enough variety on our menu to allow different choices every day. Unfortunately, I have put on weight since I started. Let’s face it: if you eat fried food every day, you’re going to pile on the pounds. It’s amazing how quickly I got used to everything being greasy: it just feels natural now, as horrible as it sounds.
The war against processed food has spawned a barrage of claims on our production chain. But if it’s so disgusting and unhealthy, why do people keep coming back for more? Because it tastes good? Yes, but also because there is a guilty pleasure in convenience. The legal ramifications of lying about food are monstrous, but it doesn’t stop our critics from claiming that we’re lying about our practices to the unsuspecting public.
I’m on a zero-hours contract but if I ever need an extra shift I can ask the scheduling manager and they’re more than willing. Plus the living wage has come in, and although I’m not yet 25, in the future I will be set to gain a sizeable rise from the legislation, if I’m still here.
The way my hours swing sometimes does a number on my sleeping patterns: I go from working until midnight on Friday to starting at 7am on Sunday, and doing this five times a week during the summer holidays gets tedious, not to mention the ache your legs develop after nine hours on your feet.
An average shift consists of moving stations two or three times, from till to kitchen to dining area; cleaning equipment, emptying the bins more times than I’d care to count, and – worst of all – dealing with difficult customers. But there is always someone to chat to through the menial jobs and a great sense of camaraderie, which makes the work feel a lot less pointless. Many of us find it difficult to be away from our mobiles, and resort to hiding them on our person to check on the sly, which the managers hate.
I think all fast-food workers would agree that the worst part of the job is arrogant customers. Customers who think they know exactly how to do your job, or blame you for something you might have had nothing to do with, or lose their temper over getting the wrong drink with their order. Our complaints policy is pretty forgiving, and we always try our hardest to make customers feel as though they’ve been compensated, but some people just can’t be pleased.
After six years, I can let the bad customers slide off my back most of the time, although there is the odd one who really gets under my skin. These tend to be lads who think they know it all and can engage you in hurtful banter that’s really just insulting your looks or your character to make themselves feel better.
The best part of my job is the nice customers. People who pop in at the same time every morning to grab breakfast on the way to work or late at night on their way home. There is a sense of community between the regulars, as odd as it might sound. I’ve seen customers make friends and support one another through hard times: sickness, bereavement, mental illness. And what brought them together was popping into our cafe to get a cup of coffee.
It’s not the most glamorous job in the world, but somebody’s got to do it. And really, I’m proud that I have worked so long in a job that many couldn’t stick a few months in. In fact, I believe everyone should work in fast food for at least a short time. I have learned so many life lessons about how to deal with people and how to be positive in the face of extreme negativity. Working in fast food can definitely help you to get out of a pickle.
• Are you a prison warden, a bra fitter, a baker? We want to hear your candid accounts of what work is really like. Find full details on submitting your story anonymously here | {
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On the days when you just need a few slices for breakfast or a salad garnish, America's Test Kitchen came up with a way to create perfectly crisp bacon and minimize any grease splatters: just add water.
Bacon isn't hard to cook on the stovetop, but every cook who's been hit by splattering fat knows it's not the most pleasant kitchen task to tackle. If you're cooking bacon for a lot of people, you can avoid this by cooking it in the oven on a roasting rack, DIY or otherwise .
Place your bacon in a cold skillet on the stovetop and turn the heat to high. Add enough water to cover the bacon slices. This keeps the temperature low and even so the bacon doesn't dry out.
When the water reaches a boil (212°F/100°C), turn the heat to medium. At this point, the fat from the bacon has almost completely rendered and you're less likely to burn it.
Once it's all gone, turn the heat to medium-low.
Step 4: Let the Bacon Get Crispy
Now here's where the bacon starts to crisp up. Since it's been cooked in water, it won't get tough or cook unevenly as it starts to brown.
Et voilà: perfect bacon, and you didn't receive any splatter burns in the process.
Check out the entire video from American Test Kitchen to get the full details.
Please enable JavaScript to watch this video.
A couple of caveats: Epicurious points out that bacon cooked in this fashion does, indeed, have great crispy texture. However, it's less salty and is thinner than bacon cooked in a skillet without water. They recommend this method mostly when you want to use bacon as a garnish on another dish.
The Kitchn also likes this method, but they recommend altering a few crucial details. First, use just enough water to cover the bottom of the pan, rather than adding enough to completely cover the bacon. Next, cook the bacon over medium-high heat until it evaporates, then lower the heat to medium until the bacon reaches the right stage of crispiness. In their estimation, the results were just as good and didn't take as long (waiting for water to boil off can be quite a time investment).
I think this sounds like a great trick to use when I'm cooking bacon just for me. The only drawbacks I can see to it is that you don't get to keep the yummy bacon fat to use in other dishes, and that the bacon still shrinks.
What's your favorite way to cook bacon? | {
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Rediscover Your Youth With Gerovital-H3
What is Gerovital h3?
Gerovital-H3 is a rejuvenating anti depression medication that lowers cortisol, improves concentration and provides a host of other therapeutic benefits.
Originally used as a painkiller, the revitalising properties of Gerovital h3 soon became apparent, as patients started noticing unexpected side effects, such as improvements in joint stiffness and hair re-growth. Its potential as an antiaging drug and a powerful anti depression medication is now firmly established, as well as which Gerovital lowers cholesterol and improves concentration.
Often referred to as ‘the fountain of youth’, Gerovital provides many rejuvenating properties for the body and mind. Gerovital benefits include favorable effects on glands, hair, intestines, protein metabolism, blood cell formation and various functions of the skin. In addition to joint stiffness, Gerovital’s active ingredients can help with a number of age-related problems, such as poor memory, impotence, arthritis, poor eyesight, high cholesterol and heart disease.
What does Gerovital-H3 do?
Gerovital’s key ingredient is procaine hydrochloride, which breaks down in the bloodstream to form two bio-nutrients: para-Aminobenzoic Acid (PABA) and diethylaminoethanol (DEAE). These nutrients – which appear naturally in the body but diminish with age – are crucial to our stress reaction system and memory functions. DEAE also has a positive effect on mood and can produce mild euphoria.
Gerovital works by inhibiting the hormone cortisol, which is one of the few hormones that increases with age, and is responsible for stress. Cortisol attacks the hypothalamus – the part of the brain that controls the endocrine system. The damage it causes is believed to lead to accelerated aging.
Gerovital also inhibits MAO, a brain enzyme that increases with age and destroys neurotransmitters. MAO causes many neurological problems, including depression and migraines.
By reversing the action of MAO, Gerovital unleashes a powerful anti-depressant effect.
But does it really work?
Clinical research bears out Gerovital’s claims to a whole host of positive benefits. Trials have proven it can improve psychomotor activity and increase muscle strength in older people. Other studies have shown that patients demonstrate better memory, feel more alert and have improved concentration and hand-eye coordination after taking Gerovital.
In clinical trials, patients showed less depression and anxiety, greater desire to live, improvements in hair, skin and nails, enhanced muscle strength and joint mobility, increased physical and intellectual abilities, and less of the physical signs of aging, such as senile spots.
In an experiment by Gerovital pioneer, Professor Ana Aslan, rats injected with Gerovital demonstrated an 18 to 21 per cent improvement in life span, compared to rats injected with saline solution. The treated rats also developed thick, glossy fur, greater resistance to disease and improved memory.
A further experiment by William Zung confirmed the anti-depression benefits of Gerovital amongst three groups of patients, aged 60 and over, who were suffering from depression. Those treated with Gerovital demonstrated greater improvements in mood, sociability, fatigue, agitation and anxiety.
Is Gerovital-H3 suitable for me?
Gerovital-H3 is recommended for people over the age of 40 as an antiaging medication. It has numerous rejuvenating benefits, and is suitable for anyone wanting to lower cholesterol, improve concentration, reduce joint stiffness and generally reverse any number of age-related symptoms.
It is also recommended as an anti depressant medication and as a preventative and curative treatment for chronic degenerative diseases.
No adverse reactions to Gerovital-H3 have been recorded. However, if you are sensitive to procaine you may experience allergic reactions, shaking, motor or psychic restlessness, cephalea, bradycardia or tachycardia. You should not take Gerovital-H3 with sulphonamides (inactivation), eserine or prostigmine.
How should I take Gerovital-H3?
Gerovital should be taken daily on an empty stomach. One to two tablets a day, two or three hours after meals is the recommended dosage.
If you find Gerovital too stimulating, simply lower the dose and do not take it later than early afternoon. It is also advisable to take periodic breaks in treatment of five days a month.
However you take Gerovital, you will quickly discover its revitalising benefits. Considered by many to be the original antiaging drug, Gerovital-H3 has a well-deserved reputation for its numerous restorative properties.
Caution:
Gerovital may amplify the stimulating effect of other ‘neuro-energizers’ which increase dopamine and/or noradrenalin activity, such as Deprenyl, L-dopa, modafinil (Adrafinil), Hydergine or DLPA/phenylalanine/tyrosine. It is especially important to take periodic GH3 breaks if you are using such neuro-energizers.
[productalsobuy]
Frequently Asked Questions About Gerovital®
Disclaimer: Please note that only your own physician can determine your precise needs, but in order to give you some information these answers are based upon the ‘average person’ and clinical / published results.
I would like to try this product, but as I was reading the product information, it said to use caution when a person is on antidepressants. I am currently 50 mg of Zoloft® 1x per day, and 25 mg. Nortriptyline at bedtime, would it be safe to try the above product?
Gerovital tablets rarely interfere with antidepressants, not when used at ‘normal’ doses- that's 1x 100mg tablet a day. Of course that is not to say that it cannot cause side effects in everyone. Should you develop any nausea or headache or other unwanted side effects discontinue its use, but there are many people who use regular antidepressants and still take Gerovital tablets without issue.
I am interested in ordering the Gerovital H-3 by Dr. Ana Aslan. I know it contains Procaine HCl, but I can’t find the listing for its other ingredients. 1. Please let me know the ingredients. 2. Also, what makes this such a miracle drug? 3. is this imported product from Romania or is it produced elsewhere?
Our injections are from the original lab in Romania and produced to Ana Aslan's formula etc. So are the Gerovital-H3 tablets.
The GH3-Pro tablets are not currently available from Romania, these are a copy (precise to the original formula see here). They contain 100mg Procaine, 6mg Benzoic acid, 5mg Potassium metabisulphate and 500mg of disodium phosphate per tablet, the excipient in the tablet is maltodextrin.
Gerovital has a wide range of uses, and its primary action is believed to originate from its mild reversible MAO inhibition and the actions of Procaine and its metabolites PEAE and DEAE to help inhibit cortisol. You can read many articles written by professionals about Gerovital, in particular Mircea Dumitru, M.D. who was Professor Aslan's personal physician. Please see here.
What our customers say...
Having worked with Aslan for 25 years, I am pleased now to write that Gerovital-H3 is appreciated at present on the international level as being the most efficient anti-aging treatment.
Mircea Dumitru Ph.D. M.D. Editor-in-Chief, International Journal of Gerontology and Geriatrics, Mexico City
The Aslan method and [Gerovital-H3] treatment represents the most efficient therapeutic procedure in Geriatrics
Professor Paul Luth, Germany.
Gerovital-H3 can claim not only to be the original but also still one of the most important anti-aging drugs.
James South MA Oregon.
Since starting your Gerovital-H3 treatment I am very happy with the difference it has made in my feeling. I remember things better and I have more energy. I am 74 years old and I feel more like 35 again!
S.T., Florida.
I am so pleased with the results of your treatment. I have been in pain for a long time. Now, I can move my arms and legs and my back feels so much better.
G.A., Mexico. | {
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Just after 4 p.m. on Thanksgiving eve, a boy steps off a school bus.
Then he walks – with some help, but not too much – into his West Central home. Once inside, he sits on the couch. He smiles. A little later, he gets into his dad’s car. He gets out of the car. He gets his haircut. He smiles again. He shakes a stranger’s hand.
Doctors said this boy, 15-year-old Daniel Chappell, would never do any of these things. While Chappell doesn’t have one clear diagnosis, he suffers from a number of genetically related health problems.
His initial prognosis had been far more bleak. Someday, maybe if everything went right, Daniel would sit up unassisted, doctors told Micheal Chappell when he became Daniel’s long-term legal guardian in the early 2000s.
“I always say Danny is just a miracle. He’s a miracle child,” said Lee Williams, a longtime friend of Daniel and Micheal. “The fact that he has beat all the odds … is just amazing.”
Knowing Daniel’s history, and his doctors’ low expectations, makes the scene Wednesday night all the more memorable. Daniel and Micheal sit on a couch in their home, listening to “Cat in the Hat” narrated on an iPad. Micheal helps Daniel navigate the colorful scene on the screen. Although Micheal is not legally Daniel’s adoptive parent, he might as well be. He’s lived with and cared for Daniel since the boy was 2 years old. Daniel is legally separated from his biological parents.
Daniel’s health care needs are paid for by Medicaid.
“Where is the fish?” Micheal asks Daniel. “Daniel, can you show me the fish?”
After several false starts, Daniel jabs the animated fish with his finger. Then, switching gears, and apps, Micheal asks Daniel if he wants sweet potatoes for dinner.
Daniel pushes a large red “yes” button repeatedly.
“He loves sweet potatoes,” Micheal said.
“He’s said 14 different words in his life,” he adds.
In fact, the last time Daniel spoke was five years ago, on Thanksgiving. He said, “thank you.”
‘His own place in this community’
While Daniel may not be able to speak, he’s developed a vibrant and engaging personality – a personality that’s connected him with people throughout the Spokane area.
At Dan’s Barber and Styling Salon on Monroe Street, Daniel is a regular.
“Oh! Look who’s here, oh my goodness,” Johannah Flambouras said Wednesday night as Daniel walked in.
Flambouras has been cutting Daniel’s hair for years. She knows how to work with the boy, and Daniel has grown comfortable with her.
“Dad doesn’t have to hold him down as much,” she said of how Daniel’s changed in the years she’s known him.
She’s seen him develop more communication skills and grow comfortable interacting with the world. She smiled thinking of Daniel’s happy dance, which he often launches into as she vacuums the hair from his scalp and neck. That’s his favorite part.
“Daniel has his own identity and his own place in this community,” Micheal said.
Overcoming the odds
Dr. Deb Harper was Daniel’s pediatrician when he was born.
Normally, Harper said, she’s optimistic about children and their ability to overcome serious health and developmental problems.
That was not the case with Daniel. She was one of the doctors who told Micheal that his son would never sit up unassisted.
“I was quite pessimistic about Daniel’s ability to move on,” she said.
She cared for Daniel as an infant, and then, when Micheal started caring for Daniel, she lost track of the boy.
Four years later, she was sitting in her home when Daniel unexpectedly crawled back into her life. One day, Harper’s husband, who is a Realtor, brought another Realtor by their home for a visit. It was Micheal, and Daniel was with him.
The 4-year-old boy was crawling around Harper’s living room floor. Nearly blind, but crawling, on his own. She recognized him as the little boy who, years ago, she’d thought would never sit up.
“I was absolutely knocked silly,” she said. “Part of this is that I was wrong … and part of it is that Micheal Chappell did a hell of a job with this kid.”
Amazing changes
Like Harper, those who know and love Daniel are quick to praise Micheal.
“It’s quite a job he took on, bringing that little boy into his life,” said Kevin Gardner, a member of the band Spare Parts. “I couldn’t have done that. I’m not patient enough.”
Micheal met Daniel by chance while working as a Realtor. Daniel was 16 months old, with little mobility and the physical characteristics of an infant. Though they shared no familial bond, Micheal, who had no children of his own, found his mind turning again and again to Daniel, who went by a different name and was in foster care at the time. The foster mother was seeking a permanent home for the boy.
Through repeated encounters, familiarity grew into a mutual attachment until finally Micheal, who was single at the time, made the decision to take full responsibility of the boy. Though he never formally adopted Daniel, he considers him his son.
Gardner first met Daniel about 10 years ago while playing at Madeleine’s Cafe in downtown Spokane. He noticed Micheal and Daniel sitting at the very front table.
“You could tell that he had some physical problems. But the first thing you notice was how patient Micheal was with him,” Gardner said.
Daniel loves Spare Parts, and since that first show years ago, he’s attended many of their concerts. Gardner said in the beginning Daniel didn’t respond much to the music, but over time he’s become more animated and visibly engaged. He’ll start swinging his arms and he gets a “joyful look on his face,” Gardner said.
“It’s just been pretty cool,” he said. “I’ve been so amazed at the changes in that little guy over time.”
Micheal brushes off the praise, instead focusing on Daniel: his resilience and his will to not only survive, but thrive.
“You know he never gives up,” he said. “He looks out and he looks up.”
The learning process
At Salk Middle School, where Daniel goes to school, that resilience is starting to pay off.
Daniel is learning to communicate more of his needs, desires and thoughts, said Kelli Nygren, Daniel’s special education teacher.
“I think my goal as his teacher is to help him show off what he knows,” she said. “But then also to help him interact with the world as fully as he can, as opposed to it just happening to him.”
Nygren helps Daniel learn to communicate, often using an iPad or rudimentary sign language. Two weeks ago Daniel rode a three-wheeled bike on his own for the first time. He’s also recently started doing, with her help, basic addition.
Kelli Nygren / The Spokesman-Review
When asked what Daniel is able to understand, Nygren demurs, pointing to the fact that a year ago Daniel’s accomplishments of the past month would have seemed impossible.
“When he first started with me, did I think he knew how to do addition?” she asked, laughing. “We were just getting him used to eating.”
And, despite his disabilities, Daniel is remarkably similar to other children, Nygren said.
“He can be mischievous. He has a sense of humor. He acts just like a teenage boy in so many ways,” she said. “Kind of goofing around and not really wanting to work. A little bit of attitude (sometimes).”
That’s the little boy Micheal felt moved to help years ago. The one who laughs, goofs around and teases. The curious one, who loves music, sweet potatoes and getting his hair cut. The one who is just like any other 15-year-old.
And, as Daniel develops and learns, the rest of the world is seeing him for who he truly is.
“He’s the driver of his destiny,” Micheal said. “If he can overcome and get going, who are we not to?” | {
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While the Senate has taken its time hashing out gun control, some states have been proactive. New York, Connecticut, and Colorado have beefed up their gun laws in the months following Newtown, and now Delaware may join their ranks.
On March 28, the Delaware House of Representatives passed a bill mandating background checks for all sales and transfers of firearms, including private transactions. The bill, originally introduced by Governor Jack Markell as a response to the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School, is supported by 88% of Delaware voters and now moves to the state Senate for a vote.
A few notable amendments keep Delaware’s bill from being as sweeping as those from Colorado and Connecticut. During the amendment process, additions were made to ban any type of gun registry system and to exempt gun owners with concealed carry permits from the background check requirements. Both tenets of the bill are NRA-approved.
But background check legislation, while popular in the state, is not the only initiative being explored by the state legislature. For those who say that criminals don’t abide by background check procedures, Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden has backed a Republican-proposed plan to punish repeat offenders.
Those convicted of violent felonies will face stricter penalties for being caught with illegal firearms.
Biden, who said he believes that the legislation will pass, told The Cycle hosts on Friday that this aspect of gun control is a law enforcement issue, while also being of the same caliber of “common sense” as background check legislation.
Despite criticisms that the U.S., with 5% of the world population and 25% of the world’s incarcerated, has a jail problem, Biden says that putting dangerous criminals behind bars is the best strategy.
“My job as a law enforcer is to put those people in jail who have broken the law,” Biden explained, “There is a push right now for everyone from the Kato Institute to progressive outlets who make the argument that we should let people out of jail. I’m not convinced that’s the right strategy.”
Other gun control initiatives proposed by Markell, in tandem with Biden and Lt. Governor Matt Denn, such as limiting high capacity magazines, have failed to garner widespread support in the months following Newtown. However, last Monday, Delaware introduced these stiffer penalties for what Biden calls “persons prohibited in the state.” | {
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The team behind the open-source, bitcoin-powered marketplace OpenBazaar has published the beta version of its forthcoming 2.0 release. Our guest this week, Brian Hoffman, who is also chief executive of OB1 (the startup behind the project), said that one of the goals for the 2.0 release was to make the user experience akin to popular e-commerce platforms like Etsy. Is it a success? | {
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nib Newcastle Knights Head Coach Adam O'Brien has completed his initial conversations with local media, including a special interview with ABC's Craig Hamilton.
No topic was off-limits, with Trent Robinson, Craig Bellamy, the Knights defence and potential game plans for next year all up for discussion.
If you missed the interview, read the full transcript below.
Craig Hamilton: Welcome to Newcastle, what have you made of the town so far?
Adam O'Brien: I love the town. It’s a great feel and a great fit for myself and my wife. The thing that stood out for us is we’re both coastal-country people, I grew up in Batemans Bay and my wife’s from Ulladulla in the south coast.
Obviously, Newcastle’s a little bigger and we’ve got some more choice, but the community feel and the willingness from everyone to give me a hand and help you out, they don’t look at me as the Knights coach. Before they even knew my title, they we’re just willing to help you, so I love that part.
CH: Let’s fast track to working with Craig Bellamy, you worked in Melbourne for a long time with him, articulate that experience.
AO: He’s moulded me as a footy coach and a person. The two most influential figures in my life would be my dad and then Craig, and there’s not much that separates the two. My Dads a tough old cranky country publican, and Craig’s a tough old footy coach.
I guess he (Bellamy) taught me how to behave. If you’re going to ask something of your players then you need to be that, you need to be a symbol of it and one thing that he instilled in me was a work ethic. If you want your players to be hard working than you need to be hard working yourself. Installing the hard work ethic, and also Craig’s a country guy too, and nothing against city people.
Klemmer: Maturity, focus and referees
How humble he is struck a chord with me, and he instills that into his players. We’re no better than the bloke down the road working 8 hours a day, we’re doing a job too. I saw the benefits of that and what he instilled in that culture, everyone’s heard about the work program with the Storm players who go down there. He made it clear to me that if you were a guy who needed to be looked after off the field, you would need to be looked after on the field. You’d miss a tackle that was yours, so having a real good work ethic and a real humbleness about you that you were no better than the guy down the road.
CH: There’s a lot of people who want to be rugby league coaches who are humble, there’s a lot of coaches who have a great work ethic, why is he successful? What makes him a great coach?
AO: I think the number one thing is he doesn’t over complicate it. He gets a guy in, gets him fit, gets him strong and then allows him to completely understand what his role is, what’s expected of him but just as important why for his role. You can get guys to understand what they have to do, but unless you can tap into that motivation of why I’m doing it and the effects that it has for the guy beside him, that’s his biggest strength.
That’s why when you see changes to the Melbourne Storm team and you’ll often hear when the new guys come in that they just keep reproducing them. It’s because he simplifies things and gets them to believe their role is the most important on the field, so that’s probably what sets him apart.
Five key match-ups of the Knights' 2020 draw
CH: Structure, or playing what’s in front of you? Do you get the game plan and say, ‘stay with this boys’, or ‘have a look at what’s in front of you and if there’s an opportunity to get away from the game plan play that’, where do you stand with that?
AO: Find the balance. I think its shape over structure. If you don’t have any structure, they’re running around running into each other. If you have too much, you’re predictable and easy to defend. I like a team who can turn up and not rely on fancy plays, shape and structure. If you turn up and it’s blowing a gale, pouring rain and there’s scoreboard pressure, you can’t rely on fancy plays. So, having some substance about your footy, having some core business that you can fall back on and will hold up all season, and just having some strong principles.
In terms of the eyes up part, I really encourage that. The game is speeding up all the time, the ball in play time means there’s more tired defenders out there, so just finding points on the field to pass the ball backwards is ineffective against tired defenders.
So, I think we need to have an eyes-up front-foot mentality, I guess it’s like a pick a path mentality to a certain point, so the plan is to get here, but if there’s on, take it. I’ll back them.
CH: You went to the Roosters and worked under Trent Robinson, what did you learn from Trent Robinson in that season and how would you compare that as well as those two individuals, Trent Robinson and Craig Bellamy?
AO: I’d say completely opposite. They are both really successful organisations, and that was the appeal for me to leave Melbourne in the first place. I knew I’d had a really good start to what I call my coaching apprenticeship, and I still believe that’s molded most of me, from Melbourne, but I knew I needed to have a look at another way of doing it, and the Roosters were that.
In terms of Craig being heavily blue collar, I think Robbo is more white collar. He’s highly educated, and I think your team will reflect your head coaches’ character. Melbourne will play for three days straight because Craig will work for three days straight, while the Roosters can beat you tactically, because their Head Coach is smart. He’s an extremely intelligent individual. They’ll beat you with some skill and talent, and you’ll see the players they’ve got are highly skillful and talented. Whereas in Melbourne, you’ve got guys who are happy to get in an arm wrestle and do it until you put up the white flag.
That’s probably the opposites, and their training programs reflect that too. The Roosters would be the skill and power-based program, Melbourne would always be an attrition-based program. You’d hear about army camps and hills, the last few years it’s morphed into a more speed and power program, probably since 2016 which was a big change for us, in terms of how we attacked in Melbourne, which was through that speed/power program.
Getting the opportunity to pick the eyes out of the vase, a good way of putting it would be Robbo’s the fine-dining experience and Bellamy is a schnitty and chips, they’re both good feeds but it depends which one you feel like today.
Program the GPS! The 2020 draw is here
CH: Most Knights fans love the fact Newcastle can score points. They like the attack, they love watching someone like Kalyn Ponga who can produce something out of nothing and score points. Most of them also say we concede too many, and we might score 24 points but it’s not enough to win. How do you fix that? What’s your philosophy on defence and improving it?
AO: The first thing is I’m going to take care of the defence, that’s not to say that I know everything, I’ve got some good coaching staff that have been across defence, but I believe I’ve been involved in the two best defensive systems over the last 15 years in Melbourne and more recently the Roosters. So, I’ve got a good understanding of what it takes to be a good defender.
What the guys need to understand is if I need to choose between two guys I’m going with the defensive guy. Having strong defence is character, your character and resolve comes out in your defence and I hear a lot about us representing the region and at the moment there’s a lot of talk of that and not enough doing. I need to install a bit of that resilient character into our defensive line.
Naturally they’ll attack, you look at every sport and every game you win by adding up. I look at it as the premiership winning teams over the last 20 years have been the top two defensive teams. Whether or not we get to two, we’ve got a lot of work to do, but that’s certainly the aim of building our defensive resolve. | {
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Saying that the positions he and others have taken against abortion will "strengthen our country and it's going to strengthen the Republican Party," Missouri Rep. Todd Akin said just before 1:30 p.m. ET that he will not withdraw from his state's Senate race by a 6 p.m. ET deadline this evening.
"I believe that there is something that we're missing ... something many Americans feel in their heart of hearts believe we should be talking about," he said on the syndicated Mike Huckabee Radio Show. "A respect of life is deeply engrained in our culture. ... Maybe the party needs to include that as part of the party."
Akin added that he doesn't think it's fair that fumbling on one sentence — his much criticized remark that most "legitimate" rapes don't cause pregnancies — should cost him the candidacy.
"Is there a matter of some justice here?" Akin asked. "I misspoke one word in one sentence on one day."
He believes constituents will forgive him. And, he said, there is grassroots support for his positions on abortion.
Update at 4:08 p.m. ET. Romney Calls On Akin To Withdraw:
Mitt Romney, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee and the party's de facto leader, has now made it clear that Akin should withdraw.
Here's what he told reporters, according to Politico:
"As I said yesterday, Todd Akin's comments were offensive and wrong and he should very seriously consider what course would be in the best interest of our country. Today, his fellow Missourians urged him to step aside, and I think he should accept their counsel and exit the Senate race."
Our original post and earlier updates:
It's come to this for Rep. Todd Akin of Missouri:
As more and more of his fellow Republicans call on him to drop out of his race for the Senate before today's 6 p.m. ET deadline to easily get his name off the ballot, the congressman's loudest defender is his Democratic opponent.
"What's startling to me," Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., said Monday, "is that these [Republican] party big wigs are coming down on him and saying that he needs to kick sand in the face of the Republican primary voters."
As our colleagues at St. Louis Public Radio say, it's "an odd bit of political posturing."
Update: Akin Vows Again To Stay In Missouri Senate Race Listen • 0:00
Update: Akin Vows Again To Stay In Missouri Senate Race Listen • 0:00
Of course, as Frank James has pointed out over at It's All Politics, part of McCaskill's early campaign strategy appeared to be doing what she could to help Akin become the GOP nominee — because he was arguably the weakest of the Republicans seeking that opportunity. Her campaign ran negative ads against two of the three GOP contenders during that party's primary. Her ads mentioning Akin were less sharp. So she isn't exactly a disinterested party.
In case you're just catching up with the story, Akin caused controversy on Sunday when he said during a TV interview that in cases of "legitimate rape," women rarely get pregnant. The implications — that some women claim rape in order to justify abortions or that there's some sort of difference between "rape" and "forcible rape" — led to condemnations of his remarks by Democrats and Republicans alike. Outside groups and national Republican campaigns have withdrawn their financial support for Akin's campaign.
The congressman has vowed to stay in the race.
But with Missouri election law allowing Akin to simply withdraw by 6 p.m. ET today and then let the GOP choose a new contender, pressure is building on him to get out. He could, as the St. Louis Post-Dispatch explains, wait until Sept. 25 — "but would first need to seek a court order."
On Morning Edition, NPR's Brian Naylor noted that the Missouri race is important to Republicans because party leaders view McCaskill's seat "as one of their best chances for a pick up." There are currently 51 Democrats in the Senate and two independents who caucus with that party.
Meanwhile, CNN'sPiers Morgan Tonight had promoted an appearance by Akin on last night's broadcast — only to have the congressman fail to show up. So CNN kept a camera trained on an empty chair. And Morgan said that if Akin didn't come on, "then you are what we would call in Britain a gutless little twerp."
Update at 1:16 p.m. ET. Akin Making An Announcement:
The Mike Huckabee Radio Showsays Akin is "on live with the Mike Huckabee Radio show now announcing his campaign decision."
Update at 1:15 p.m. ET. Missouri's Top Republicans Ask Akin To Step Aside.
This statement was just sent to reporters by aides to Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo.:
"U.S. Senator Roy Blunt called U.S. Representative Todd Akin's recent statements 'totally unacceptable' and issued the following joint statement together with former Missouri U.S. Senators John Ashcroft, Kit Bond, John Danforth, and Jim Talent calling for Akin to step aside:
" 'We do not believe it serves the national interest for Congressman Todd Akin to stay in this race. The issues at stake are too big, and this election is simply too important. The right decision is to step aside.' "
Update at 8:45 a.m. ET. In New Ad, Akin Asks For Foregiveness.
"I used the wrong words in the wrong way and for that I apologize," he says.
And Akin adds that "the fact is, rape can lead to pregnancy."
Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | {
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Ron Paul vs. Lindsey Graham
Created: October 14, 2009 15:36 | Last updated: July 31, 2020 00:00
It’s on. The Texas congressman is milking Sen. Lindsey Graham’s (R-S.C.) attack on his followers and policies for all it’s worth, telling members of his Campaign for Liberty that he’ll mount a media offensive against Republicans who want their party “controlled by the ‘neoconservatives.’”
For far too long, the Republican Party has been controlled by the “neoconservatives,” those who readily abandon the free market at the drop of a hat if it means expanding government power and who think the United States should be the policeman of the world. They want us to support those who throw substance and principle to the wind in favor of political expediency.
Last Monday night, Senator Lindsey Graham reiterated his disdain for Ron Paul and limited government conservatives at a town hall when he said that he was not going to allow the Republican Party to be “hijacked by Ron Paul.”
Instead, he thinks we should get behind those who he tells us “can win,” even if it means abandoning every belief we hold dear in the process.
In addition to his afternoon appearance on Judge Napolitano’s Freedom Watch, Congressman Paul will be responding to the neoconservatives on The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer tonight at 6 pm eastern and also on MSNBC’s The Ed Show at 6:30 pm eastern. | {
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Finally, and most important for the sumo puller, the block pull allows the lifter to repeatedly get heavy weights moving and keep them moving. This is of paramount importance because it allows the hips to be trained to drive the knees outward and remain close to the vertical plane of the bar for the duration of the lift. The biggest pitfall in most lifters’ sumo technique is at high intensities, the lifters are unable to keep the hips close—instead allowing them to push back and lose the leverage advantage gained by lifting with the sumo technique. Forcing the hips out takes tremendous strength under heavy loading and simply won’t just happen to be developed if you aren’t sumo pulling heavy.
This is a lift that offers several training benefits: for a beginner, it allows the lifter to learn to pull from the sumo position with less of a flexibility requirement than pulling sumo directly from the floor. It benefits both the sumo and conventional lifter by allowing for maximal loading of the quads and upper spinal erectors in the back. Because it lets the lifter consistently pull supra-maximal weights—often for reps—the muscles of the torso and upper back really get overloaded. The tightness taught by the sumo block pulls makes the transition back to the pull from the floor a matter of how much leg drive the lifter can generate, because the upper body will have handled these supra-maximal weights. In fact, only one other exercise has had a bigger benefit on my conventional deadlift and this is a sumo deadlift!
The first exercise we will look at is the sumo deadlift with the weights elevated on 2” or 4” blocks. It’s so effective for the same reason that sumo deadlifts are used in the first place—they offer superior leverage! By elevating the weight on a block, we make it easier to start with the hips closer to the bar. It’s elevated and allows the lifter to start with the hips closer to the bar, the spine more upright and the legs in a slightly more extended position. All of these factor in to create one thing: leverage.
To use an architectural analogy: you must build a stronger foundation if you wish to build a more impressive structure. And I’d contend that for each of the bench, deadlift and squat, there are a select few exercise variations that comprise the “pillars” that a more impressive main lift can be “constructed” on top of. These are the variations that, when improved, lead to a direct and predictable improvement of the variation’s base lift. And to be thorough, we can examine each lift in its own article. For part 1 of 3, lets take a close look at the deadlift and which deadlift variations most effectively impact its improvement.
The task is well defined—and competitively measured—lift more weight. Succeeding, however, is the complex part. And repeatedly doing so will require a great plan. I’d tell you what that plan is, but I don’t know what it is for you. Improving is a uniquely personal task. So what I am going to set out to do is offer you a way to lay the foundation for a plan to improve upon each lift.
Conventional Deficit Deadlift
If you have never pulled conventional while standing on a 3-4” box or 100 plate, stop wasting your time reading stuff on the internet and go do these. Execute each rep from a dead stop and with as much leg drive as possible. If you’ve done these then you know that the brutality of the added range the legs must drive through and the back must pull through, and given the slower overall speed—to me these are like cheating and are exactly what I mean when I say an exercise is a “pillar” to build on. If these go up in weight you can guarantee that your pull from the floor will as well. Granted the longer you do these and the better you get at them, the less the carryover from these to standard conventional deadlifts will be, but if that even slightly presents itself to you as a reason to consider not doing them then don’t. And stop reading and go away. Deadlifts are not for you.
These can be programmed in many ways. If you follow a conjugated routine then these can be done first as a max effort or heavy effort lift: 1-3RM sets. My preference is to use these as is done in the various versions of the Finnish deadlifting programs as an exercise to build both strength and volume with. They are done for several sets of 5 and as the first exercise in the workout. Lastly is my method, which I utilize because as a sumo puller if you don’t do some conventional work the hamstrings and lower spinal erectors can get a little deconditioned. This exercise works great for one set of max reps after all my sumo pulling is done and I typically perform 4-8 reps. One set for all you’re worth! This will add tons of mass to the back of your body and legs no matter which way you do them, just don’t do them vicariously through someone else.
Deadlift Rep Max
Deadlifting for reps is the obvious alternative to taking one rep maxes every week! This is for either conventional or sumo, and either way you are simply executing one of the best exercises for gaining tons of strength and size. My workouts tend to revolve around heavy pulls from the floor and 2-3 rep sets are great “pillars” to build your 1RM on. Higher reps (4-6) are also effective and can be used to build up volume quickly when you are preparing for a meet but are further away.
These are nothing more than the classic deadlift performed for reps, but to me the most beneficial tip is to execute every rep from a dead stop—no touch and go reps. You will build far more strength when the reps are performed like this.
Another benefit of the multi-rep sets is that it allows you to train with weights that challenge your technique but do not cause it to breakdown. Pulling maximally has a great effect on strength but carries with it a larger recovery cost and risk of injury—maxes should be used intelligently not all the time.
Deadlift vs Bands
Deadlifting against band resistance offers a few options: It can be used as a method of overloading the top to build your grip and lockout strength or it can be used in a high set, low rep setup to master the technique of transitioning from the first pull into the second. Finally, when performed for singles or doubles, it gives me a great indicator of progression—which is part of what defines it for me as a “pillar” to build a strong deadlift on.
Pulling maxes is fun and self-explanatory, but let me say a bit more about the high set, low rep method. Basically here you would pull 1-3 reps per set for 6-10 sets. What you’ll inevitably notice is that your body starts to anticipate the increase in tension as the bands kick in more and more. The body should naturally gravitate toward driving the hips in as soon as the bar is transitioning past the bottom of the knee caps in an effort to sustain leg drive through until the lockout instead of having the legs finish early and locking out primarily with back strength.
My set up is basically 2 sets of mini bands attached to tie downs 40” apart. With the bands quadrupled the lockout is 150-175 pounds of extra tension depending on your finish height.
Stiff Leg Deadlift (back rounded)
These are not a “pillar” per se, as these don’t directly increase the deadlift. However, these are great either for building up a base of work in preparation for a higher volume of deficit deads (as in the Finnish routines) where they can be done for as many as 10 reps per set, or they can be done as an “assistance exercise” after all other deadlifting. My preference is just to do a lot of these! I like to work them in the 5-8 rep range and often twice each week: at the end of deadlifting on Fridays and after squatting on Mondays. These are basically the poor man’s hyper, but in my opinion why do low back assistance work when you can just deadlift more? I like to perform 2-4 sets of these with each rep done from a complete stop. These build a tremendous amount of overall back strength and you will notice the work you put into these.
Stiff Leg Deadlift (back arched)
Now these are a personal pet exercise of mine! They are basically RDLs (Romanian deadlifts) but performed with a massive ROM. Stand on a tall box and either deadlift the weight up or take it off a rack in front of you so the set starts with you standing tall with the bar in a moderate stance. The objective is to push the hips back but keep the chest and chin out so the back remains arched. Legs are straight but not locked. This puts a tremendous load on the glutes and especially the hamstrings. When I began these 11 years ago I could only take 135-185 down midway on my shins while keeping the low back arched. My hamstrings were tight and not strong. Now I work all reps down to my shoe tops with my back arched. This basically isolates the hamstrings in heavily loaded hip flexion. Every time they extend the hips they have to first stretch to a great length. You are creating long, massive and bullet proof hamstrings by doing these. In a sense, they are more of a bodybuilding exercise, but to me turning your hamstrings into strong, durable workhorses will allow you to train your bigger deadlift motions much harder. My preference is to do these for sets of 5-6 following squats, but will occasionally do them to end a deadlift workout. They have a slightly better carryover to your sumo pull, but really they will serve as a great mass builder for the hamstrings and glutes as well as teaching the motor control to bend at the hips and not at the low back.
The flexibility will present a challenge in the beginning, but don’t go beyond the range that forces you to round your back as that will take away from the stress targeting the hamstrings. Because the technique takes time to learn these can be done at a higher rep range in the beginning for 3-4 sets of 8-12.
Summary
So there are a bevy of great deadlifting choices to hammer away at. These work for me and most should work universally, but whichever you do make sure you are prioritizing sound technique and not just frequent max pulling! Earn that right by working your ass off on the harder variations. When you’ve built your stiff legs and you’ve built up the “pillars” a huge deadlift will then be yours for the taking.
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Dan Green is one of the top names in powerlifting today. The Raw Total World Record Holder with 2030 (belt and sleeves), Dan is the dominant force in the 220 weight class. Dan is the founder of Boss Barbell Club in Mountain View, CA where he trains team sport and strength athletes.
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Christina Hall
Detroit Free Press
Jennifer Millsap started texting her daughter, April, then called her when the 14-year-old didn't respond more than two hours after leaving their Armada home to take one of their dogs on a walk on a popular nearby trail on July 24, 2014.
The mother left a voice mail, but got no return call. She texted her daughter over and over again, Jennifer Millsap testified today, and texted her daughter's boyfriend to see whether he had seen her that day.
Millsap, 44, testified that she got into her car and went looking for her daughter, heading to the Macomb Orchard Trail where the teen went to walk the dog. She found nothing and enlisted the help of April's boyfriend — who at 6:28 p.m. that day told her that he received a text from April indicating that she almost got kidnapped.
Trial begins for man accused of killing April Millsap
In the search, near the trail, they came into contact with a police officer and Jennifer Millsap testified that she went to the police station, where she stayed for about 10 hours knowing something was found. The next day, at her home, she testified, an FBI investigator came with picture of April and asked her to identify her.
Man convicted of killing elderly woman called 'monster'
Jennifer Millsap was calm and composed as the first witness today in the murder trial of James VanCallis, 34, of St. Clair County, who is charged with first-degree premeditated murder, felony murder, kidnapping and assault with intent to commit sexual penetration in April's death.
April died of blunt head trauma and asphyxia because of neck compression.
"She was literally beat and stomped to death," Assistant Prosecutor William Dailey told a jury of seven women and seven men and a packed courtroom during opening statements in the high-profile murder trial.
He said April was found in a nearby wooded area, injuries all over her head, face and neck. He said she was found with her bra "literally ripped off her," her shorts and underwear around her ankles and her shoes off. Her backpack was taken; her cell phone dumped nearby — all by her killer, he said.
"You will have no doubt who took her property," Dailey said.
He told jurors while the prosecution doesn't have fingerprints or DNA, the prosecution can show VanCallis "is the one who did it."
VanCallis was charged in October 2014 before — his attorney Azhar Sheikh told jurors — lab results came back without DNA, fingerprints, hair, semen or anything connecting VanCallis to April's slaying. He said of the 900 to 1,000 tips that came in to authorities on the slaying, none of them had to do with VanCallis.
Prosecutor: Murder suspect's dogs saw 'child as meal'
Police said VanCallis attacked Millsap with his motorcycle helmet, dragged her into the woods and stomped on her.
Testimony on Thursday is to include that of Matthew Sadaj, who found April's body. Today, Dailey alluded to Sadaj's testimony about how he and his wife saw April's dog, Penny, bounding out of the woods while on the trail and how, on their return trip, they checked the area where the dog was and how Sadaj found April's body, initially thinking it was a mannequin.
Man sentenced in sexual assault, murder of girl, 11
Dailey said authorities were able to track the fitness app on April's cell phone, which she activated at the start of her walk. It will show, he told jurors, that the pace sped up around the time of the crime and through GPS tracking followed her path off the trail. Then, he said, the tracking continued past a home, where authorities believe VanCallis' motorcycle is seen on video riding by at the same time on the home's exterior video.
Man gets life in grandfather's brutal hatchet murder
He said there also is to be testimony by VanCallis' girlfriend about how he acted the night of the slaying, telling her: "I messed up. I need you to stand by me."
Sheikh called the crime brutal and told jurors, "It's horrible, whoever did this to this young girl."
He told jurors that April told her mother she was worried about a black pickup she had seen that she thought was following her, though Jennifer Millsap testified that her boyfriend checked out the vehicle and the family was not concerned. Sheikh also told jurors that after April sent the text to her boyfriend she made three calls to an 810 area code phone number, but no one knows to whom the number belongs.
Sheikh told jurors that VanCallis' girlfriend came up with a story about the shoes her boyfriend was wearing the night of the crime and said prosecution witnesses have different accounts, such as the color of April's dog.
"This is the kind of sketchy stuff they have," he told jurors.
Sheikh told jurors VanCallis "is no angel" but asked them to listen to the testimony.
"The biggest injustice is to let the culprit go free and convict an innocent man," he said.
Jurors were instructed not to watch five TV crime shows — "CSI," "NCIS," "Castle," "Making a Murderer" and "Criminal Minds" — for the duration of the trial, which is expected to last about three weeks.
Contact Christina Hall: [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter: @challreporter. | {
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Teotihuacan, Mexico
Teotihuacan is an enormous archaeological site in the Basin of Mexico, containing some of the largest pyramidal structures built in the pre-Columbian Americas. Apart from the pyramidal structures, the archaeological site of Teotihuacan is also known for its large residential complexes, the so-called “street of the dead”, and its colorful well-preserved murals.
Teotihuacan was, at its apogee in the first half of the 1st millennium CE, the largest city in the pre-Columbian Americas. During its zenith it may have had more than 100,000 inhabitants placing it among the largest cities of the world in this period. The civilization and cultural complex associated with the site is also referred to as Teotihuacan or Teotihuacano. Although it is a subject of debate whether Teotihuacan was the center of an empire, its influence throughout Mesoamerica is well documented; evidence of Teotihuacano presence, if not outright political and economic control, can be seen at numerous sites in Veracruz and the Maya region. The ethnicity of the inhabitants of Teotihuacan is also a subject of debate and possible candidates are the Nahua, Otomi or Totonac ethnic groups. Often it has been suggested that Teotihuacan was in fact a multiethnic state.
The city and the archaeological site was located in what is now the San Juan Teotihuacán municipality in the State of México, Mexico, approximately 40 kilometres (25 mi) northeast of Mexico City. The site covers a total surface area of 83 km² and was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987, and is one of the most visited archaeological sites in Mexico. | {
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A KHOU 11 viewer emailed, "Did Beto really use eminent domain to get a property for his relative? Or is this fake news." Our verify team did some digging to figure out what's true and false.
A viewer asked KHOU 11 News to verify a claim made in a political attack ad about Beto O’Rourke, who is running for senate against Ted Cruz.
THE QUESTION
The viewer emailed, “Did Beto really use eminent domain to get a property for his relative? Or is this fake news.”
The question refers to a project proposed 12 years ago in El Paso, when O’Rourke was a city councilman. It was a revitalization plan pushed by developers, which included O’Rourke’s father-in-law.
The plan faced resistance from the beginning, because residents wondered how the City would acquire the land for the project. Eminent domain was on the table.
Several news articles from 2005 and 2006 show O’Rourke did support the project, and even faced ethics complaints as a result.
THE ANSWER
However, because of the perceived conflict of interest, O’Rourke recused himself from several key votes on the project, according to city council minutes from 2006.
On top of that, the redevelopment plan never actually happened.
For those reasons, KHOU 11 News can verify the viewer question is false. | {
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The hippocampus is a region of the brain largely responsible for memory formation. Credit: Salk Institute
Male and female brains operate differently at a molecular level, a Northwestern University research team reports in a new study of a brain region involved in learning and memory, responses to stress and epilepsy.
Many brain disorders vary between the sexes, but how biology and culture contribute to these differences has been unclear. Now Northwestern neuroscientists have found an intrinsic biological difference between males and females in the molecular regulation of synapses in the hippocampus. This provides a scientific reason to believe that female and male brains may respond differently to drugs targeting certain synaptic pathways.
"The importance of studying sex differences in the brain is about making biology and medicine relevant to everyone, to both men and women," said Catherine S. Woolley, senior author of the study. "It is not about things such as who is better at reading a map or why more men than women choose to enter certain professions."
Among their findings, the scientists found that a drug called URB-597, which regulates a molecule important in neurotransmitter release, had an effect in females that it did not have in males. While the study was done in rats, it has broad implications for humans because this drug and others like it are currently being tested in clinical trials in humans.
"Our study starts to put some specifics on what types of molecular differences there are in male and female brains," Woolley said.
Woolley is the William Deering Chair in Biological Sciences, professor of neurobiology in the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences and a member of the Women's Health Research Institute at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.
The study of inhibitory synapses and endocannabinoids, which regulate neurotransmitters, was published today (Aug. 12) in The Journal of Neuroscience. It is the first study to detail where males and females differ in a key molecular pathway in the brain.
"We don't know whether this finding will translate to humans or not," Woolley said, "but right now people who are investigating endocannabinoids in humans probably are not aware that manipulating these molecules could have different effects in males and females."
Specifically, Woolley and her research team found that in female brains the drug URB-597 increased the inhibitory effect of a key endocannabinoid in the brain, called anandamide, causing a decrease in the release of neurotransmitters. In male brains, the drug had no effect. (The difference is not related to circulating reproductive hormones.)
The subject of many clinical trials, endocannabinoids are molecules that help regulate the amount of certain neurotransmitters released at synapses, the gap between neurons. These molecules are involved in a variety of physiological processes including memory, motivational state, appetite and pain as well as in epilepsy, a neurological disorder. (Their name comes from the fact that endocannabinoids activate the same neural receptors as the active ingredient in marijuana.)
Understanding what controls the synthesis, release and breakdown of endocannabinoids has broad implications both for normal and pathological brain function, Woolley said. This study contributes an important piece of knowledge.
For 20 years, Woolley actively avoided studying sex differences in the brain until her own data showed her that differences between females and males were real. Her discovery, reported in 2012, that estrogens decreased inhibitory synaptic transmission in the brains of female rats but not in males, changed her thinking.
"Being a scientist is about changing your mind in the face of new evidence," Woolley said. "I had to change my mind in the face of this evidence."
Building on these earlier findings, Woolley and her team used a series of electrophysiological and biochemical studies to pinpoint what causes this effect. The researchers found the difference between males and females lies in the interaction between the molecules ERalpha and mGluR1. Details of the molecular pathway are reported in the new study.
To find out what is the same and what is different between males and females, scientists need to study both sexes, Woolley maintains. Currently, about 85 percent of basic neuroscience studies are done in male animals, tissues or cells.
"We are not doing women—and specifically women's health—any favors by pretending that things are the same if they are not," Woolley said. "If the results of research would be different in female animals, tissues and cells, then we need to know. This is essential so that we can find appropriate diagnoses, treatments and, ultimately, cures for disease in both sexes."
Explore further Men and women could use different cells to process pain
More information: "Sex Differences in Molecular Signaling at Inhibitory Synapses in the Hippocampus," The Journal of Neuroscience, 2015. Journal information: Journal of Neuroscience "Sex Differences in Molecular Signaling at Inhibitory Synapses in the Hippocampus,", 2015. | {
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This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated.
AUSTIN, Texas — A family member says the nation’s oldest World War II veteran who was also believed to be oldest living man in the U.S. has died in Texas.
Richard Overton was 112. Shirley Overton, whose husband was Richard’s cousin, says the Army veteran died Thursday evening at a rehab facility in Austin.
Overton had been recently hospitalized with pneumonia.
Overton was in his 30s when he volunteered for the Army and was at Pearl Harbor just after the Japanese attack in 1941. He once said that one secret to his long life was smoking cigars and drinking whiskey, which he often was found doing on the porch of his Austin home.
In 2013, he was honored by former President Barack Obama at a Veterans Day ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery. | {
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... I thought the last one was terrifying. And you still haven’t played Story of the Blanks?Do eet. Great piece | {
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Talking about the size of his "shvantz in a presidential debate": Stephen Colbert calls out Donald Trump over his penis boast "Why would a guy with a small penis put his name in giant letters at the top of a skyscraper?" Colbert said
"Late Show" host Stephen Colbert didn't let the fact that he didn't have a show Friday night stop him from talking about Trump's performance during Thursday night's GOP debate, in which the frontrunner made explicit reference to the size of his penis.
"Why would a guy with a small penis put his name in giant letters at the top of a skyscraper?" Colbert began.
Advertisement:
"This man is talking about the size of his shvantz in a presidential debate," he continued. "This is someone who could have his finger on the button -- and, God, I hope it's his finger."
"The people have the right to know the size of your executive branch," he added. "So I'm calling on you to release the long form — or the short form, no judgment."
Watch the full segment below:
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IEG_Ghost Profile Joined March 2013 Korea (South) 198 Posts #1
SPL 12-13 Play-off 2SET match info
KT ( 0 ) vs STX (1) [Bo3]
1set Whirlwind Flash vs hyvaa
2set Naro Station SE hitmaN vs Innovation
3set New Fighting Spirit MyuNgSiK vs Trap
4set Neo Planet S Crazy vs Classic
5set Akilon Wastes Zest vs Mini
6set Bel'Shir Vestige Stats vs Dear
ACE Newkirk Precinct
21. July. 12 PM (KST)
21. July. 7 AM (CET)
20. July. 8 PM (PST)
Live Twitch :
Live Youtube : 1set Whirlwind Flash vs hyvaa2set Naro Station SE hitmaN vs Innovation3set New Fighting Spirit MyuNgSiK vs Trap4set Neo Planet S Crazy vs Classic5set Akilon Wastes Zest vs Mini6set Bel'Shir Vestige Stats vs DearACE Newkirk Precinct21. July. 12 PM (KST)21. July. 7 AM (CET)20. July. 8 PM (PST)Live Twitch : www.twitch.tv/sc2proleague Live Youtube :
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monk Profile Blog Joined May 2009 United States 8468 Posts #2 Yay 1 fewer PvP Moderator
Laryleprakon Profile Joined May 2011 New Zealand 9464 Posts #3 Flash vs Hyvaa again ^_^
Hopefully KT can do a bit better.
Ctesias Profile Joined December 2012 4590 Posts #4 Get it done this time KT! Flash | Mvp
IEG_Ghost Profile Joined March 2013 Korea (South) 198 Posts #5 See U tomorrow ~ ^_^
opterown Profile Blog Joined August 2011 Australia 42302 Posts #6
http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewpost.php?post_id=19234204 make thread gogo Moderator Retired LR Bonjwa
eskashaborn Profile Joined April 2011 United States 164 Posts #7 At least get to ace match please zzzz
GolemMadness Profile Blog Joined September 2010 Canada 8533 Posts #8 MORE ZERGS FOR KT http://na.op.gg/summoner/userName=FLABREZU
Ammanas Profile Blog Joined July 2011 Slovakia 2159 Posts Last Edited: 2013-07-20 11:00:09 #9 KT 4-2 ez!
Flash
Innovation
Myungsik
Classic
Zest
Stats JangBi forever <3 || Classic! herO! Rain! Zest! | Rogue! Hydra! Solar! | Fantasy! Cure! Reality! Sorry! Journey!
emanresU Profile Joined November 2012 Germany 390 Posts #10 Wow i can actually see KT taking this one. There is nothing more cool than being proud of the things you love. -Sean "Day[9]" Plott
invisible.terran Profile Blog Joined September 2010 United States 273 Posts #11 On July 20 2013 19:49 monk wrote:
Yay 1 fewer PvP
Exactly what I thought
Also, Innovation is going down, you heard it here first Exactly what I thoughtAlso, Innovation is going down, you heard it here first "Until the very very top, in almost anything, all that matters is how much work you put in, the only problem is most people cant work hard even at things they do enjoy, much less things they dont have a real passion for." - Idra
NicksonReyes Profile Blog Joined May 2010 Philippines 4430 Posts #12 This season, CH, Action and Hitman all had their chances at sniping Innovation. Hopefully something would work this time. "Start yo" -FlaSh
DidYuhim Profile Joined September 2011 Ukraine 1901 Posts #13
But that's pretty obvious, though. No PuzzleBut that's pretty obvious, though.
goody153 Profile Blog Joined April 2013 9687 Posts #14 i feel like flash would break hyvaa and hitman would snipe winnovation this time
the rest of the matches goes in favor to STX this is a quote
Shellshock Profile Blog Joined March 2011 United States 95641 Posts #15 4-2 STX Moderator http://i.imgur.com/U4xwqmD.png
vesicular Profile Blog Joined March 2010 United States 1310 Posts #16 Good KT lineup vs STX this time. Has me a little worried actually. STX Fighting!
Daswollvieh Profile Blog Joined October 2009 5551 Posts #17 Throwing one more Zerg at Innovation, they never learn.
vesicular Profile Blog Joined March 2010 United States 1310 Posts #18 On July 21 2013 00:31 Daswollvieh wrote:
Throwing one more Zerg at Innovation, they never learn. Throwing one more Zerg at Innovation, they never learn.
Given his win rates against all the races, they'll probably need to throw Xel'naga at him to beat him. Given his win rates against all the races, they'll probably need to throw Xel'naga at him to beat him. STX Fighting!
GenesisX Profile Blog Joined February 2010 Canada 4257 Posts #19 Flash vs hyvaa 're :d, 4-2 STX
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Subsets and Splits